5984,6984 - Pentesting CouchDB

👉 Overview

👀 What ?

Pentesting CouchDB is the practice of testing the security of CouchDB, a NoSQL database, to identify any vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers.

🧐 Why ?

CouchDB is widely used for its scalability and distributed architecture, making it a frequent target for attackers. Pentesting helps to preemptively identify and resolve any potential security issues, thereby protecting sensitive data and maintaining the integrity of the system.

⛏️ How ?

Pentesting CouchDB involves multiple steps. It starts with enumeration where information about the database is collected. Next is vulnerability scanning using tools like Nmap. If vulnerabilities are found, the next step is exploitation using scripts or manual methods. Finally, post-exploitation activities are performed to understand the depth of the breach.

⏳ When ?

Pentesting CouchDB should be done regularly, especially before deploying any major updates or changes to the database. Additionally, it should be performed after any suspected security incidents to ensure that the integrity of the database is maintained.

⚙️ Technical Explanations

CouchDB is a NoSQL, document-oriented database that uses JSON to store data, JavaScript for its query language, and HTTP for its API. This makes it perfectly suited for web applications, but its web-ready nature also makes it a frequent target for attacks. That's why penetration testing, or pentesting, is essential for ensuring the security of CouchDB.

Pentesting for CouchDB is a multi-step process. First, it involves enumeration, which is the process of collecting as much information as possible about the database. This could include the CouchDB version, a list of available databases, and a list of users. This can be achieved using curl or any HTTP client.

The next step is vulnerability scanning. Tools like Nmap and Nessus are used to reveal open ports, running services, and potential vulnerabilities. These tools work by sending various packets to the system and then analyzing the responses.

If a vulnerability is identified during the scanning phase, the next step is exploitation where an attempt is made to leverage the vulnerability to gain unauthorized access or perform malicious actions. This typically involves using scripts or manual methods to exploit the identified vulnerability.

Post-exploitation activities follow a successful exploitation. In this phase, the focus is on understanding the depth of the breach and seeing what an attacker could do once they've gained access. This could include extracting data, escalating privileges, or even creating backdoor for future access. It's important to note that these actions are performed not to cause harm, but to understand the potential threats and close the vulnerabilities.

For instance, let's consider a step-by-step pentesting on a hypothetical CouchDB database.

1. Enumeration

Use the curl command to fetch the CouchDB version and list of databases.

curl <http://localhost:5984>
curl <http://localhost:5984/_all_dbs>

The first command returns information about the CouchDB instance, including the version. The second command lists all the databases in the CouchDB instance.

2. Vulnerability Scanning

Use Nmap to scan for open ports and running services.

nmap -p 5984 localhost

This command scans the port 5984 (default CouchDB port) on the localhost to check if it's open and to identify the running service.

3. Exploitation

Let's assume Nmap found an open CouchDB port and you identified a vulnerability that allows unauthorized user creation. You could attempt to create a new user as follows:

curl -X PUT <http://localhost:5984/_users/org.couchdb.user:username> -d '{"name": "username", "password": "password", "roles": [], "type": "user"}'

This command creates a new user "username" with the password "password". It's an example of how an attacker could exploit a misconfigured CouchDB instance.

4. Post-Exploitation

After gaining access, an attacker might try to extract sensitive data or escalate their privileges. For instance, they might list all documents in a database:

curl <http://localhost:5984/database_name/_all_docs>

This command lists all documents in the specified database, potentially revealing sensitive data.

Each of these steps demonstrates the importance of regular pentesting to identify and fix security vulnerabilities in CouchDB databases.