What is Msfpayload?

Msfpayload: Remember That? A Look Back at Metasploit’s Old Tool

So, Msfpayload… ever heard of it? It was this command-line tool tucked inside the Metasploit Framework, mainly for whipping up different kinds of shellcode. Think of it as a way for security folks and pen testers to cook up their own custom payloads, especially for those exploits that weren’t quite baked into Metasploit yet. Or, you know, just to kick the tires on shellcode options. But here’s the kicker: Msfpayload is old news. It was put out to pasture back on June 8, 2015, replaced by something called msfvenom.

What Msfpayload Did Back in the Day

Msfpayload was like a standalone version of Metasploit, laser-focused on making payloads. Its bread and butter was creating shellcode. Now, shellcode is just a tiny bit of code that acts as the payload when you’re exploiting a weakness. This little snippet could then do all sorts of things on a target system, like pop open a reverse shell – basically, letting the attacker in – or run commands willy-nilly.

What could you actually do with it?

• Payload Generation: It could create payloads for different operating systems and computer architectures. Pretty neat, huh?
• Customization: You could tweak it to your heart’s content, setting options and variables to get the payload just right. Setting the listening port (LPORT), target address (RHOST), and exit function (EXITFUNC) were all in a day’s work.
• Format Output: It could spit out the payload in different formats, like raw code, C, or even as an executable file.

I remember one time, we had this exploit that Metasploit didn’t cover yet. Msfpayload was a lifesaver! We used it to craft the shellcode, test it out, and then we built our exploit module. It was also a sneaky way to, shall we say, embed a little something extra – a virus or backdoor – into a seemingly innocent internet utility. Naughty, but effective.

Msfpayload vs. Msfvenom: The Upgrade

Msfvenom is basically what happened when Msfpayload and Msfencode had a baby. Msfencode was another command-line tool, and its job was to scramble payloads, making them harder for antivirus software to spot.

Why is msfvenom better?

• One-Stop Shop: It does both payload generation and encoding. Talk about convenience!
• Easier to Use: The command-line options are more standardized. No more head-scratching trying to remember what goes where.
• Faster: It runs faster because it’s all in one place.

Why Did Msfpayload Get the Boot?

The Metasploit folks wanted to make things simpler. Msfpayload and Msfencode were showing their age. Too many parameters, too much jumping back and forth. Msfvenom cleaned house, handling everything in one go and making payload generation a whole lot more consistent.

Msfpayload in Action (Hypothetically)

Okay, so you can’t actually use msfpayload anymore, but let’s pretend. This is how you might have used it to create a Windows reverse TCP shell: