6 ms·

What is a 'metasploit'? I just suddenly read this 50 times on twitter and I have no idea what's going on. I'm halfway through this article and still not making

What is a 'metasploit'? I just suddenly read this 50 times on twitter and I have no idea what's going on. I'm halfway through this article and still not making sense.

doktrin 14y ago
I wasn't particularly familiar with it either, however there's a wikipedia entry : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasploit_Project http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasploit_Project edit : "metasploit module" is likely a reference to the metasploit framework, which is written in Ruby.
dmix 14y ago
It's an automated vulnerability tester. It will probe websites (and local networks) to find out the OS/server information (IIS, apache, etc), database info (mysql, mssql) and language (asp, php). It then uses a database of known exploits and scripts (all types XSS, SQL injections, etc).
- TallboyOne 14y ago
  So is it a good tool (testing tool) or malicious? If it's a good tool, why would he release it so soon without giving people much time to update? If it's malicious, why is he telling people about it?
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - mingpan 14y ago
    It's intended to be used for security testing against one's own machines, demonstrating a vulnerability if it exists by directly exploiting it. The general nature of such tools, however, is that they can be used for good or for evil. It's just assumed that the bad guys have something of the sort already.
    - jrochkind1 14y ago
      You know, when I look at what it is and what it does... I'm not sure I believe that's what it's 'intended' for, although that certainly is what they say it's intended for. But anyway, in the end, it doesn't matter, it exists. Authorial intent is so 20th century.
      - techpeace 14y ago
        That's exactly what it's intended for, actually. It was built by pentesters to perform their work. I'd rather my security tools be open sourced and available for all the world to see and contribute to. Doing so also compels lazy vendors to patch awful vulnerabilities.
        jrochkind1 14y ago
        Wikipedia says: > The Metasploit Project is also well known for anti-forensic and evasion tools, some of which are built into the Metasploit Framework. If so, how are such functions valuable for a pentest/audit?
        greedo 14y ago
        Say you're doing a pentest, and your target has an IDS/IPS to both prevent infiltration and exfiltration of data. And while you discover a system that is vulnerable, the payload that you want to deploy to this vulnerable system would normally trigger an alert by an IDS. With some of the tools in MSF and BackTrack, you can use an encoding process to obfuscate the payload enough to get past the IDS/IPS. Now a blackhat would be able to do this without BT or Metasploit. The tools are out there, and well known. So the fact that these tools are in BT and Metasploit doesn't change that. But it does make it easier for a pentester to prove a system is vulnerable, and to help a company address their vulnerabilities through remediation.
      - greedo 14y ago
        Think of it like this. The exploits are already out there, whether they're public or not. MSF takes these exploits, and packages them into a coordinated tool. Sounds evil, right? A script kiddie can grab this tool, update it so it has the latest exploits, and voila! pwn the internet. Well, they can do that without MSF. It's just harder. Where MSF helps is with pentesters and other security professionals. When they perform a pentest or audit, tools like MSF/SET/Nexpose allow them to rapidly and accurately determine if a network or system is vulnerable, and prove it (within the bounds of the engagement's scope). Without these tools, a pentest would require far more tedious work.
  - eli 14y ago
    It's both. Or maybe neither. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_disclosure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_disclosure it's a debate that has been going on a long time. Consider that right now the only people scanning IP blocks for vulnerable apps are bad guys.
  - drivebyacct2 14y ago
    >If it's malicious, why is he telling people about it? Because the impact of warning people is almost surely greater than someone new and malicious stumbling onto metasploit at exactly this time when such a large vulnerability is at play. Especially given that metasploit has been around for some time and will continue to long after this exploit is a smudge on RoR's history.
  - muyuu 14y ago
    Intent doesn't matter that much here... fact of the matter is people have an enormous pressure to patch up their known vulnerabilities and this is mostly a good thing.
  - bonzoesc 14y ago
    It's a tool, like a gun. If it's pointed at a computer you have authorization to exploit, it's good. If someone malicious is pointing it at you, it's not.
- raffi 14y ago
  It's a collection of attacks. The open source framework doesn't have this kind of automation. It's used by professionals to conduct manual hacks.
  - dmix 14y ago
    Right, I should have clarified it's used in conjunction with Nexpose (or other scanners) which does the automated scanning.
  - syassami 14y ago
    It used to have an autopwn actually in which they took out a few years ago. It would essentially scan ports, see whats open and throw the entire kitchen sink at it.
    - dmix 14y ago
      Armitage a GUI for Metasploit has a "hail mary" button that does the same.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
TallGuyShort 14y ago
Metasploit is a software package that incorporates all sorts of security vulnerabilities and tools for using them. It's essentially a console where you can target machines, scan for and exploit vulnerabilities, and then install common payloads (like a backdoor for shell access) on the compromised machine.
anthonyb 14y ago
> What is a 'metasploit'? Ruh roh.

