Metasploit Web Service

The Metasploit web service allows interaction with Metasploit's various data models through a REST API.

Managing the Web Service

Requirements

To use the web service you will need a PostgreSQL database to serve as the backend data store. The msfdb tool allows you to manage both the Metasploit Framework database and web service. If you are going configure the database manually you can find more information on the Managing the Database page.

Getting Started

Initialize the Database and Web Service

Execute msfdb init and respond to prompts during the interactive initialization. The script first creates and configures the database, then it configures the web service, and finally configures the local msfconsole with the new data service connection.

msfdb

The msfdb tool allows you to manage both the Metasploit Framework database and web service components together or independently. If the --component option is not provided then the specified command will be executed for the database followed by the web service. This default mode of operation is useful when first setting up the database and web service. The component may be specified if you wish to make changes to a given component independent of the other.

Usage: msfdb [options] <command>

• Options:
  • Execute msfdb --help for the complete usage information
• Commands:
  • init - initialize the component
  • reinit - delete and reinitialize the component
  • delete - delete and stop the component
  • status - check component status
  • start - start the component
  • stop - stop the component
  • restart - restart the component

Examples

• msfdb start - Start the database and web service
• msfdb --component webservice stop - Stop the web service
• msfdb --component webservice --address 0.0.0.0 start - Start the web service, listening on any host address

Notes

• SSL is enabled by default and msfdb will generate a fake "snakeoil" SSL certificate during initialization using Rex::Socket::Ssl.ssl_generate_certificate if one is not provided. The generated SSL certificate uses a random common name (CN) which will not match your hostname, therefore, you will need to make appropriate accommodations when operating the web service with such a certificate. Please generate your own SSL certificate and key instead and supply those to msfdb using the --ssl-cert-file and --ssl-key-file options, and enable SSL verification by passing the option --no-ssl-disable-verify.

• A simple verification that web service is up and running can be performed using cURL: curl --insecure -H "Accept: application/json" -H "Authorization: Bearer <token>" https://localhost:8080/api/v1/msf/version

Accessing the API

The API account can be accessed with your preferred web browser by visiting https://localhost:8080/api/v1/auth/account. If you want to change the API token for your account you can log in to the API account page and generate a new API token. You can find more information on the data models and various API endpoints by visiting the API Documentation at: https://<address>:<port>/api/v1/api-docs

Utilizing the Data Service in msfconsole

Connecting

You can use the db_connect command to connect to the desired data service. Please note that you can only be connected to one data service at a time. The db_disconnect command will need to be used before switching to a new data service. You can use db_status to see information about the currently connected data service.

Usage:

• db_connect <options> <url>
• Options:
  • -l,--list-services - List the available data services that have been previously saved.")
  • -n,--name - Connect to a previously saved data service by specifying the name.")
  • -c,--cert - Certificate file matching the remote data server's certificate. Needed when using self-signed SSL cert.
  • -t,--token - The API token used to authenticate to the remote data service.
  • --skip-verify - Skip validating authenticity of server's certificate. NOT RECOMMENDED.
• Examples:
  • db_connect http://localhost:8080 - Connect to the Metasploit REST API instance at localhost running on port 8080
  • db_connect -c ~/.msf4/msf-ws-cert.pem -t 72ce00fd9ab1a96970137e5a12faa12f38dcc4a9e42158bdd3ce7043c65f5ca37b862f3faf3630d2 https://localhost:8080 - Connect to the server running at localhost on port 8080 that has SSL and authentication enabled.
  • db_connect -l - List the data services that have been saved using the db_save command.
  • db_connect -n LA_server - Connect to the data service named "LA_server" that has been previously saved using db_save.
• URL Formats
  • HTTP - http://<host>:<port>
  • HTTPS - https://<host>:<port>
  • Postgres - <user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<database name>

Saving the Connection

The currently connected data service can be saved for later use using the db_save command. The default connection is the data service that msfconsole will connect to on startup.

Usage:

• db_save <options> <name>
• Options:
  • -d,--default - Set this data service as the default connection.
  • -c,--clear-default - Clear the currently set default data service.
  • --delete - Delete the specified data service.
• Examples:
  • db_save new_york_server - Save the current connection as "new_york_server".
  • db_save -d LA_server - Save the current connection as "LA_server" and set it as the default.
  • db-save --delete new_york_server - Delete the "new_york_server" entry.

Notes

There are a few pieces of information to keep in mind when using data services with Metasploit Framework.

• A Postgres database connection is required before connecting to a remote data service.
• The configuration from the database.yml will still be honored for the foreseeable future, but a saved default data service will take priority when it is present.
• The saved data services are stored in the Metasploit config file, which is located at ~/.msf4/config by default.