HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) Detection - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) Detection
Module: auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
Source code: modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts.rb
Disclosure date: -
Last modification time: 2017-07-24 06:26:21 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): -
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 3000, 8000, 8008, 8080, 8443, 8880, 8888
List of CVEs: -
Display HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) information about each system.
Module Ranking and Traits
Module Ranking:
- normal: The exploit is otherwise reliable, but depends on a specific version and can't (or doesn't) reliably autodetect. More information about ranking can be found here.
Basic Usage
This module is a scanner module, and is capable of testing against multiple hosts.
msf > use auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > set RHOSTS ip-range
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > exploit
Other examples of setting the RHOSTS option:
Example 1:
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.3-192.168.1.200
Example 2:
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.1/24
Example 3:
msf auxiliary(http_hsts) > set RHOSTS file:/tmp/ip_list.txt
Required Options
- RHOSTS: The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
Knowledge Base
Vulnerable Application
Description
This module checks to see whether or not the scanned systems return the HSTS header to enforce HSTS.
Install on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
sudo apt-get install apache2
sudo service apache2 start
sudo openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key -out /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt
sudo openssl dhparam -out /etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem 2048
Once this is done place the following content into /etc/apache2/conf-available/ssl-params.conf:
# from https://cipherli.st/
# and https://raymii.org/s/tutorials/Strong_SSL_Security_On_Apache2.html
SSLCipherSuite EECDH+AESGCM:EDH+AESGCM:AES256+EECDH:AES256+EDH
SSLProtocol All -SSLv2 -SSLv3
SSLHonorCipherOrder On
# Disable preloading HSTS for now. You can use the commented out header line that includes
# the "preload" directive if you understand the implications.
#Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubdomains; preload"
Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000; includeSubdomains"
Header always set X-Frame-Options DENY
Header always set X-Content-Type-Options nosniff
# Requires Apache >= 2.4
SSLCompression off
SSLSessionTickets Off
SSLUseStapling on
SSLStaplingCache "shmcb:logs/stapling-cache(150000)"
SSLOpenSSLConfCmd DHParameters "/etc/ssl/certs/dhparam.pem"
Then execute the following:
sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf.bak
Place the following in /etc/apache2/sites-available/default-ssl.conf:
<IfModule mod_ssl.c>
<VirtualHost _default_:443>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
DocumentRoot /var/www/html
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/certs/apache-selfsigned.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/apache-selfsigned.key
<FilesMatch "\.(cgi|shtml|phtml|php)$">
SSLOptions +StdEnvVars
</FilesMatch>
<Directory /usr/lib/cgi-bin>
SSLOptions +StdEnvVars
</Directory>
BrowserMatch "MSIE [2-6]" \
nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown \
downgrade-1.0 force-response-1.0
</VirtualHost>
</IfModule>
Place the following in /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf:
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
DocumentRoot /var/www/html
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
Finally, execute the following commands:
sudo service apache2 stop
sudo a2enmod ssl
sudo a2enmod headers
sudo a2ensite default-ssl
sudo a2enconf ssl-params
sudo apache2ctl configtest
sudo service apache2 restart
Verification Steps
- Do:
use auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts - Do:
set RHOSTS [IP] - Do:
set RPORT [PORT] - Do:
run
Scenarios
Apache 2.4.29 on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Install using following instructions for Ubuntu listed above.
msf5 > use auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
msf5 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > set RHOSTS 192.168.90.91
RHOSTS => 192.168.90.91
msf5 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > run
[+] 192.168.90.91:443 - Strict-Transport-Security:max-age=63072000; includeSubdomains
[*] Scanned 1 of 1 hosts (100% complete)
[*] Auxiliary module execution completed
msf5 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) >
Confirming using Nmap
tekwizz123@DESKTOP-VF1AJQB:~$ nmap 192.168.90.91 -p 443 --script http-security-headers
Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2020-03-31 00:30 CDT
Nmap scan report for 192.168.90.91
Host is up (0.0034s latency).
PORT STATE SERVICE
443/tcp open https
| http-security-headers:
| Strict_Transport_Security:
| Header: Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000; includeSubdomains
| X_Frame_Options:
| Header: X-Frame-Options: DENY
| Description: The browser must not display this content in any frame.
| X_Content_Type_Options:
| Header: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
|_ Description: Will prevent the browser from MIME-sniffing a response away from the declared content-type.
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 1.25 seconds
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Msfconsole Usage
Here is how the scanner/http/http_hsts auxiliary module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > show info
Name: HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) Detection
Module: auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Normal
Provided by:
Matt "hostess" Andreko <[email protected]>
Check supported:
No
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
Proxies no A proxy chain of format type:host:port[,type:host:port][...]
RHOSTS yes The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
RPORT 443 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL true no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
THREADS 1 yes The number of concurrent threads (max one per host)
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Description:
Display HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) information about each
system.
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the scanner/http/http_hsts auxiliary module:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > show options
Module options (auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
Proxies no A proxy chain of format type:host:port[,type:host:port][...]
