🔌 Plugins & Mixins¶

Metasploit's modular architecture allows it to be extended in two key ways: Plugins add high-level features to MSFconsole, while Mixins are Ruby modules that provide reusable functionality to exploit and auxiliary modules.

1️⃣ Plugins¶

Plugins extend MSFconsole with new commands and capabilities. They load into the running MSFconsole session and add new commands to the prompt.

Loading a Plugin¶

# Load a plugin
msf6 > load <plugin_name>

# Example: Load the Nessus plugin
msf6 > load nessus

# Example: Load the aggregator plugin
msf6 > load aggregator

Listing Available Plugins¶

Plugins are stored in /usr/share/metasploit-framework/plugins/. You can list them:

ls /usr/share/metasploit-framework/plugins/

Unloading a Plugin¶

msf6 > unload <plugin_name>

2️⃣ Useful Built-in Plugins¶

Example: Using the WMAP Plugin¶

msf6 > load wmap

# Add a target site
msf6 > wmap_sites -a http://10.10.10.5

# Set the target
msf6 > wmap_targets -t http://10.10.10.5

# Run the scan
msf6 > wmap_run -e

# View results
msf6 > wmap_vulns -l

Example: Using the Alias Plugin¶

msf6 > load alias

# Create shortcuts for common commands
msf6 > alias set ll "sessions -l"
msf6 > alias set dc "db_connect"
msf6 > alias set hosts "hosts -c address,os_name,os_flavor"

# Now just type the alias
msf6 > ll

3️⃣ Mixins¶

Mixins are Ruby modules that provide reusable code to Metasploit modules. They are the building blocks that give exploit and auxiliary modules their functionality — things like making HTTP requests, sending TCP packets, parsing responses, and handling authentication.

How Mixins Work¶

In Ruby, a mixin is a module that gets "mixed into" a class using include. Metasploit modules include various mixins to gain specific capabilities:

class MetasploitModule < Msf::Exploit::Remote
  # These are mixins:
  include Msf::Exploit::Remote::HttpClient     # HTTP request methods
  include Msf::Exploit::Remote::Tcp            # Raw TCP socket methods
  include Msf::Auxiliary::Report               # Database reporting methods
  include Msf::Exploit::FileDropper            # Clean up dropped files
end

Common Mixins¶

4️⃣ Writing a Plugin¶

Custom plugins are Ruby scripts placed in ~/.msf4/plugins/:

# ~/.msf4/plugins/hello.rb
module Msf
  class Plugin::Hello < Msf::Plugin
    class HelloCommandDispatcher
      include Msf::Ui::Console::CommandDispatcher

      def name
        'Hello'
      end

      def commands
        { 'hello' => 'Say hello' }
      end

      def cmd_hello(*args)
        print_good("Hello from the custom plugin!")
      end
    end

    def initialize(framework, opts)
      super
      add_console_dispatcher(HelloCommandDispatcher)
      print_status("Hello plugin loaded.")
    end

    def cleanup
      remove_console_dispatcher('Hello')
    end

    def name
      'hello'
    end
  end
end

msf6 > load hello
[*] Hello plugin loaded.
msf6 > hello
[+] Hello from the custom plugin!

5️⃣ Gotchas¶