The Metasploit Project is a computer security project that provides information about security
vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signature development.
Its best-known sub-project is the open source Metasploit Framework, a tool for developing
and executing exploit code against a remote target machine. Other important sub-projects
include the Opcode Database, shellcode archive and related research.
The Metasploit Project is well known for its anti-forensic and evasion tools, some of which
are built into the Metasploit Framework.
History Metasploit was created by HD Moore in 2003
as a portable network tool using Perl. By 2007, the Metasploit Framework had been completely
rewritten in Ruby. On October 21, 2009, the Metasploit Project announced that it had been
acquired by Rapid7, a security company that provides unified vulnerability management
solutions. Like comparable commercial products such as
Immunity's Canvas or Core Security Technologies' Core Impact, Metasploit can be used to test
the vulnerability of computer systems or to break into remote systems. Like many information
security tools, Metasploit can be used for both legitimate and unauthorized activities.
Since the acquisition of the Metasploit Framework, Rapid7 has added two open core proprietary
editions called Metasploit Express and Metasploit Pro.
Metasploit's emerging position as the de facto exploit development framework led to the release
of software vulnerability advisories often accompanied by a third party Metasploit exploit
module that highlights the exploitability, risk and remediation of that particular bug.
Metasploit 3.0 began to include fuzzing tools, used to discover software vulnerabilities,
rather than just exploits for known bugs. This avenue can be seen with the integration
of the lorcon wireless toolset into Metasploit 3.0 in November 2006. Metasploit 4.0 was released
in August 2011. Metasploit Framework
The basic steps for exploiting a system using the Framework include:
Choosing and configuring an exploit; Optionally checking whether the intended target
system is susceptible to the chosen exploit; Choosing and configuring a payload;
Choosing the encoding technique so that the intrusion-prevention system ignores the encoded
payload; Executing the exploit.
This modular approach – allowing the combination of any exploit with any payload – is the
major advantage of the Framework. It facilitates the tasks of attackers, exploit writers and
payload writers. Metasploit runs on Unix and on Windows. The
Metasploit Framework can be extended to use add-ons in multiple languages.
To choose an exploit and payload, some information about the target system is needed, such as
operating system version and installed network services. This information can be gleaned
with port scanning and OS fingerprinting tools such as Nmap. Vulnerability scanners such
as Nexpose or Nessus can detect target system vulnerabilities. Metasploit can import vulnerability
scan data and compare the identified vulnerabilities to existing exploit modules for accurate exploitation.
Metasploit Interfaces There are several interfaces for Metasploit
available. The most popular are maintained by Rapid7 and Strategic Cyber LLC.
Metasploit Framework Edition The free version. It contains a command line
interface, third-party import, manual exploitation and manual brute forcing.
Metasploit Community Edition In October 2011, Rapid7 released Metasploit
Community Edition, a free, web-based user interface for Metasploit. Metasploit Community
is based on the commercial functionality of the paid-for editions with a reduced set of
features, including network discovery, module browsing and manual exploitation. Metasploit
Community is included in the main installer. Metasploit Express
In April 2010, Rapid7 released Metasploit Express, an open-core commercial edition for
security teams who need to verify vulnerabilities. It offers a graphical user interface, integrates
nmap for discovery, and adds smart bruteforcing as well as automated evidence collection.
Metasploit Pro In October 2010, Rapid7 added Metasploit Pro,
an open-core commercial Metasploit edition for penetration testers. Metasploit Pro includes
all features of Metasploit Express and adds web application scanning and exploitation,
social engineering campaigns and VPN pivoting. Armitage
Armitage is a graphical cyber attack management tool for the Metasploit Project that visualizes
targets and recommends exploits. It is a free and open source network security tool notable
for its contributions to red team collaboration allowing for, shared sessions, data, and communication
through a single Metasploit instance. Cobalt Strike
Cobalt Strike is a collection of threat emulation tools provided by Strategic Cyber LLC to work
with the Metasploit Framework. Cobalt Strike includes all features of Armitage and add
post-exploitation tools, in addition to report generation features.
Payloads Metasploit offers many types of payloads,
including: Command shell enables users to run collection
scripts or run arbitrary commands against the host.
Meterpreter enables users to control the screen of a device using VNC and to browse, upload
and download files. Dynamic payloads enables users to evade anti-virus
defenses by generating unique payloads. Contributors
Metasploit Framework operates as an open-source project and accepts contributions from the
community through GitHub.com pull requests. Submissions are reviewed by a team consisting
of both Rapid7 employees and senior external contributors. The majority of contributions
add new modules, such as exploits or scanners. List of original developers:
H. D. Moore Matt Miller
spoonm See also
w3af References
Further reading Powerful payloads: The evolution of exploit
frameworks, searchsecurity.com, 2005-10-20 Chapter 12: Writing Exploits III from Sockets,
Shellcode, Porting & Coding: Reverse Engineering Exploits and Tool Coding for Security Professionals
by James C. Foster. Written by Vincent Liu, chapter 12 explains how to use Metasploit
to develop a buffer overflow exploit from scratch.
HackMiami Pwn-Off Hack-A-Thon review of Metasploit Express
External links Official website
Metasploit Community – The Official Metasploit online community
Metasploit Unleashed – Mastering The Framework