Fun With Python OS Imports
Introduction
In this article we are going to explore about the ways in which we can import and use os module in python. This can be applied to other modules based on the context.
The Standard Way
1import os
2
3os.system('ls')1from os import system
2
3system('ls')Using importlib
1import importlib
2
3importlib.import_module('os').system('ls')Using __import__
1os = __import__('os')
2
3os.system('ls')Using sys
1# If `sys` and `os` is already imported or accessible.
2
3sys.modules['os'].system('ls')Using eval
1os = eval('__import__("os")')
2
3os.system('ls')Using exec
1exec('import os; os.system("ls")')Other Ways
Using Hex
1eval(bytes.fromhex('5f5f696d706f72745f5f28226f732229')).system('ls')
2
3exec(bytes.fromhex('696d706f7274206f733b6f732e73797374656d28226c732229'))
4
5__import__(bytes.fromhex('6f73').decode()).system('ls')Using String Manipulation
1__import__(''.join(['o', 's'])).system('ls')
2
3__import__('o1s1'.replace('1', '')).system('ls')Using other packages
1# If already imported package exposes `os`
2
3logging.os.system('ls')
4
5getattr(logging, 'o1s1'.replace('1', '')).system('ls')
6getattr(logging, bytes.fromhex('6f73').decode()).system('ls')1getattr(getattr(logging, 'o1s1'.replace('1', '')), 's1y1s1t1e1m1'.replace('1', ''))('ls')1import operator
2
3f = operator.methodcaller('o1s1'.replace('1', ''))
4os = f(logging)
5
6f = operator.methodcaller('s1y1s1t1e1m1'.replace('1', ''), 'ls')
7f(os)1import operator
2
3l = globals().get('l1o1g1g1i1n1g1'.replace('1', ''))
4
5o = getattr(l, 'o1s1'.replace('1', ''))
6
7f = operator.methodcaller('s1y1s1t1e1m1'.replace('1', ''), 'ls')
8f(o)Conclusion
We can also combine hex, replace and other methods in different ways. There are a plenty of ways to use the os package even if we restrict it somehow. I’m still exploring the possibilities. If I come to know more possibilities, I’ll update here.