The Metasploit Project is a computer security project which provides information about security vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signaturedevelopment.
Its most well-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 security research.
The Metasploit Project is also well known for 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 the Perl scripting language. Later, the Metasploit Framework was completely rewritten in the Ruby programming language.[2] On October 21, 2009, the Metasploit Project announced[3] 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 to protect them 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 twoopen core proprietary editions called Metasploit Express and Metasploit Pro.
Metasploit's emerging position as the de facto exploit development framework[4] has led in recent times 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.[5][6] Metasploit 3.0 (Ruby language) is also beginning to include fuzzing tools, used to discover software vulnerabilities, rather than just exploits for currently public bugs. This new avenue has been seen with the integration of the lorcon wireless (802.11) toolset into Metasploit 3.0 in November 2006.
Metasploit 4.0 was released in August 2011.
[edit]Metasploit Framework
The basic steps for exploiting a system using the Framework include:
- Choosing and configuring an exploit (code that enters a target system by taking advantage of one of its bugs; about 900 different exploits for Windows, Unix/Linux and Mac OS X systems are included);
- Checking whether the intended target system is susceptible to the chosen exploit (optional);
- Choosing and configuring a payload (code that will be executed on the target system upon successful entry; for instance, a remote shell or a VNC server);
- Choosing the encoding technique to encode the payload so that the intrusion-prevention system (IPS) will not catch the encoded payload;
- Executing the exploit.
This modularity of allowing to combine 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 (including Linux and Mac OS X) and on Windows. It includes two command-line interfaces, a web-based interface and a native GUI. The web interface is intended to be run from the attacker's computer. The Metasploit Framework can be extended to use external 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 scanningand OS fingerprinting tools such as nmap. Vulnerability scanners such as Nexpose or Nessus can detect the target system vulnerabilities. Metasploit can import vulnerability scan data and compare the identified vulnerabilities to existing exploit modules for accurate exploitation.[7]
[edit]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.
[edit]Metasploit Express
In April 2010, Rapid7 released Metasploit Express, an open-core commercial edition for security teams who need to verify vulnerabilities.Built on the Metasploit Framework, it offers a graphical user interface, integrates nmap for discovery, and adds smart bruteforcing as well as automated evidence collection.
[edit]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.