Generic HTTP Directory Traversal Utility - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: Generic HTTP Directory Traversal Utility
Module: auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal
Source code: modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal.rb
Disclosure date: -
Last modification time: 2021-03-11 08:13:02 +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: -
This module allows you to test if a web server (or web application) is vulnerable to directory traversal with three different actions. The 'CHECK' action (default) is used to automatically (or manually) find if directory traversal exists in the web server, and then return the path that triggers the vulnerability. The 'DOWNLOAD' action shares the same ability as 'CHECK', but will take advantage of the found trigger to download files based on a 'FILELIST' of your choosing. The 'PHPSOURCE' action can be used to download source against PHP applications. The 'WRITABLE' action can be used to determine if the trigger can be used to write files outside the www directory. To use the 'COOKIE' option, set your value like so: "name=value".
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_traversal
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > set RHOSTS ip-range
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > exploit
Other examples of setting the RHOSTS option:
Example 1:
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.3-192.168.1.200
Example 2:
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.1/24
Example 3:
msf auxiliary(http_traversal) > set RHOSTS file:/tmp/ip_list.txt
Required Options
- RHOSTS: The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
Go back to menu.
Msfconsole Usage
Here is how the scanner/http/http_traversal auxiliary module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_traversal) > show info
Name: Generic HTTP Directory Traversal Utility
Module: auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Normal
Provided by:
Ewerson Guimaraes(Crash) <[email protected]>
Michael Messner <[email protected]>
et <[email protected]>
sinn3r <[email protected]>
Available actions:
Name Description
---- -----------
CHECK Check for basic directory traversal
DOWNLOAD Attempt to download files after brute forcing a trigger
PHPSOURCE Attempt to retrieve php source code files
WRITABLE Check if a traversal bug allows us to write anywhere
Check supported:
No
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
DATA no HTTP body data
DEPTH 5 yes Traversal depth
FILELIST /opt/metasploit-framework/embedded/framework/data/wordlists/sensitive_files.txt yes Wordlist file to brute force
METHOD GET yes HTTP Request Method (Accepted: GET, POST, HEAD, PUT)
PATH / yes Vulnerable path. Ex: /foo/index.php?pg=
PATTERN ^HTTP/\d\.\d 200 yes Regexp pattern to determine directory traversal
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 80 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL false 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:
This module allows you to test if a web server (or web application)
is vulnerable to directory traversal with three different actions.
The 'CHECK' action (default) is used to automatically (or manually)
find if directory traversal exists in the web server, and then
return the path that triggers the vulnerability. The 'DOWNLOAD'
action shares the same ability as 'CHECK', but will take advantage
of the found trigger to download files based on a 'FILELIST' of your
choosing. The 'PHPSOURCE' action can be used to download source
against PHP applications. The 'WRITABLE' action can be used to
determine if the trigger can be used to write files outside the www
directory. To use the 'COOKIE' option, set your value like so:
"name=value".
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the scanner/http/http_traversal auxiliary module:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_traversal) > show options
Module options (auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
DATA no HTTP body data
DEPTH 5 yes Traversal depth
FILELIST /opt/metasploit-framework/embedded/framework/data/wordlists/sensitive_files.txt yes Wordlist file to brute force
METHOD GET yes HTTP Request Method (Accepted: GET, POST, HEAD, PUT)
PATH / yes Vulnerable path. Ex: /foo/index.php?pg=
PATTERN ^HTTP/\d\.\d 200 yes Regexp pattern to determine directory traversal
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 80 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL false 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
Auxiliary action:
Name Description
---- -----------
CHECK Check for basic directory traversal
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the scanner/http/http_traversal auxiliary module:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_traversal) > show advanced
Module advanced options (auxiliary/scanner/http/http_traversal):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
COOKIE no Cookie value to use when sending the requests
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
FILE no Default file to read for the fuzzing stage
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
TRIGGER no Trigger string. Ex: ../
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_traversal module can do:
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_traversal) > show actions
Auxiliary actions:
Name Description
---- -----------
CHECK Check for basic directory traversal
DOWNLOAD Attempt to download files after brute forcing a trigger
PHPSOURCE Attempt to retrieve php source code files
WRITABLE Check if a traversal bug allows us to write anywhere
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the scanner/http/http_traversal auxiliary module in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/http/http_traversal) > 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
Go back to menu.
