21 - Pentesting FTP - HackTricks

# 21 - Pentesting FTP

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## Basic Information

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) serves as a standard protocol for file transfer across a computer network between a server and a client.
It is a plain-text protocol that uses as new line character `0x0d 0x0a` so sometimes you need to connect using `telnet` or `nc -C`.

Default Port: 21

    PORT   STATE SERVICE
    21/tcp open  ftp

### Connections Active & Passive

In Active FTP the FTP client first initiates the control connection from its port N to FTP Servers command port – port 21. The client then listens to port N+1 and sends the port N+1 to FTP Server. FTP Server then initiates the data connection, from its port M to the port N+1 of the FTP Client.

But, if the FTP Client has a firewall setup that controls the incoming data connections from outside, then active FTP may be a problem. And, a feasible solution for that is Passive FTP.

In Passive FTP, the client initiates the control connection from its port N to the port 21 of FTP Server. After this, the client issues a passv comand. The server then sends the client one of its port number M. And the client initiates the data connection from its port P to port M of the FTP Server.

Source: https://www.thesecuritybuddy.com/vulnerabilities/what-is-ftp-bounce-attack/

### Connection debugging

The FTP commands `debug` and `trace` can be used to see how is the communication occurring.

## Enumeration

### Banner Grabbing

    nc -vn <IP> 21
    openssl s_client -connect crossfit.htb:21 -starttls ftp #Get certificate if any

### Connect to FTP using starttls

    lftp
    lftp :~> set ftp:ssl-force true
    lftp :~> set ssl:verify-certificate no
    lftp :~> connect 10.10.10.208
    lftp 10.10.10.208:~> login
    Usage: login <user|URL> [<pass>]
    lftp 10.10.10.208:~> login username Password

### Unauth enum

With nmap

    sudo nmap -sV -p21 -sC -A 10.10.10.10

You can us the commands `HELP` and `FEAT` to obtain some information of the FTP server:

    HELP
    214-The following commands are recognized (* =>'s unimplemented):
    214-CWD     XCWD    CDUP    XCUP    SMNT*   QUIT    PORT    PASV
    214-EPRT    EPSV    ALLO*   RNFR    RNTO    DELE    MDTM    RMD
    214-XRMD    MKD     XMKD    PWD     XPWD    SIZE    SYST    HELP
    214-NOOP    FEAT    OPTS    AUTH    CCC*    CONF*   ENC*    MIC*
    214-PBSZ    PROT    TYPE    STRU    MODE    RETR    STOR    STOU
    214-APPE    REST    ABOR    USER    PASS    ACCT*   REIN*   LIST
    214-NLST    STAT    SITE    MLSD    MLST
    214 Direct comments to root@drei.work

    FEAT
    211-Features:
     PROT
     CCC
     PBSZ
     AUTH TLS
     MFF modify;UNIX.group;UNIX.mode;
     REST STREAM
     MLST modify*;perm*;size*;type*;unique*;UNIX.group*;UNIX.mode*;UNIX.owner*;
     UTF8
     EPRT
     EPSV
     LANG en-US
     MDTM
     SSCN
     TVFS
     MFMT
     SIZE
    211 End

    STAT
    #Info about the FTP server (version, configs, status...)

### Anonymous login

anonymous : anonymous
_anonymous :
_ftp : ftp

    ftp <IP>
    >anonymous
    >anonymous
    >ls -a # List all files (even hidden) (yes, they could be hidden)
    >binary #Set transmission to binary instead of ascii
    >ascii #Set transmission to ascii instead of binary
    >bye #exit

### Brute force

Here you can find a nice list with default ftp credentials: https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/blob/master/Passwords/Default-Credentials/ftp-betterdefaultpasslist.txt

### Automated

Anon login and bounce FTP checks are perform by default by nmap with -sC option or:

    nmap --script ftp-* -p 21 <ip>

## Browser connection

You can connect to a FTP server using a browser (like Firefox) using a URL like:

    ftp://anonymous:anonymous@10.10.10.98

Note that if a web application is sending data controlled by a user directly to a FTP server you can send double URL encode `%0d%0a` (in double URL encode this is `%250d%250a`) bytes and make the FTP server perform arbitrary actions. One of this possible arbitrary actions is to download content from a users controlled server, perform port scanning or try to talk to other plain-text based services (like http).

## Download all files from FTP

    wget -m ftp://anonymous:anonymous@10.10.10.98 #Donwload all
    wget -m --no-passive ftp://anonymous:anonymous@10.10.10.98 #Download all

If your user/password has special characters, the following command can be used:

    wget -r --user="USERNAME" --password="PASSWORD" ftp://server.com/

## Some FTP commands

- `USER username`
- `PASS password`
- `HELP` The server indicates which commands are supported
- `PORT 127,0,0,1,0,80` This will indicate the FTP server to establish a connection with the IP 127.0.0.1 in port 80 (you need to put the 5th char as "0" and the 6th as the port in decimal or use the 5th and 6th to express the port in hex).
- `EPRT |2|127.0.0.1|80|` This will indicate the FTP server to establish a TCP connection (indicated by "2") with the IP 127.0.0.1 in port 80. This command supports IPv6.
- `LIST` This will send the list of files in current folder
  - `LIST -R` List recursively (if allowed by the server)
- `APPE /path/something.txt` This will indicate the FTP to store the data received from a passive connection or from a PORT/EPRT connection to a file. If the filename exists, it will append the data.
- `STOR /path/something.txt` Like `APPE` but it will overwrite the files
- `STOU /path/something.txt` Like `APPE`, but if exists it won't do anything.
- `RETR /path/to/file` A passive or a port connection must be establish. Then, the FTP server will send the indicated file through that connection
- `REST 6` This will indicate the server that next time it send something using `RETR` it should start in the 6th byte.
- `TYPE i` Set transfer to binary
- `PASV` This will open a passive connection and will indicate the user were he can connects
- `PUT /tmp/file.txt` Upload indicated file to the FTP

## FTPBounce attack

Some FTP servers allow the command PORT. This command can be used to indicate to the server that you wants to connect to other FTP server at some port. Then, you can use this to scan which ports of a host are open through a FTP server.