What is a 'metasploit'? I just suddenly read this 50 times on twitter and I have no idea what's going on. I'm halfway through this article and still not making sense.

doktrin 14y ago

I wasn't particularly familiar with it either, however there's a wikipedia entry : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasploit_Project http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metasploit_Project edit : "metasploit module" is likely a reference to the metasploit framework, which is written in Ruby.

dmix 14y ago

It's an automated vulnerability tester. It will probe websites (and local networks) to find out the OS/server information (IIS, apache, etc), database info (mysql, mssql) and language (asp, php). It then uses a database of known exploits and scripts (all types XSS, SQL injections, etc).

TallboyOne 14y ago
So is it a good tool (testing tool) or malicious? If it's a good tool, why would he release it so soon without giving people much time to update? If it's malicious, why is he telling people about it?
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- mingpan 14y ago
  It's intended to be used for security testing against one's own machines, demonstrating a vulnerability if it exists by directly exploiting it. The general nature of such tools, however, is that they can be used for good or for evil. It's just assumed that the bad guys have something of the sort already.
  - jrochkind1 14y ago
    You know, when I look at what it is and what it does... I'm not sure I believe that's what it's 'intended' for, although that certainly is what they say it's intended for. But anyway, in the end, it doesn't matter, it exists. Authorial intent is so 20th century.
    - techpeace 14y ago
      That's exactly what it's intended for, actually. It was built by pentesters to perform their work. I'd rather my security tools be open sourced and available for all the world to see and contribute to. Doing so also compels lazy vendors to patch awful vulnerabilities.
      - jrochkind1 14y ago
        Wikipedia says: > The Metasploit Project is also well known for anti-forensic and evasion tools, some of which are built into the Metasploit Framework. If so, how are such functions valuable for a pentest/audit?
        greedo 14y ago
        Say you're doing a pentest, and your target has an IDS/IPS to both prevent infiltration and exfiltration of data. And while you discover a system that is vulnerable, the payload that you want to deploy to this vulnerable system would normally trigger an alert by an IDS. With some of the tools in MSF and BackTrack, you can use an encoding process to obfuscate the payload enough to get past the IDS/IPS. Now a blackhat would be able to do this without BT or Metasploit. The tools are out there, and well known. So the fact that these tools are in BT and Metasploit doesn't change that. But it does make it easier for a pentester to prove a system is vulnerable, and to help a company address their vulnerabilities through remediation.
    - greedo 14y ago
      Think of it like this. The exploits are already out there, whether they're public or not. MSF takes these exploits, and packages them into a coordinated tool. Sounds evil, right? A script kiddie can grab this tool, update it so it has the latest exploits, and voila! pwn the internet. Well, they can do that without MSF. It's just harder. Where MSF helps is with pentesters and other security professionals. When they perform a pentest or audit, tools like MSF/SET/Nexpose allow them to rapidly and accurately determine if a network or system is vulnerable, and prove it (within the bounds of the engagement's scope). Without these tools, a pentest would require far more tedious work.
- eli 14y ago
  It's both. Or maybe neither. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_disclosure http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_disclosure it's a debate that has been going on a long time. Consider that right now the only people scanning IP blocks for vulnerable apps are bad guys.
- drivebyacct2 14y ago
  >If it's malicious, why is he telling people about it? Because the impact of warning people is almost surely greater than someone new and malicious stumbling onto metasploit at exactly this time when such a large vulnerability is at play. Especially given that metasploit has been around for some time and will continue to long after this exploit is a smudge on RoR's history.
- muyuu 14y ago
  Intent doesn't matter that much here... fact of the matter is people have an enormous pressure to patch up their known vulnerabilities and this is mostly a good thing.
- bonzoesc 14y ago
  It's a tool, like a gun. If it's pointed at a computer you have authorization to exploit, it's good. If someone malicious is pointing it at you, it's not.
raffi 14y ago
It's a collection of attacks. The open source framework doesn't have this kind of automation. It's used by professionals to conduct manual hacks.
- dmix 14y ago
  Right, I should have clarified it's used in conjunction with Nexpose (or other scanners) which does the automated scanning.
- syassami 14y ago
  It used to have an autopwn actually in which they took out a few years ago. It would essentially scan ports, see whats open and throw the entire kitchen sink at it.
  - dmix 14y ago
    Armitage a GUI for Metasploit has a "hail mary" button that does the same.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]

TallGuyShort 14y ago

Metasploit is a software package that incorporates all sorts of security vulnerabilities and tools for using them. It's essentially a console where you can target machines, scan for and exploit vulnerabilities, and then install common payloads (like a backdoor for shell access) on the compromised machine.

anthonyb 14y ago

> What is a 'metasploit'? Ruh roh.