#readwise
# Using the Metasploit Framework - Plugins

## Metadata
- Author: [[Hack The Box]]
- Full Title: Using the Metasploit Framework - Plugins
- URL: https://academy.hackthebox.com/module/39/section/413
## Summary
The Metasploit Framework allows users to enhance their experience with plugins, which are additional software integrated into the system. These plugins help automate tasks and simplify the process of managing vulnerabilities and services. Users can install new plugins by placing them in the designated plugins directory and loading them in the msfconsole. Familiarizing yourself with available plugins can save time and improve efficiency during penetration testing.
## Highlights
Plugins are readily available software that has already been released by third parties and have given approval to the creators of Metasploit to integrate their software inside the framework. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jrmas4ax2jm76bdrv95mk1v1))
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The use of plugins makes a pentester's life even easier, bringing the functionality of well-known software into the `msfconsole` or Metasploit Pro environments. Whereas before, we needed to cycle between different software to import and export results, setting options and parameters over and over again, now, with the use of plugins, everything is automatically documented by `msfconsole` into the database we are using and hosts, services and vulnerabilities are made available at-a-glance for the user. [Plugins](https://www.rubydoc.info/github/rapid7/metasploit-framework/Msf/Plugin) work directly with the API and can be used to manipulate the entire framework. They can be useful for automating repetitive tasks, adding new commands to the `msfconsole`, and extending the already powerful framework. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jrmat6awh77z6hcnb6nhry65))
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To start using a plugin, we will need to ensure it is installed in the correct directory on our machine. Navigating to `/usr/share/metasploit-framework/plugins`, which is the default directory for every new installation of `msfconsole`, should show us which plugins we have to our availability ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jrmavzc7qemz703ry599qs2t))
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If the plugin is found here, we can fire it up inside `msfconsole` and will be met with the greeting output for that specific plugin, signaling that it was successfully loaded in and is now ready to use ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jrmax7wjds7b4z16payjh6ke))
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For example:
```
load nessus
```
([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jrmaxcav3tt4m62k269sxdzj))
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