Reloading payloads doesn't work

[adfoster-r7]

Steps to reproduce

msf6 payload(python/meterpreter_reverse_http) > reload
[*] Reloading module...
[-] Failed to reload: undefined method `loader' for Object:Class

Version

msf6 payload(python/meterpreter_reverse_http) > version
Framework: 6.1.33-dev-e9393e471c
Console  : 6.1.33-dev-e9393e471c

[github-actions[bot]]

Hi!

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[k0pak4]

I took a look into this. It looks like the error is being caused when payloads reload and hit this line: https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/fedcdc386b1bf06c7fd46d1f196c2c926630d8a7/lib/msf/core/module_manager/reloading.rb#L24 I did some debugging to find this in the stack trace. Based on what I can tell, it's because the payload module that's being reloaded does not have a parent class, which is why when the loader is accessed, we get a nil value. I'm not exactly certain of the heirarchy of modules/classes to pin it down, but at a first glance I notice this doesn't happen in auxiliary/exploit/etc modules because they all are subclasses of their main category module (e.g. https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/scanner/http/azure_ad_login.rb) whereas the payload modules do not, which would explain them not having a parent class available for the reload (e.g. https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/payloads/singles/python/meterpreter_reverse_http.rb). I'm not entirely sure where to fix this in the lib, but these details might help someone who can

[adfoster-r7]

Thanks for taking a look! I don't frequently need to reload payloads, so I'll mark this as closed for now.

I believe we'd need to make changes to support calling the recalculation of payload sets to reload a payload module; as a payload module could consist of multiple stages from the filesystem - unlike aux/post/etc modules which have a 1:1 mapping of Ruby code to a file sitting on the disk

[github-actions[bot]]

Thanks for your contribution to Metasploit Framework! We've looked at this issue, and unfortunately we do not currently have the bandwidth to prioritize this issue.

We've labeled this as attic and closed it for now. If you believe this issue has been closed in error, or that it should be prioritized, please comment with additional information.

[tinmarino]

For people trying to develop a payload, you can use msfvenom for dev / test cycles

msfvenom  -p windows/my_windows_payload