Nmap http-methods NSE Script


This page contains detailed information about how to use the http-methods NSE script. For list of all NSE scripts, visit the Nmap NSE Library.

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Overview
Error Messages

Script Overview

Script source code: https://github.com/nmap/nmap/tree/master/scripts/http-methods.nse
Script categories: default, safe
Target service / protocol: http, https
Target network port(s): 80, 443, 631, 7080, 8080, 8443, 8088, 5800, 3872, 8180, 8000
List of CVEs: -

Script Description

The http-methods.nse script finds out what options are supported by an HTTP server by sending an OPTIONS request. Lists potentially risky methods. It tests those methods not mentioned in the OPTIONS headers individually and sees if they are implemented. Any output other than 501/405 suggests that the method is if not in the range 400 to 600. If the response falls under that range then it is compared to the response from a randomly generated method.

In this script, "potentially risky" methods are anything except GET, HEAD, POST, and OPTIONS. If the script reports potentially risky methods, they may not all be security risks, but you should check to make sure. This page lists the dangers of some common methods:

The list of supported methods comes from the contents of the Allow and Public header fields. In verbose mode, a list of all methods is printed, followed by the list of potentially risky methods. Without verbose mode, only the potentially risky methods are shown.

Http-methods NSE Script Arguments

This is a full list of arguments supported by the http-methods.nse script:

http-methods.retest

If defined, do a request using each method individually and show the response code. Use of this argument can make this script unsafe; for example DELETE / is possible. All methods received through options are tested with generic requests. Saved status lines are shown for rest.

http-methods.test-all

If set true tries all the unsafe methods as well.

http-methods.url-path

The path to request. Defaults to /.

smbdomain

The domain to log in with. If you aren't in a domain environment, then anything will (should?) be accepted by the server.

smbhash

A password hash to use when logging in. This is given as a single hex string (32 characters) or a pair of hex strings (both 32 characters, optionally separated by a single character). These hashes are the LanMan or NTLM hash of the user's password, and are stored on disk or in memory. They can be retrieved from memory using the fgdump or pwdump tools.

smbnoguest

Use to disable usage of the 'guest' account.

smbpassword

The password to connect with. Be cautious with this, since some servers will lock accounts if the incorrect password is given. Although it's rare that the Administrator account can be locked out, in the off chance that it can, you could get yourself in trouble. To use a blank password, leave this parameter off altogether.

smbtype

The type of SMB authentication to use. These are the possible options:

  • v1: Sends LMv1 and NTLMv1.
  • LMv1: Sends LMv1 only.
  • NTLMv1: Sends NTLMv1 only (default).
  • v2: Sends LMv2 and NTLMv2.
  • LMv2: Sends LMv2 only.
  • NTLMv2: Doesn't exist; the protocol doesn't support NTLMv2 alone. The default, NTLMv1, is a pretty decent compromise between security and compatibility. If you are paranoid, you might want to use v2 or lmv2 for this. (Actually, if you're paranoid, you should be avoiding this protocol altogether!). If you're using an extremely old system, you might need to set this to v1 or lm, which are less secure but more compatible. For information, see smbauth.lua.

smbusername

The SMB username to log in with. The forms "DOMAIN\username" and "username@DOMAIN" are not understood. To set a domain, use the smbdomain argument.

slaxml.debug

Debug level at which default callbacks will print detailed parsing info. Default: 3

http.host

The value to use in the Host header of all requests unless otherwise set. By default, the Host header uses the output of stdnse.get_hostname().

http.max-body-size

Limit the received body to specific number of bytes. An oversized body results in an error unless script argument http.truncated-ok or request option truncated_ok is set to true. The default is 2097152 (2MB). Use value -1 to disable the limit altogether. This argument can be overridden case-by-case with request option max_body_size.

http.max-cache-size

The maximum memory size (in bytes) of the cache.

http.max-pipeline

If set, it represents the number of outstanding HTTP requests that should be sent together in a single burst. Defaults to http.pipeline (if set), or to what function get_pipeline_limit returns.

http.pipeline

If set, it represents the number of HTTP requests that'll be sent on one connection. This can be set low to make debugging easier, or it can be set high to test how a server reacts (its chosen max is ignored).

http.truncated-ok

Do not treat oversized body as error. (Use response object flag truncated to check if the returned body has been truncated.) This argument can be overridden case-by-case with request option truncated_ok.

http.useragent

The value of the User-Agent header field sent with requests. By default it is "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Nmap Scripting Engine; https://nmap.org/book/nse.html)". A value of the empty string disables sending the User-Agent header field.

- - -
To use these script arguments, add them to the Nmap command line using the --script-args arg1=value,[arg2=value,..] syntax. For example:

nmap --script=http-methods --script-args http-methods.retest=value,http-methods.test-all=value <target>

Http-methods NSE Script Example Usage

Here's an example of how to use the http-methods.nse script:

nmap --script http-methods <target>

nmap --script http-methods --script-args http-methods.url-path='/website' <target>

Http-methods NSE Script Example Output

Here's a sample output from the http-methods.nse script:

PORT   STATE SERVICE REASON
80/tcp open  http    syn-ack
| http-methods:
|_  Supported Methods: GET HEAD POST OPTIONS

Http-methods NSE Script Example XML Output

Here's a sample XML output from the http-methods.nse script produced by providing the -oX <file> Nmap option:

 <table key="Supported Methods">
   <elem>GET</elem>
   <elem>HEAD</elem>
   <elem>POST</elem>
   <elem>OPTIONS</elem>
 </table>

Authors

References

See Also

Visit Nmap NSE Library for more scripts.

The http-methods.nse script may fail with the following error messages. Check for the possible causes by using the code snippets highlighted below found in the script source code. This can often times help in identifying the root cause of the problem.

OPTIONS %s failed.

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "OPTIONS %s failed." error message:

140:	  test_all_unsafe = stdnse.get_script_args(SCRIPT_NAME .. ".test-all") or false
141:	
142:	  response = http.generic_request(host, port, "OPTIONS", path)
143:	  if not response.status then
144:	    options_status = false
145:	    stdnse.debug1("OPTIONS %s failed.", path)
146:	  end
147:	  -- Cache in case retest is requested.
148:	  if options_status then
149:	    options_status_line = response["status-line"]
150:	    stdnse.debug1("HTTP Status for OPTIONS is " .. response.status)

Random Method %s failed.

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Random Method %s failed." error message:

177:	  local random_resp = http.generic_request(host, port, rand.random_alpha(4):upper(), path)
178:	
179:	  if random_resp.status then
180:	    stdnse.debug1("Response Code to Random Method is %d", random_resp.status)
181:	  else
182:	    stdnse.debug1("Random Method %s failed.", path)
183:	  end
184:	
185:	  for _, method in pairs(to_test) do
186:	    response = http.generic_request(host, port, method, path)
187:	    if response.status and check_allowed(random_resp, response) then

Error getting response

Here is a relevant code snippet related to the "Error getting response" error message:

219:	        str = status_lines[method]
220:	      -- this case arises when methods in the Public or Allow headers are retested.
221:	      else
222:	        response = http.generic_request(host, port, method, path)
223:	        if not response.status then
224:	          str = "Error getting response"
225:	        else
226:	          str = response["status-line"]
227:	        end
228:	      end
229:	      str = str:gsub('\r?\n?', "")

Version

This page has been created based on Nmap version 7.92.

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