Metasploit VS Rack::Attack

The democratization of powerful software technologies is a double-edged sword. On one hand, open-source tools empower organizations and individuals to bolster their cybersecurity defenses without incurring steep financial costs. On the other hand, these same tools can be harnessed by malicious actors, leading to a surge in both the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks. Open-source resources like Metasploit and Nmap have become household names in the cybersecurity community, offering versatile frameworks for identifying vulnerabilities and network mapping. Their accessibility has contributed significantly to the proliferation of both defensive and offensive cyber tactics.

Cyberwarfare can range from cyber espionage to full-scale digital assaults against critical infrastructures. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of these attacks, the demand for transparent, flexible, and cost-effective cybersecurity solutions has never been higher. Open source cybersecurity tools meet this demand head-on. Their transparency allows vulnerabilities to be identified and fixed rapidly, while collaborative development fosters innovation across the globe. Key tools such as Snort, Wireshark, Metasploit, Suricata, and Nmap form the bedrock of modern network defense. These widely recognized projects exemplify how community-driven efforts not only enhance the efficiency of threat detection but also democratize cybersecurity by removing high licensing costs from the equation.

The practical applications of open-source software in cybersecurity are both diverse and impressive. Consider the widely used Snort Intrusion Detection System, a success story that illustrates the innovation driven by community support—Snort continues to be a cornerstone in threat detection globally. Another prime example is the Metasploit Framework, which demonstrates how dual-licensing models support both the open-source community and commercial products simultaneously. To explore Metasploit’s unique approach further, visit Metasploit. Stories like these underline the fact that well-licensed open-source projects can offer sustainable, cutting-edge defense mechanisms against cyber threats.

Antivirus Software: Norton Antivirus and McAfee. Firewall Solutions: Palo Alto Networks and Cisco Firepower. Penetration Testing Tools: Metasploit and Burp Suite. Threat Intelligence Platforms: Recorded Future and ThreatConnect.

The Metasploit exploit module that we will use to exploit this vulnerability is exploit/multi/samba/usermap_script. You can find the source code and comments for this module at: https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/samba/usermap_script.rb

Metasploit

Metasploit: https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework

The first line of defense should be to put rate-limiting on your login endpoints. rack-attack can help with that. I recommend to limit the login attempts to 5 per minute for a username and block the IP for 30 minutes. You should also limit the number of login attempts from the same IP address, but this needs to be adjusted to the application you are working on, because if it is a tool used in classrooms, it might be legit to have 50 logins within a few minutes from the same IP. (I have a few post written about rack-attack)

Rack::Attack

Second vote for rack-attack!

You could use something like Rack Attack to mitigate this type of behavior if it becomes an issue.

The final gem I like to include in all projects is rack-attack. This is a rate limiting tool which is great for throttling dangerous actions in your app to prevent bot attacks or other malicious users.

rack-attack to prevent bruteforce and DDoS attacks

Check out Rack Attack. It lets you block bots that make requests too fast to be real users, or that request obviously-suspect URLs (/phpmyadmin for example). There are lots of other options, but those are the quick wins IMO.