Moon Empty Template Vulnerability Exploitation: A Technical Analysis

Moon Empty Template Vulnerability Exploitation: A Technical Analysis

Introduction

In the vast expanse of the digital world, vulnerabilities in software templates can have far-reaching consequences. This article recounts a specific instance of exploiting a vulnerability in the emlog moon empty template, a popular choice for bloggers and content creators. We will delve into the details of the vulnerability, its exploitation, and the subsequent consequences.

The Discovery

It was a typical morning, and I decided to visit the webmaster resource platform to explore new templates for my blog. As I browsed through the free-for-all view of blog-type sites, I stumbled upon the emlog moon empty template. I recalled using this template before, but this time, I noticed something peculiar. The template seemed to be flawed, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was a vulnerability lurking beneath the surface.

Initial Analysis

I decided to approach the vulnerability with a healthy dose of skepticism, relying on my experience to guide me. I began to examine the code, searching for any potential loopholes that could be exploited. After some trial and error, I discovered a glaring vulnerability in the /content/templates/lime.me/function/image.php?url=image.php path. This finding sent a shiver down my spine, as it hinted at the possibility of remote code execution.

Exploitation

With the vulnerability identified, I set out to exploit it. I started by attempting to upload a file to the annex, but each attempt was thwarted by the server’s IP blocking mechanism. Undeterred, I decided to employ a different tactic, utilizing a plugin to upload the file directly into the plugin compression bag. After some experimentation, I found that the /content/plugins/bd_submit/2.php path was vulnerable to exploitation.

Success and Subsequent Analysis

With the file uploaded successfully, I inserted a JavaScript code snippet to mine the server’s resources. However, my excitement was short-lived, as I discovered that the new server had no resources to mine. This led me to realize that the vulnerability was not as significant as I initially thought.

Code Analysis

The following code snippet was collected from Baidu and is a key component of the vulnerability:

<?php
header("Content-Type: image/x-icon; charset=utf-8");

function curl_get($url) {
    $ch = curl_init($url);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, false);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST, false);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/55.0.2883.87 Safari/537.36');
    curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 30);
    $content = curl_exec($ch);
    curl_close($ch);
    return ($content);
}

if (isset($_GET["url"])) {
    $file = curl_get("" . $_GET['url'] . ".");
} else {
    header('Location: https://limh.me');
    echo $file;
}
?>

This code snippet demonstrates the use of the curl_get function to fetch content from a URL, while also highlighting the vulnerability in the /content/plugins/bd_submit/2.php path.

Conclusion

The exploitation of the emlog moon empty template vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of secure coding practices and regular security audits. While this particular vulnerability may not have had significant consequences, it highlights the need for developers and users to remain vigilant and proactive in identifying and addressing potential security risks.

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