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Hashcat

Password Attacks

Advancedmedium risk

Hashcat is the world's fastest and most advanced password recovery utility, supporting five unique modes of attack for over 300 highly optimized hashing algorithms. It leverages GPU power for incredible speed.

Installation

sudo apt install hashcat

Basic Syntax

hashcat -m <hash_type> -a <attack_mode> <hash_file> [wordlist]

Quick Facts

Full Name
Hashcat
License
MIT License
Author
Atom (hashcat.net)
Written In
C
Platforms
Linux, Windows, macOS
Category
Password Recovery (Offline)
Hash Types Supported
300+
Attack Modes
5 (Dictionary, Combinator, Brute-force, Hybrid, Rule-based)

Tool Overview

Hashcat is the world's fastest and most advanced password recovery utility. It leverages GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) acceleration to achieve speeds impossible with CPU-only tools, making it the go-to choice for offline hash cracking.

Originally released in 2009, Hashcat supports over 300 hash types including MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, NTLM, bcrypt, WPA/WPA2, and many more. Its five attack modes — dictionary, combinator, brute-force, hybrid, and rule-based — provide flexibility for any password auditing scenario.

Hashcat is an essential tool in penetration testing, security auditing, and red team engagements. Security professionals use it to verify password policies by cracking hashes extracted from SAM databases, Active Directory, and web applications.

Common Commands

hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hashes.txt rockyou.txtMD5 dictionary attack - Cracking MD5 hashes with wordlist
hashcat -m 1000 -a 0 hashes.txt wordlist.txtNTLM hash cracking - Cracking Windows password hashes
hashcat -m 0 -a 3 hashes.txt ?a?a?a?a?a?aBrute force attack - When wordlist fails, try all combinations
hashcat -m 2500 -a 0 capture.hccapx wordlist.txtWPA/WPA2 cracking - Cracking WiFi handshake captures
hashcat --show hashes.txtShow cracked passwords - View previously cracked hashes
hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hashes.txt wordlist.txt -r rules/best64.ruleDictionary with rules - More effective wordlist attack
hashcat -m 22000 -a 0 capture.hc22000 wordlist.txtModern WPA cracking - Crack PMKID/EAPOL in the 22000 format
hashcat -m 1800 -a 0 shadow.txt rockyou.txtLinux shadow - Crack sha512crypt hashes from /etc/shadow
hashcat -m 13100 -a 0 kerb.txt wordlist.txtKerberoast - Crack TGS-REP (Kerberos) service ticket hashes
hashcat -m 1000 -a 6 hashes.txt wordlist.txt ?d?d?d?dHybrid attack - Append a 4-digit mask to each wordlist word
hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hashes.txt wordlist.txt -O -w 3Optimized/fast - Enable optimized kernels and high workload
hashcat -bBenchmark - Measure GPU cracking speed for every hash mode
hashcat -m 0 hashes.txt wordlist.txt --potfile-path=custom.potCustom potfile - Store cracked results in a specific potfile
hashcat -m 0 -a 0 hashes.txt wordlist.txt --session=job1Named session - Enable resume with --restore for long jobs
hashcat --restore --session=job1Resume - Continue a previously interrupted named session

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. 1Identify hash type (use hash-identifier if needed)
  2. 2Find corresponding hashcat mode number (-m)
  3. 3Prepare hash file (one hash per line)
  4. 4Choose attack mode and wordlist
  5. 5Run hashcat and monitor progress
  6. 6Use --show to see cracked passwords

Warnings

Use Cases

Password Auditing

Verify organizational password policies by cracking hashes from SAM databases and Active Directory.

WPA/WPA2 Recovery

Crack WiFi handshake captures to test wireless network security.

CTF Challenges

Solve cryptography and password cracking challenges in capture-the-flag competitions.

Incident Response

Recover compromised passwords during forensic investigations after data breaches.

Compliance Testing

Validate that password complexity requirements are actually effective against modern attacks.

Key Features

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Tags

#password-attacks

Output Explanation

Output shows cracking speed, progress percentage, and cracked passwords in format hash:password. Status shows estimated time remaining.

Ethical Usage Notice

This tool is designed for authorized security testing, educational purposes, and legitimate network administration only. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal.