PostgreSQL Version Probe - Metasploit

This page contains detailed information about how to use the auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.

Module Overview

Name: PostgreSQL Version Probe
Module: auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version
Source code: modules/auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version.rb
Disclosure date: -
Last modification time: 2017-08-26 21:01:10 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): -
Target service / protocol: postgres
Target network port(s): 5432
List of CVEs: -

Enumerates the version of PostgreSQL servers.

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/postgres/postgres_version
msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > show options
    ... show and set options ...
msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > set RHOSTS ip-range
msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > exploit

Other examples of setting the RHOSTS option:

Example 1:

msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.3-192.168.1.200

Example 2:

msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > set RHOSTS 192.168.1.1/24

Example 3:

msf auxiliary(postgres_version) > 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

Description

This module identifies the target host's PostgreSQL version. This occurs via the PostgreSQL API, which by default runs on port 5432.

Vulnerable Application

Installation of PostgreSQL on Kali Linux:

While many versions of Kali Linux come with a PostgreSQL installation out of the box, in the event that you are using a containerized Kali Linux or other minimal installation, installation and setup of PostgreSQL is required.

The following instructions assume you are beginning with a fresh Kali installation as the root user.

apt-get update
apt-get install postgresql
systemctl start postgresql

At this point, PostgreSQL is installed and the installation has created the necessary user accounts to run the server. This is where most users would begin the verification process. At this point, we'll setup a user account for use within the postgres_version module

sudo --login --user postgres
psql
CREATE USER msf_documentation WITH PASSWORD 'msf_documentation'

Verification Steps

use auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version
set RHOSTS [ips]
set RPORT [port]
set USERNAME [username]
set PASSWORD [password]
run

Scenarios

PostgreSQL 10.4 on Kali Linux

msf > use auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version
msf auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > set RHOSTS 10.10.10.25
RHOSTS => 10.10.10.25
msf auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > set USERNAME msf_documentation
USERNAME => msf_documentation
msf auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > set PASSWORD msf_documentation
PASSWORD => msf_documentation
msf auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > run

[*] 10.10.10.25:5432 Postgres - Version PostgreSQL 10.4 (Debian 10.4-2) on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 7.3.0-18) 7.3.0, 64-bit (Post-Auth)
[*] Scanned 1 of 1 hosts (100% complete)
[*] Auxiliary module execution completed

Confirming

postgresql

# sudo --login --user postgres psql
psql (10.4 (Debian 10.4-2))
Type "help" for help.

postgres=# SELECT version();
                                                                   version
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Postgres - Version PostgreSQL 10.4 (Debian 10.4-2) on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (Debian 7.3.0-18) 7.3.0, 64-bit
(1 row)

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Msfconsole Usage

Here is how the scanner/postgres/postgres_version auxiliary module looks in the msfconsole:

msf6 > use auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version

msf6 auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > show info

       Name: PostgreSQL Version Probe
     Module: auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version
    License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
       Rank: Normal

Provided by:
  todb <[email protected]>

Check supported:
  No

Basic options:
  Name      Current Setting  Required  Description
  ----      ---------------  --------  -----------
  DATABASE  template1        yes       The database to authenticate against
  PASSWORD  postgres         no        The password for the specified username. Leave blank for a random password.
  RHOSTS                     yes       The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
  RPORT     5432             yes       The target port
  THREADS   1                yes       The number of concurrent threads (max one per host)
  USERNAME  postgres         yes       The username to authenticate as
  VERBOSE   false            no        Enable verbose output

Description:
  Enumerates the version of PostgreSQL servers.

References:
  http://www.postgresql.org

Module Options

This is a complete list of options available in the scanner/postgres/postgres_version auxiliary module:

msf6 auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > show options

Module options (auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version):

   Name      Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----      ---------------  --------  -----------
   DATABASE  template1        yes       The database to authenticate against
   PASSWORD  postgres         no        The password for the specified username. Leave blank for a random password.
   RHOSTS                     yes       The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
   RPORT     5432             yes       The target port
   THREADS   1                yes       The number of concurrent threads (max one per host)
   USERNAME  postgres         yes       The username to authenticate as
   VERBOSE   false            no        Enable verbose output

Advanced Options

Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the scanner/postgres/postgres_version auxiliary module:

msf6 auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > show advanced

Module advanced options (auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version):

   Name                 Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----                 ---------------  --------  -----------
   ShowProgress         true             yes       Display progress messages during a scan
   ShowProgressPercent  10               yes       The interval in percent that progress should be shown
   WORKSPACE                             no        Specify the workspace for this module

Auxiliary Actions

This is a list of all auxiliary actions that the scanner/postgres/postgres_version module can do:

msf6 auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > show actions

Auxiliary actions:

   Name  Description
   ----  -----------

Evasion Options

Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the scanner/postgres/postgres_version auxiliary module in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):

msf6 auxiliary(scanner/postgres/postgres_version) > show evasion

Module evasion options:

   Name  Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----  ---------------  --------  -----------

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Error Messages

This module may fail with the following error messages:

Error Messages

<RHOST>:<RPORT> Postgres - Authentication Error Fingerprint: <RESULT:UNKNOWN>
<RHOST>:<RPORT> Connection Error

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.

<RHOST>:<RPORT> Postgres - Authentication Error Fingerprint: <RESULT:UNKNOWN>

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> Postgres - Authentication Error Fingerprint: <RESULT:UNKNOWN>" error message:

86:	        vprint_good "#{rhost}:#{rport} Postgres - Logged in to '#{database}' with '#{user}':'#{password}'"
87:	        print_status "#{rhost}:#{rport} Postgres - Version #{result[:auth]} (Post-Auth)"
88:	      elsif result[:preauth]
89:	        print_good "#{rhost}:#{rport} Postgres - Version #{result[:preauth]} (Pre-Auth)"
90:	      else # It's something we don't know yet
91:	        vprint_status "#{rhost}:#{rport} Postgres - Authentication Error Fingerprint: #{result[:unknown]}"
92:	        print_status "#{rhost}:#{rport} Postgres - Version Unknown (Pre-Auth)"
93:	      end
94:	
95:	      # Reporting
96:	      report_service(

<RHOST>:<RPORT> Connection Error

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> Connection Error" error message:

124:	
125:	      # Logout
126:	      postgres_logout
127:	
128:	    rescue Rex::ConnectionError
129:	      vprint_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} Connection Error: #{$!}"
130:	      return :done
131:	    end
132:	
133:	  end
134:	end

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