b4ntgrim/vuln_exploitation_megaquagga_pentest
Penetration test report for MegaQuagga Publishing documenting a six-phase engagement that chained CVE-2019-9978 and CVE-2023-4842 to achieve unauthenticated Remote Code Execution and a persistent Meterpreter session. Includes full methodology, exploitation evidence, and prioritized remediation recommendations.
Analyst: Samuel Weiss Organization: 0x2A Security Date: April 20, 2026 Client: MegaQuagga Publishing Target: www.megaquagga.local Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
This project documents a structured penetration test conducted against the MegaQuagga Publishing web environment. The engagement confirmed five exploitable vulnerabilities, two of which were chained to achieve unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) and establish a persistent Meterpreter session on the target host.
| File | Description |
|---|
_VULN_EXPLOITATION__MegaQuagga_Pentesting_Report__Samuel_Weiss_.docx | Full penetration test report including scope, six-phase methodology, findings, exploitation evidence, and prioritized remediation recommendations |
In-Scope:
www.megaquagga.localOut-of-Scope / Prohibited:
| Phase | Activity |
|---|---|
| Phase 0 — Pre-Engagement | Formal scoping, rules of engagement, mutual NDA |
| Phase 1 — Reconnaissance | ICMP host discovery; HTTP on TCP/80 confirmed as primary entry vector |
| Phase 2 — Scanning | db_nmap -A via Metasploit; OS detection, service fingerprinting, NSE scripts |
| Phase 3 — Vulnerability Identification | Plugin version cross-reference against NVD, WPScan DB, and Exploit-DB |
| Phase 4 — Exploitation | CVE chaining for unauthenticated RCE and persistent Meterpreter session |
| Phase 5 — Post-Exploitation | Host profiling, access confirmation, blast radius documentation |
swp_url POST parameter before passing it to eval() server-side. An unauthenticated attacker can execute arbitrary PHP code with no credentials required.www-data; read access to wp-config.php (database credentials), all hosted files, and a network pivot point.[Attacker] → CVE-2019-9978 (swp_url injection)
→ PHP payload executed server-side
→ CVE-2023-4842 (reverse shell delivery)
→ Meterpreter session established as www-data
→ Read access to wp-config.php, all hosted files, potential lateral movement
Confirmed Access Level: www-data web server user on megaquagga-web (Ubuntu x86_64)
| Priority | Recommendation | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Critical — Immediate | Update social-warfare to v3.5.3+; remove if unused | 48–72 hours |
| Critical — Immediate | Audit and remove galactic-file-uploader if not business-critical | 48–72 hours |
| Short-Term | Deploy TLS and enforce HTTPS; disable HTTP on port 80 | 30 days |
| Short-Term | Disable or restrict the XML-RPC interface | 30 days |
| Medium-Term | Implement a formal WordPress patch management policy with monthly audits | 90 days |
Penetration test report for MegaQuagga Publishing documenting a six-phase engagement that chained CVE-2019-9978 and CVE-2023-4842 to achieve unauthenticated Remote Code Execution and a persistent Meterpreter session. Includes full methodology, exploitation evidence, and prioritized remediation recommendations.