Rapid7

module

SpecialFolderDatablock - Windows LNK File Special UNC Path NTLM Leak

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Disclosed
May 10, 2025
Created
Oct 1, 2025

Description

This module creates a malicious Windows shortcut (LNK) file that
specifies a special UNC path in SpecialFolderDatablock of Shell Link (.LNK)
that can trigger an authentication attempt to a remote server. This can be used
to harvest NTLM authentication credentials.

When a victim browse to the location of the LNK file, it will attempt to
connect to the the specified UNC path, resulting in an SMB connection that
can be captured to harvest credentials.

Author

Nafiez

Platform

Windows

References

Module Options

To display the available options, load the module within the Metasploit console and run the commands 'show options' or 'show advanced':


    msf > use auxiliary/fileformat/specialfolder_leak
    msf auxiliary(specialfolder_leak) > show actions
        ...actions...
    msf auxiliary(specialfolder_leak) > set ACTION < action-name >
    msf auxiliary(specialfolder_leak) > show options
        ...show and set options...
    msf auxiliary(specialfolder_leak) > run
Title
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