---
title: "What is Metasploit? | Daniel Christensen"
canonical_url: "https://danielchristensen.no/en/glossary/metasploit"
last_updated: "2026-09-02T13:55:00.035Z"
locale: en
meta:
  description: "A framework of ready-made exploits, used to test whether known vulnerabilities can actually be exploited."
  "og:description": "A framework of ready-made exploits, used to test whether known vulnerabilities can actually be exploited."
  "og:title": "What is Metasploit?"
---

[← All terms](https://danielchristensen.no/en/glossary)Glossary

# Metasploit

A framework of ready-made exploits, used to test whether known vulnerabilities can actually be exploited.

Metasploit is a framework collecting thousands of ready-made exploits for known vulnerabilities. In a pentest it’s used to prove that a hole can actually be exploited, not just that it exists in theory: the difference between a scanner report and a real finding.

The framework is open source and central to security training and certifications. And the usual rule applies: only against systems you have explicit permission to test.

It’s built from modules: one for the vulnerability itself, one for what should happen if it lands, and one for how that gets packaged. That structure lets a tester run the same attack identically every time, document exactly what was done, and walk through the steps again when the client believes the flaw is fixed.

It doesn’t solve everything, though. Ready-made exploits hit known flaws in known software, while many of the most serious findings in a pentest live in the client’s own code and have to be exploited by hand. Metasploit is also used by defenders: running a known attack against your own test environment is a quick way to check whether your monitoring actually says anything.

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