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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "gRPC Goat - An intentionally vulnerable gRPC Security Lab" |
| 3 | +description: "A comprehensive Lab for learning and testing gRPC security vulnerabilities." |
| 4 | +publishDate: 2025-09-17 |
| 5 | +tags: ["grpc-goat", "vulnerable-lab", "tutorial", "security-lab"] |
| 6 | +draft: false |
| 7 | +comment: true |
| 8 | +--- |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +# Launching gRPC Goat |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +Hi, I'm JS aka @rootxjs launching **gRPC Goat** - an intentionally vulnerable gRPC application for learning and testing gRPC security vulnerabilities. |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +## Background |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +gRPC has become increasingly popular in microservices architectures, but security testing approaches differ significantly from traditional REST APIs. The binary protocol format and HTTP/2 transport layer introduce specific challenges: |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +- Standard web testing tools require adaptation for Protocol Buffers |
| 19 | +- HTTP/2 multiplexing creates different attack vectors than HTTP/1.1 |
| 20 | +- gRPC reflection services can inadvertently expose service definitions |
| 21 | +- Authentication and authorization patterns vary across implementations |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +## Repository |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +https://github.com/rootxjs/grpc-goat/ |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +## Documentation |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +https://rootxjs.github.io/docs/grpc_goat_docs/getting-started/ |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +## Labs Overview |
| 32 | + |
| 33 | +The project includes 9 labs covering common gRPC security vulnerabilities: |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +- gRPC Reflection Enabled |
| 36 | +- Plaintext gRPC |
| 37 | +- Insecure TLS |
| 38 | +- Arbitrary mTLS |
| 39 | +- mTLS Subject Validation |
| 40 | +- Unix Socket World Writable |
| 41 | +- SQL Injection |
| 42 | +- Command Injection |
| 43 | +- Server-Side Request Forgery |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +Each lab contains a realistic vulnerability with detailed exploitation documentation and mitigation guidance. |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +## Motivation |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +While excellent vulnerable applications exist for web security learning (DVWA, WebGoat), the gRPC ecosystem lacked a comprehensive security lab. During penetration testing engagements, I encountered gRPC services but had limited resources for practicing attack techniques specific to this protocol. |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +gRPC Goat addresses this gap by providing hands-on experience with vulnerabilities commonly found in production gRPC implementations - from basic misconfigurations to complex implementation flaws. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +## Getting Started |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +```bash |
| 56 | +git clone https://github.com/rootxjs/grpc-goat.git |
| 57 | +cd grpc-goat |
| 58 | +docker-compose up -d |
| 59 | +``` |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +Each lab runs on a dedicated port with comprehensive documentation covering exploitation techniques and defensive measures. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +Whether you're conducting gRPC security assessments or exploring modern API security, gRPC Goat provides practical experience with real-world vulnerability scenarios. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +Keep Learning! |
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