Metasploit › Module 6 › Lesson 4
Payload Lab
search/info/show options on payloads — pair with handler on $LAB only.
Visual · msf_payload_lab
Lab: payload literacy pack. No binaries for real hosts. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
Evidence is options literacy — not a shell on a stranger.
On msfconsole: search payload, pick a lab-appropriate name, info it, show options. If your lab brief includes a controlled exercise on $LAB, set LHOST/LPORT to lab values only. Save redacted notes — no payload files emailed or dropped on workstations.
1. Search and info
search payload platform:windows (or your lab OS).
info one staged and one stageless name.
Command guide
Try these commands — Search and info
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
Payload lab — https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/working-with-payloads/ Meterpreter — https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/meterpreter-overview/
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu): Kali: preinstalled, or: sudo apt install metasploit-framework
macOS: Prefer Kali/Linux VM — brew install metasploit (heavy)
Windows: Use Kali VM or WSL with metasploit-framework — not raw Windows host
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Command — copy this
msfconsole -q -x 'use exploit/multi/handler; set PAYLOAD generic/shell_reverse_tcp; show options; back; exit' 2>/dev/null || echo 'Payload selection literacy — lab VM only'
Primary tools to practice this lesson: msfconsole. Reference sites: Payload lab (https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/working-with-payloads/); Meterpreter (https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/meterpreter-overview/). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. show options
Record LHOST, LPORT, EXITFUNC meanings.
Unset options before closing console.
3. Ethics checkpoint
Confirm target is $LAB VM you own.
No persistence, no pivot to host LAN.
4. What you ship: payload lab notes
search + info + show options transcript. $LAB RoE line.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Redacted console notes path.
6. Wrong vs right: stranger hosts vs YOUR lab VM
Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.
Wrong
msfvenom output aimed at a classmate PC.
Right
Literacy notes only. Next: quiz.
Mission: payload literacy lab
1) search payload. 2) info two names. 3) show options on one; define LHOST for $LAB.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
Ask Mentor: “Which options are required vs optional?”
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Lab proves:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: msfvenom at strangers is homework.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Target must be:
Multiple choice