How to deprecate a Metasploit module

Metasploit has a very specific way to deprecate a module. To do so, you must be using the Msf::Module::Deprecated mixin. The reason you must be using this mixin is because two things:

1. You are required to set a deprecation date. That way we know when to remove it.
2. You are required to set a replacement of the module you wish to deprecate.

Usage

To use the Msf::Module::Deprecated, here's how:

1 - In the module you wish to deprecate, add the following require statement:

require 'msf/core/module/deprecated'

2 - Under class metasploit3 of your module, include the following:

include Msf::Module::Deprecated

3 - Define the DEPRECATION_DATE constant:

DEPRECATION_DATE = Date.new(2014, 9, 21) # Sep 21

4 - Define the DEPRECATION_REPLACEMENT constant:

# The new module is exploits/linux/http/dlink_upnp_exec_noauth
DEPRECATION_REPLACEMENT = 'exploits/linux/http/dlink_upnp_exec_noauth'

When the user loads that module, they should see a warning like this:

msf > use exploit/windows/misc/test 

[!] ************************************************************************
[!] *             The module windows/misc/test is deprecated!              *
[!] *              It will be removed on or about 2014-09-21               *
[!] *        Use exploits/linux/http/dlink_upnp_exec_noauth instead        *
[!] ************************************************************************

Code example

require 'msf/core'
require 'msf/core/module/deprecated'

class Metasploit3 < Msf::Exploit::Remote
  Rank = ExcellentRanking

  include Msf::Module::Deprecated

  DEPRECATION_DATE = Date.new(2014, 9, 21)
  DEPRECATION_REPLACEMENT = 'exploits/linux/http/dlink_upnp_exec_noauth'

  def initialize(info = {})
    super(update_info(info,
      'Name'        => 'Msf::Module::Deprecated Example',
      'Description' => %q{
        This shows how to use Msf::Module::Deprecated.
      },
      'Author'      => [ 'sinn3r' ],
      'License'     => MSF_LICENSE,
      'References'  => [ [ 'URL', 'http://metasploit.com' ] ],
      'DisclosureDate' => 'Apr 01 2014',
      'Targets'        => [ [ 'Automatic', { } ] ],
      'DefaultTarget'  => 0
    ))
  end

  def exploit
    print_debug("Code example")
  end

end