## On this page
* [List of supported reference identifiers](#list-of-supported-reference-identifiers)
* [Code example of references in a module](#code-example-of-references-in-a-module)


A reference in a Metasploit module is a source of information related to the module. This can be a link to the vulnerability advisory, a news article, a blog post about a specific technique the module uses, a specific tweet, etc. The more you have the better. However, you should not use this as a form of advertisement.

## List of supported reference identifiers 

ID  | Source | Code Example
------------- | ------------- | -------------
CVE  | cvedetails.com | ```['CVE', '2014-9999']```
CWE | cwe.mitre.org | ```['CWE', '90']```
BID | securityfocus.com | ```['BID', '1234']```
MSB | technet.microsoft.com | ```['MSB', 'MS13-055']```
EDB | exploit-db.com | ```['EDB', '1337']```
US-CERT-VU | kb.cert.org | ```['US-CERT-VU', '800113']```
ZDI | zerodayinitiative.com | ```['ZDI', '10-123']```
WPVDB | wpvulndb.com | ```['WPVDB', '7615']```
PACKETSTORM | packetstormsecurity.com | ```['PACKETSTORM', '132721']```
GHSA | github.com/advisories or github.com/owner/repo/security/advisories | ```['GHSA', 'xxxx-xxxx-xxxx']``` or ```['GHSA', 'xxxx-xxxx-xxxx', 'owner/repo']```
URL | anything | ```['URL', 'http://example.com/blog.php?id=123']```
AKA (_deprecated_*) | anything | ~~`['AKA', 'shellshock']`~~

> **Good to know**    
> AKA names for modules are no longer stored as a reference identifier, but rather in the `Notes` metadata field as shown in the example below.

## Code example of references in a module

```ruby
class MetasploitModule < Msf::Exploit::Remote
  Rank = NormalRanking

  def initialize(info = {})
    super(
      update_info(
        info,
        'Name' => 'Code Example',
        'Description' => %q{
          This is an example of a module using references
        },
        'License' => MSF_LICENSE,
        'Author' => [ 'Unknown' ],
        'References' => [
          [ 'CVE', '2014-9999' ],
          ['BID', '1234'],
          ['URL', 'http://example.com/blog.php?id=123']
        ],
        'Platform' => 'win',
        'Targets' => [
          [ 'Example', { 'Ret' => 0x41414141 } ]
        ],
        'Payload' => {
          'BadChars' => "\x00"
        },
        'Privileged' => false,
        'DisclosureDate' => '2014-04-01',
        'DefaultTarget' => 0,
        'Notes' => {
          'AKA' => [ 'shellshock' ]
        }
      )
    )
  end

  def exploit
    print_debug('Hello, world')
  end

end
```
