Metasploit › Module 7 › Lesson 1
Sessions Named
sessions -l lists callbacks — interact only on $LAB with written RoE.
Visual · msf_sessions_named
Session = established callback channel. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
A session is evidence of access — treat it like a loaded tool.
After a lab exercise, msfconsole tracks sessions with IDs. sessions -l lists them; sessions -i <id> interacts. Background with background. This is naming and hygiene — not a cookbook to hold shells on real workstations overnight.
1. Session list literacy
sessions -l shows id, type, info, tunnel.
Know which session belongs to which $LAB VM — label notes.
Command guide
Try these commands — Session list literacy
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
Sessions — https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/managing-sessions/ Session types — https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/msf-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 'help sessions; help sessions -l; exit' 2>/dev/null || echo 'Session list/kill literacy'
Primary tools to practice this lesson: msfconsole. Reference sites: Sessions (https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/managing-sessions/); Session types (https://docs.rapid7.com/metasploit/msf-overview/). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. Interact concept
sessions -i 1 enters session 1. background returns to console.
Multiple sessions need a spreadsheet in long labs — still $LAB only.
3. Scope
Sessions on systems you do not own = stop immediately.
Kill lab sessions when exercise ends.
4. What you ship: session command vocabulary
sessions -l / -i / background defined. Kill-when-done rule.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Command list in notes.
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
Keep a session open on a roommate's PC “to learn.”
Right
Name session commands. Next: Meterpreter literacy.
Mission: session vocabulary
1) Write sessions -l purpose. 2) Write sessions -i and background. 3) Write kill-on-done for $LAB.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
Ask Mentor: “sessions -l vs jobs?”
Knowledge Check
APPLY: sessions -l:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Interact any session found on LAN.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: background:
Multiple choice