RHOSTS yes The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
RPORT 443 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL true no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
THREADS 1 yes The number of concurrent threads (max one per host)
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the scanner/http/http_hsts auxiliary module:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > show advanced
Module advanced options (auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
DOMAIN WORKSTATION yes The domain to use for Windows authentication
DigestAuthIIS true no Conform to IIS, should work for most servers. Only set to false for non-IIS servers
FingerprintCheck true no Conduct a pre-exploit fingerprint verification
HttpClientTimeout no HTTP connection and receive timeout
HttpPassword no The HTTP password to specify for authentication
HttpRawHeaders no Path to ERB-templatized raw headers to append to existing headers
HttpTrace false no Show the raw HTTP requests and responses
HttpTraceColors red/blu no HTTP request and response colors for HttpTrace (unset to disable)
HttpTraceHeadersOnly false no Show HTTP headers only in HttpTrace
HttpUsername no The HTTP username to specify for authentication
SSLVersion Auto yes Specify the version of SSL/TLS to be used (Auto, TLS and SSL23 are auto-negotiate) (Accepted: Auto, TLS, SSL23, SSL3, TLS1, TLS1.1, TLS1.2)
ShowProgress true yes Display progress messages during a scan
ShowProgressPercent 10 yes The interval in percent that progress should be shown
UserAgent Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1) no The User-Agent header to use for all requests
VERBOSE false no Enable detailed status messages
WORKSPACE no Specify the workspace for this module
Auxiliary Actions
This is a list of all auxiliary actions that the scanner/http/http_hsts module can do:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > show actions
Auxiliary actions:
Name Description
---- -----------
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the scanner/http/http_hsts auxiliary module in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_hsts) > show evasion
Module evasion options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
HTTP::header_folding false no Enable folding of HTTP headers
HTTP::method_random_case false no Use random casing for the HTTP method
HTTP::method_random_invalid false no Use a random invalid, HTTP method for request
HTTP::method_random_valid false no Use a random, but valid, HTTP method for request
HTTP::pad_fake_headers false no Insert random, fake headers into the HTTP request
HTTP::pad_fake_headers_count 0 no How many fake headers to insert into the HTTP request
HTTP::pad_get_params false no Insert random, fake query string variables into the request
HTTP::pad_get_params_count 16 no How many fake query string variables to insert into the request
HTTP::pad_method_uri_count 1 no How many whitespace characters to use between the method and uri
HTTP::pad_method_uri_type space no What type of whitespace to use between the method and uri (Accepted: space, tab, apache)
HTTP::pad_post_params false no Insert random, fake post variables into the request
HTTP::pad_post_params_count 16 no How many fake post variables to insert into the request
HTTP::pad_uri_version_count 1 no How many whitespace characters to use between the uri and version
HTTP::pad_uri_version_type space no What type of whitespace to use between the uri and version (Accepted: space, tab, apache)
HTTP::uri_dir_fake_relative false no Insert fake relative directories into the uri
HTTP::uri_dir_self_reference false no Insert self-referential directories into the uri
HTTP::uri_encode_mode hex-normal no Enable URI encoding (Accepted: none, hex-normal, hex-noslashes, hex-random, hex-all, u-normal, u-all, u-random)
HTTP::uri_fake_end false no Add a fake end of URI (eg: /%20HTTP/1.0/../../)
HTTP::uri_fake_params_start false no Add a fake start of params to the URI (eg: /%3fa=b/../)
HTTP::uri_full_url false no Use the full URL for all HTTP requests
HTTP::uri_use_backslashes false no Use back slashes instead of forward slashes in the uri
HTTP::version_random_invalid false no Use a random invalid, HTTP version for request
HTTP::version_random_valid false no Use a random, but valid, HTTP version for request
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Error Messages
This module may fail with the following error messages:
Check for the possible causes from the code snippets below found in the module source code. This can often times help in identifying the root cause of the problem.
<IP>:<RPORT> No HSTS found.
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<IP>:<RPORT> No HSTS found." error message:
40: :type => "hsts.data",
41: :host => ip,
42: :port => rport
43: })
44: else
45: print_error("#{ip}:#{rport} No HSTS found.")
46: end
47: else
48: print_error("#{ip}:#{rport} No headers were returned.")
49: end
50:
<IP>:<RPORT> No headers were returned.
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<IP>:<RPORT> No headers were returned." error message:
43: })
44: else
45: print_error("#{ip}:#{rport} No HSTS found.")
46: end
47: else
48: print_error("#{ip}:#{rport} No headers were returned.")
49: end
50:
51: rescue ::Timeout::Error, ::Errno::EPIPE
52: end
53: end
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Related Pull Requests
- #8716 Merged Pull Request: Print_Status -> Print_Good (And OCD bits 'n bobs)
- #8338 Merged Pull Request: Fix msf/core and self.class msftidy warnings
- #6655 Merged Pull Request: use MetasploitModule as a class name
- #6648 Merged Pull Request: Change metasploit class names
- #6493 Merged Pull Request: move SSL to the default options
- #2525 Merged Pull Request: Change module boilerplate
- #1863 Merged Pull Request: Fixed a bug in the HSTS module around null headers
- #1114 Merged Pull Request: Added HSTS scanner for HTTPS sites
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See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_header
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_login
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_put
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_sickrage_password_leak
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_version
- auxiliary/dos/windows/http/http_sys_accept_encoding_dos_cve_2021_31166
- auxiliary/fuzzers/http/http_form_field
- auxiliary/fuzzers/http/http_get_uri_long
- auxiliary/fuzzers/http/http_get_uri_strings
- auxiliary/gather/http_pdf_authors
- auxiliary/server/capture/http_basic
- auxiliary/server/capture/http_javascript_keylogger
- auxiliary/server/capture/http_ntlm
- auxiliary/server/http_ntlmrelay
- post/multi/manage/hsts_eraser
Authors
Matt "hostess" Andreko <mandreko[at]accuvant.com>
Version
This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.1.36-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
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