Security Insights from Nmap Scans
Now that we can parse Nmap XML data, let's extend our script to extract security-relevant information. This includes:
- Identifying potentially risky open ports
- Detecting outdated service versions
- Summarizing security concerns
Let's create an enhanced version of our parser that focuses on security analysis.
Creating a Security Analysis Script
Create a new file called security_analysis.py:
nano ~/project/security_analysis.py
Copy and paste the following code:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
import sys
import datetime
## Define potentially risky ports
HIGH_RISK_PORTS = {
'21': 'FTP - File Transfer Protocol (often unencrypted)',
'23': 'Telnet - Unencrypted remote access',
'25': 'SMTP - Email transfer (may allow relay)',
'445': 'SMB - Windows file sharing (potential target for worms)',
'3389': 'RDP - Remote Desktop Protocol (target for brute force)',
'1433': 'MSSQL - Microsoft SQL Server',
'3306': 'MySQL - Database access',
'5432': 'PostgreSQL - Database access'
}
## Services with known security issues
OUTDATED_SERVICES = {
'ssh': [
{'version': '1', 'reason': 'SSHv1 has known vulnerabilities'},
{'version': 'OpenSSH 7', 'reason': 'Older OpenSSH versions have multiple CVEs'}
],
'http': [
{'version': 'Apache httpd 2.2', 'reason': 'Apache 2.2.x is end-of-life'},
{'version': 'Apache httpd 2.4.1', 'reason': 'Apache versions before 2.4.30 have known vulnerabilities'},
{'version': 'nginx 1.14', 'reason': 'Older nginx versions have security issues'}
]
}
def analyze_security(xml_file):
try:
## Parse the XML file
tree = ET.parse(xml_file)
root = tree.getroot()
## Prepare the report
report = []
report.append("NMAP SECURITY ANALYSIS REPORT")
report.append("=" * 50)
report.append(f"Report generated on: {datetime.datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')}")
report.append(f"Scan started at: {root.get('startstr')}")
report.append(f"Scan command: {root.get('args')}")
report.append("=" * 50)
## Track security findings
high_risk_services = []
potentially_outdated = []
exposed_services = []
## Process each host in the scan
for host in root.findall('host'):
## Get host addresses
ip_address = None
for addr in host.findall('address'):
if addr.get('addrtype') == 'ipv4':
ip_address = addr.get('addr')
hostname = "Unknown"
hostnames = host.find('hostnames')
if hostnames is not None:
hostname_elem = hostnames.find('hostname')
if hostname_elem is not None:
hostname = hostname_elem.get('name')
report.append(f"\nHOST: {ip_address} ({hostname})")
report.append("-" * 50)
## Process ports
ports = host.find('ports')
if ports is None:
report.append("No port information available")
continue
open_ports = 0
for port in ports.findall('port'):
port_id = port.get('portid')
protocol = port.get('protocol')
## Get port state
state = port.find('state')
if state is None or state.get('state') != "open":
continue
open_ports += 1
## Get service information
service = port.find('service')
if service is None:
service_name = "unknown"
service_product = ""
service_version = ""
else:
service_name = service.get('name', 'unknown')
service_product = service.get('product', '')
service_version = service.get('version', '')
service_full = f"{service_product} {service_version}".strip()
## Check if this is a high-risk port
if port_id in HIGH_RISK_PORTS:
high_risk_services.append(f"{ip_address}:{port_id} ({service_name}) - {HIGH_RISK_PORTS[port_id]}")
## Check for outdated services
if service_name in OUTDATED_SERVICES:
for outdated in OUTDATED_SERVICES[service_name]:
if outdated['version'] in service_full:
potentially_outdated.append(f"{ip_address}:{port_id} - {service_name} {service_full} - {outdated['reason']}")
## Track all exposed services
exposed_services.append(f"{ip_address}:{port_id}/{protocol} - {service_name} {service_full}")
report.append(f"Open ports: {open_ports}")
## Add security findings to report
report.append("\nSECURITY FINDINGS")
report.append("=" * 50)
## High-risk services
report.append("\nHIGH-RISK SERVICES")
report.append("-" * 50)
if high_risk_services:
for service in high_risk_services:
report.append(service)
else:
report.append("No high-risk services detected")
## Potentially outdated services
report.append("\nPOTENTIALLY OUTDATED SERVICES")
report.append("-" * 50)
if potentially_outdated:
for service in potentially_outdated:
report.append(service)
else:
report.append("No potentially outdated services detected")
## Exposed services inventory
report.append("\nEXPOSED SERVICES INVENTORY")
report.append("-" * 50)
if exposed_services:
for service in exposed_services:
report.append(service)
else:
report.append("No exposed services detected")
## Write the report to a file
report_file = "security_report.txt"
with open(report_file, 'w') as f:
f.write('\n'.join(report))
print(f"Security analysis complete. Report saved to {report_file}")
## Display a summary
print("\nSummary:")
print(f"- High-risk services: {len(high_risk_services)}")
print(f"- Potentially outdated services: {len(potentially_outdated)}")
print(f"- Total exposed services: {len(exposed_services)}")
except ET.ParseError as e:
print(f"Error parsing XML file: {e}")
return False
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error: {e}")
return False
return True
if __name__ == "__main__":
if len(sys.argv) != 2:
print(f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} <nmap_xml_file>")
sys.exit(1)
xml_file = sys.argv[1]
if not analyze_security(xml_file):
sys.exit(1)
Save the file by pressing Ctrl+O, then Enter, and exit nano with Ctrl+X.
Make the script executable:
chmod +x ~/project/security_analysis.py
Running the Security Analysis
Let's run our security analysis script on the Nmap XML file:
cd ~/project
./security_analysis.py localhost_scan.xml
The script will analyze the scan results and generate a security report focused on potential vulnerabilities, saving it to a file called security_report.txt.
Let's look at the content of the report:
cat ~/project/security_report.txt
Understanding the Security Analysis
The security analysis script performs several important functions:
-
High-Risk Port Identification: It identifies commonly exploited ports like FTP (21), Telnet (23), and RDP (3389), which are frequent targets for attackers.
-
Outdated Service Detection: It checks for older versions of services like SSH, Apache, and nginx that may have known security vulnerabilities.
-
Exposed Services Inventory: It creates a complete inventory of all open ports and services, which is valuable for security auditing.
-
Risk Categorization: It organizes findings by risk level to help prioritize security improvements.
This type of analysis is crucial for security professionals to identify potential vulnerabilities in a network before attackers can exploit them.
Extending the Analysis
In a real-world scenario, you might want to extend this analysis by:
- Adding more high-risk ports to the detection list
- Updating the outdated service definitions with the latest vulnerability information
- Integrating with vulnerability databases to check for known CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures)
- Adding recommendations for remediation of detected issues
The ability to programmatically analyze Nmap XML data is a powerful skill for cybersecurity professionals, as it allows for automated vulnerability assessment and integration with larger security monitoring systems.
