Gaining Access with Remote File Inclusion
Yesterday’s post explored gaining access to a webserver using a local file inclusion (LFI) exploit. Today, I will explore how to gain access using remote file inclusion (RFI). The main difference between LFI and RFI is the the former requires an attacker to upload a malicious payload to a target server. With RFI, an attacker can exploit a system by using a malicious file hosted on a remote system. According to Impervia, RFI “is an attack targeting vulnerabilities in web applications that dynamically reference external scripts. The perpetrator's goal is to exploit the referencing function in an application to upload malware (e.g., backdoor shells) from a remote URL located within a different domain” ( https://www.incapsula.com/web-application-security/rfi-remote-file-inclusion.html ). Generally speaking, both of these attacks are usually accompanied by a directory traversal attack which can lead to revealing sensitive data and increase the effectiveness of an attack. The tool...