Targets are unique operating system identifiers taken from the versions of those specific operating systems which adapt the selected exploit module to run on that particular version of the operating system. The show targets command issued within an exploit module view will display all available vulnerable targets for that specific exploit, while issuing the same command in the root menu, outside of any selected exploit module, will let us know that we need to select an exploit module first.
There is a large variety of target types. Every target can vary from another by service pack, OS version, and even language version. It all depends on the return address and other parameters in the target or within the exploit module.
The return address can vary because a particular language pack changes addresses, a different software version is available, or the addresses are shifted due to hooks. It is all determined by the type of return address required to identify the target. This address can be jmp esp, a jump to a specific register that identifies the target, or a pop/pop/ret. For more on the topic of return addresses, see the Stack-Based Buffer Overflows on Windows x86 module. Comments in the exploit module's code can help us determine what the target is defined by.
To identify a target correctly, we will need to: