Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection - Nessus

High Plugin ID: 18600

This page contains detailed information about the Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection Nessus plugin including available exploits and PoCs found on GitHub, in Metasploit or Exploit-DB for verifying of this vulnerability.

Table Of Contents

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Plugin Overview
Vulnerability Information

Synopsis
Description
Solution

Public Exploits
Risk Information
Plugin Source
How to Run
References
Version

Plugin Overview

ID: 18600
Name: Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection
Filename: serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl
Vulnerability Published: 2005-06-29
This Plugin Published: 2005-07-01
Last Modification Time: 2022-04-11
Plugin Version: 1.26
Plugin Type: remote
Plugin Family: CGI abuses
Dependencies: serendipity_detect.nasl
Required KB Items [?]: www/serendipity
Excluded KB Items: Settings/disable_cgi_scanning

Vulnerability Information

Severity: High
Vulnerability Published: 2005-06-29
Patch Published: N/A
CVE [?]: CVE-2005-1921
CPE [?]: cpe:/a:s9y:serendipity

Synopsis

The remote web server contains a PHP script that is prone to a remote code injection attack.

Description

The version of Serendipity installed on the remote host is prone to remote code execution due to a failure of its bundled XML-RPC library to sanitize user-supplied input to the 'serendipity_xmlrpc.php' script. This flaw may allow attackers to execute code remotely subject to the privileges of the web server userid.

Solution

Upgrade to Serendipity version 0.8.2 or later.

Public Exploits

Target Network Port(s): 80
Target Asset(s): Services/www
Exploit Available: True (Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB)
Exploit Ease: No exploit is required

Here's the list of publicly known exploits and PoCs for verifying the Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection vulnerability:

Metasploit: exploit/unix/webapp/php_xmlrpc_eval
[PHP XML-RPC Arbitrary Code Execution]
Exploit-DB: exploits/php/webapps/16882.rb
[EDB-16882: XML-RPC Library 1.3.0 - 'xmlrpc.php' Arbitrary Code Execution (Metasploit)]
Exploit-DB: exploits/php/webapps/43829.txt
[EDB-43829: PHPXMLRPC < 1.1 - Remote Code Execution]

Before running any exploit against any system, make sure you are authorized by the owner of the target system(s) to perform such activity. In any other case, this would be considered as an illegal activity.

WARNING: Beware of using unverified exploits from sources such as GitHub or Exploit-DB. These exploits and PoCs could contain malware. For more information, see how to use exploits safely.

Risk Information

CVSS V2 Vector [?]: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:F/RL:OF/RC:C

CVSS Base Score:	7.5 (High)
Impact Subscore:	6.4
Exploitability Subscore:	10.0
CVSS Temporal Score:	6.2 (Medium)
CVSS Environmental Score:	NA (None)
Modified Impact Subscore:	NA
Overall CVSS Score:	6.2 (Medium)

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Plugin Source

#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 70300
#
# (C) Tenable Network Security, Inc.
#

include('deprecated_nasl_level.inc');
include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(18600);
  script_version("1.26");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2022/04/11");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2005-1921");
  script_bugtraq_id(14088);

  script_name(english:"Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The remote web server contains a PHP script that is prone to a remote
code injection attack.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The version of Serendipity installed on the remote host is prone to
remote code execution due to a failure of its bundled XML-RPC library
to sanitize user-supplied input to the 'serendipity_xmlrpc.php'
script.  This flaw may allow attackers to execute code remotely
subject to the privileges of the web server userid.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2005/Jun/286");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"http://www.hardened-php.net/advisory-022005.php");
  # http://blog.s9y.org/archives/36-CRITICAL-BUGFIX-RELEASE-Serendipity-0.8.2.html
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"http://www.nessus.org/u?041cce31");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Upgrade to Serendipity version 0.8.2 or later.");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:F/RL:OF/RC:C");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No exploit is required");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"metasploit_name", value:'PHP XML-RPC Arbitrary Code Execution');
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_framework_metasploit", value:"true");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2005/06/29");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2005/07/01");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"remote");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/a:s9y:serendipity");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"thorough_tests", value:"true");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_ATTACK);
  script_family(english:"CGI abuses");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2005-2022 Tenable Network Security, Inc.");

  script_dependencies("serendipity_detect.nasl");
  script_require_keys("www/serendipity");
  script_exclude_keys("Settings/disable_cgi_scanning");
  script_require_ports("Services/www", 80);

  exit(0);
}


include("global_settings.inc");
include("misc_func.inc");
include("http.inc");


port = get_http_port(default:80);
if (!can_host_php(port:port)) exit(0);


# Test an install.
install = get_kb_item(string("www/", port, "/serendipity"));
if (isnull(install)) exit(0);
matches = eregmatch(string:install, pattern:"^(.+) under (/.*)$");
if (!isnull(matches)) {
  dir = matches[2];

  # Check whether the script exists.
  w = http_send_recv3(method:"GET", item:string(dir, "/serendipity_xmlrpc.php"), port:port);
  if (isnull(w)) exit(1, "The web server did not answer");
  res = w[2];

  # If it does...
  if ("XML error: no element found at line 1" >< res) {
    # Try to exploit the flaw.
    postdata = string(
      '<?xml version="1.0"?>',
      "<methodCall>",
      "<methodName>blogger.getUsersBlogs</methodName>",
        "<params>",
          "<param><value><string>nessus</string></value></param>",
          "<param><value><string>", SCRIPT_NAME, "</string></value></param>",
          # nb: the actual command doesn't matter for our purposes: it
          #     will just be used for the password (base64 decoded :-).
          "<param><value><base64>'.`id`.'</base64></value></param>",
        "</params>",
      "</methodCall>"
    );
    w = http_send_recv3(method: "POST", port:port,
      item: dir+"/serendipity_xmlrpc.php",
      content_type: "text/xml", data: postdata);
    if (isnull(w)) exit(1, "The web server did not answer");
    res = w[2];
     # There's a problem if we see the code in the XML debug output.
    if ("base64_decode(''.`id`.'')" >< res) {
      security_hole(port);
      exit(0);
    }
  }
}

The latest version of this script can be found in these locations depending on your platform:

Linux / Unix:
/opt/nessus/lib/nessus/plugins/serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl
Windows:
C:\ProgramData\Tenable\Nessus\nessus\plugins\serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl
Mac OS X:
/Library/Nessus/run/lib/nessus/plugins/serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl

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How to Run

Here is how to run the Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection as a standalone plugin via the Nessus web user interface (https://localhost:8834/):

Click to start a New Scan.
Select Advanced Scan.
Navigate to the Plugins tab.
On the top right corner click to Disable All plugins.
On the left side table select CGI abuses plugin family.
On the right side table select Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection plugin ID 18600.
Specify the target on the Settings tab and click to Save the scan.
Run the scan.

Here are a few examples of how to run the plugin in the command line. Note that the examples below demonstrate the usage on the Linux / Unix platform.

Basic usage:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with audit trail message on the console:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -a serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with trace script execution written to the console (useful for debugging):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -T - serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with using a state file for the target and updating it (useful for running multiple plugins on the target):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -K /tmp/state serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

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References

BID | SecurityFocus Bugtraq ID:

14088

See also:

Similar and related Nessus plugins:

21841 - CentOS 3 / 4 : php (CESA-2005:564)
18655 - Debian DSA-745-1 : drupal - input validation errors
19195 - Debian DSA-746-1 : phpgroupware - input validation error
18662 - Debian DSA-747-1 : egroupware - input validation error
19532 - Debian DSA-789-1 : php4 - several vulnerabilities
18640 - Drupal XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection
18624 - Fedora Core 3 : php-4.3.11-2.6 (2005-517)
18625 - Fedora Core 4 : php-5.0.4-10.3 (2005-518)
21379 - FreeBSD : postnuke -- multiple vulnerabilities (0274a9f1-0759-11da-bc08-0001020eed82)
18933 - FreeBSD : pear-XML_RPC -- arbitrary remote code execution (523fad14-eb9d-11d9-a8bd-000cf18bbe54)
19359 - FreeBSD : drupal -- PHP code execution vulnerabilities (f241641e-f5ea-11d9-a6db-000d608ed240)
18605 - GLSA-200507-01 : PEAR XML-RPC, phpxmlrpc: PHP script injection vulnerability
18606 - GLSA-200507-02 : WordPress: Multiple vulnerabilities
18647 - GLSA-200507-06 : TikiWiki: Arbitrary command execution through XML-RPC
18656 - GLSA-200507-07 : phpWebSite: Multiple vulnerabilities
18666 - GLSA-200507-08 : phpGroupWare, eGroupWare: PHP script injection vulnerability
19211 - GLSA-200507-15 : PHP: Script injection through XML-RPC
18597 - Mandrake Linux Security Advisory : php-pear (MDKSA-2005:109)
20180 - phpAdsNew XML-RPC Library Remote Code Injection
18648 - RHEL 3 / 4 : php (RHSA-2005:564)
18805 - Slackware 10.0 / 10.1 / 8.1 / 9.0 / 9.1 / current : PHP (SSA:2005-192-01)
20541 - Ubuntu 4.10 / 5.04 : php4, php4-universe vulnerability (USN-147-1)
20542 - Ubuntu 4.10 / 5.04 : php4, php4-universe fixed packages (USN-147-2)
23752 - Serendipity serendipity_event_bbcode.php Script serendipity[charset] Parameter Local File Inclusion
60097 - Serendipity comment.php url Parameter SQL Injection

Version

This page has been produced using Nessus Professional 10.1.2 (#68) LINUX, Plugin set 202205072148.
Plugin file serendipity_xmlrpc_code_injection.nasl version 1.26. For more plugins, visit the Nessus Plugin Library.

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Serendipity XML-RPC for PHP Remote Code Injection - Nessus

Plugin Overview

Vulnerability Information

Synopsis

Description

Solution

Public Exploits

Risk Information

Plugin Source

How to Run

References

Version

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