Learn here how to abuse a FTP server to scan ports.

You could also abuse this behaviour to make a FTP server interact with other protocols. You could upload a file containing an HTTP request and make the vulnerable FTP server send it to an arbitrary HTTP server (maybe to add a new admin user?) or even upload a FTP request and make the vulnerable FTP server download a file for a different FTP server.
The theory is easy:

1. Upload the request (inside a text file) to the vulnerable server. Remember that if you want to talk with another HTTP or FTP server you need to change lines with `0x0d 0x0a`
2. Use `REST X` to avoid sending the characters you don't want to send (maybe to upload the request inside the file you needed to put some image header at the beginning)
3. Use `PORT`to connect to the arbitrary server and service
4. Use `RETR`to send the saved request to the server.

Its highly probably that this will throw an error like Socket not writable because the connection doesn't last enough to send the data with `RETR`. Suggestions to try to avoid that are:

- If you are sending an HTTP request, put the same request one after another until ~0.5MB at least. Like this:

posts.txt

- Try to fill the request with "junk" data relative to the protocol (talking to FTP maybe just junk commands or repeating the `RETR`instruction to get the file)
- Just fill the request with a lot of null characters or others (divided on lines or not)

Anyway, here you have an old example about how to abuse this to make a FTP server download a file from a different FTP server.

## Filezilla Server Vulnerability

FileZilla usually binds to local an Administrative service for the FileZilla-Server (port 14147). If you can create a tunnel from your machine to access this port, you can connect to it using a blank password and create a new user for the FTP service.

## Config files

    ftpusers
    ftp.conf
    proftpd.conf
    vsftpd.conf

### Post-Exploitation

The default configuration of vsFTPd can be found in `/etc/vsftpd.conf`. In here, you could find some dangerous settings:

- `anonymous_enable=YES`
- `anon_upload_enable=YES`
- `anon_mkdir_write_enable=YES`
- `anon_root=/home/username/ftp` - Directory for anonymous.
- `chown_uploads=YES` - Change ownership of anonymously uploaded files
- `chown_username=username` - User who is given ownership of anonymously uploaded files
- `local_enable=YES` - Enable local users to login
- `no_anon_password=YES` - Do not ask anonymous for password
- `write_enable=YES` - Allow commands: STOR, DELE, RNFR, RNTO, MKD, RMD, APPE, and SITE

### Shodan

- `ftp`
- `port:21`

## HackTricks Automatic Commands

    Protocol_Name: FTP    #Protocol Abbreviation if there is one.
    Port_Number:  21     #Comma separated if there is more than one.
    Protocol_Description: File Transfer Protocol          #Protocol Abbreviation Spelled out

    Entry_1:
      Name: Notes
      Description: Notes for FTP
      Note: |
        Anonymous Login
        -bi     <<< so that your put is done via binary

        wget --mirror 'ftp://ftp_user:UTDRSCH53c"$6hys@10.10.10.59'
        ^^to download all dirs and files

        wget --no-passive-ftp --mirror 'ftp://anonymous:anonymous@10.10.10.98'
        if PASV transfer is disabled

        https://book.hacktricks.wiki/en/network-services-pentesting/pentesting-ftp/index.html

    Entry_2:
      Name: Banner Grab
      Description: Grab FTP Banner via telnet
      Command: telnet -n {IP} 21

    Entry_3:
      Name: Cert Grab
      Description: Grab FTP Certificate if existing
      Command: openssl s_client -connect {IP}:21 -starttls ftp

    Entry_4:
      Name: nmap ftp
      Description: Anon login and bounce FTP checks are performed
      Command: nmap --script ftp-* -p 21 {IP}

    Entry_5:
      Name: Browser Connection
      Description: Connect with Browser
      Note: ftp://anonymous:anonymous@{IP}

    Entry_6:
      Name: Hydra Brute Force
      Description: Need Username
      Command: hydra -t 1 -l {Username} -P {Big_Passwordlist} -vV {IP} ftp

    Entry_7:
      Name: consolesless mfs enumeration ftp
      Description: FTP enumeration without the need to run msfconsole
      Note: sourced from https://github.com/carlospolop/legion
      Command: msfconsole -q -x 'use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/anonymous; set RHOSTS {IP}; set RPORT 21; run; exit' && msfconsole -q -x 'use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/ftp_version; set RHOSTS {IP}; set RPORT 21; run; exit' && msfconsole -q -x 'use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/bison_ftp_traversal; set RHOSTS {IP}; set RPORT 21; run; exit' && msfconsole -q -x 'use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/colorado_ftp_traversal; set RHOSTS {IP}; set RPORT 21; run; exit' &&  msfconsole -q -x 'use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/titanftp_xcrc_traversal; set RHOSTS {IP}; set RPORT 21; run; exit'

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