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.
No trigger found
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "No trigger found" error message:
178: def ini_trigger
179: return datastore['TRIGGER'] if not datastore['TRIGGER'].empty?
180:
181: trigger = fuzz
182: if trigger.nil?
183: print_error("No trigger found")
184: else
185: print_good("Found trigger: #{trigger}")
186: end
187:
188: return trigger
Must specify a 'FILE' to check manually
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Must specify a 'FILE' to check manually" error message:
198: found = true if trigger
199: uri = normalize_uri(datastore['PATH']) + trigger
200: else
201: # Manual check. meh.
202: if datastore['FILE'].empty?
203: print_error("Must specify a 'FILE' to check manually")
204: return
205: end
206:
207: uri = normalize_uri(datastore['PATH']) + trigger + datastore['FILE']
208: req = ini_request(uri)
No directory traversal detected
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "No directory traversal detected" error message:
228: :category => "web",
229: :method => http_method
230: })
231:
232: else
233: print_error("No directory traversal detected")
234: end
235: end
236:
237: #
238: # Action 'DOWNLOAD': Used to download a file with a directory traversal
WRITE seems unlikely
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "WRITE seems unlikely" error message:
323:
324: # Did we get it?
325: if res and res.body =~ /#{unique_str}/
326: print_good("WRITE is possible on #{rhost}:#{rport}")
327: else
328: print_error("WRITE seems unlikely")
329: end
330:
331: # Ah, don't forget to restore our method
332: @http_method = tmp_method
333: end
HTTP method <HTTP_METHOD> is not Apache-compliant. Try only UPPERCASE letters.
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "HTTP method <HTTP_METHOD> is not Apache-compliant. Try only UPPERCASE letters." error message:
341: end
342:
343: def run_host(ip)
344: # Warn if it's not a well-formed UPPERCASE method
345: if http_method !~ /^[A-Z]+$/
346: print_warning("HTTP method #{http_method} is not Apache-compliant. Try only UPPERCASE letters.")
347: end
348: print_status("Running action: #{action.name}...")
349:
350: # And it's..... "SHOW TIME!!"
351: if action.name == 'CHECK'
Go back to menu.
Related Pull Requests
- #14824 Merged Pull Request: Skipping empty files for path traversal enumeration inside http_traversal.rb
- #13443 Merged Pull Request: Add descriptions to auxiliary modules Actions
- #11523 Merged Pull Request: MSF5: Remove unneeded RHOST deregister in scanners
- #9542 Merged Pull Request: Typo fix: "withint" --> "within"
- #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
- #6921 Merged Pull Request: Fix #4885, Support basic and form auth at the same time
- #6655 Merged Pull Request: use MetasploitModule as a class name
- #6648 Merged Pull Request: Change metasploit class names
- #6544 Merged Pull Request: Change method name "method" to "http_method" for http_traversal.rb
- #3751 Merged Pull Request: [SeeRM 8836] Change boot.ini to win.ini
- #3629 Merged Pull Request: Http traversal fixes
- #3568 Merged Pull Request: Fix http directory traversal
- #3386 Merged Pull Request: Fix msftidy datastore errors
- #2525 Merged Pull Request: Change module boilerplate
Go back to menu.
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_header
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_hsts
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_login
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_put
- auxiliary/scanner/http/http_sickrage_password_leak
- 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
Authors
- Ewerson Guimaraes(Crash) <crash[at]dclabs.com.br>
- Michael Messner <devnull[at]s3cur1ty.de>
- et <et[at]cyberspace.org>
- sinn3r
Version
This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.1.36-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Go back to menu.
