Stress Testing
hping3 is a network tool able to send custom TCP/IP packets and display target replies. It is widely used for firewall testing, port scanning, network testing, and performance analysis.
sudo apt install hping3
hping3 [options] <target>
hping3 is a powerful command-line packet crafting tool that enables security professionals to construct and send custom TCP/IP packets. Unlike Nmap which follows predefined scanning patterns, hping3 gives full control over every packet field including flags, sequence numbers, window sizes, and payload content.
hping3 is widely used for firewall rule testing, port scanning, operating system fingerprinting, network performance measurement, and authorized stress testing. Its ability to craft arbitrary packets makes it invaluable for testing how network devices handle unusual or malformed traffic.
The tool supports TCP, UDP, ICMP, and RAW-IP protocols, with features for fragmentation, source IP spoofing, port scanning, and flood generation. It also includes a Tcl-based scripting engine for automated testing scenarios.
hping3 -S -p 80 targetSYN packet to port 80 — Test port responsehping3 --flood -S -p 80 targetSYN flood — Stress testing (authorized)hping3 -1 targetICMP ping — Basic connectivityhping3 -S --scan 1-1000 targetPort scan — Find open portshping3 -S -p 80 --spoof 1.2.3.4 targetSpoofed source — Test firewall ruleshping3 -A -p 80 targetACK scan — Probe stateful firewall inspection behaviorhping3 -2 -p 53 targetUDP mode — Send UDP packets to test port 53 (DNS)hping3 -F -P -U -p 80 targetXmas scan — Set FIN, PUSH, and URG flags togetherhping3 -S -p ++1 -c 100 targetIncrementing port — Increase destination port by 1 for each packethping3 -1 -C 8 targetICMP type — Send ICMP echo requests (type 8) explicitlyhping3 -S -p 80 --tcp-timestamp targetTCP timestamp — Estimate target uptime from timestampshping3 --flood -S -p 80 --rand-source targetRandomized flood — SYN flood with random spoofed sources (authorized)hping3 -S -p 80 -f targetFragmentation — Split packets to test IDS/firewall handlinghping3 -1 -d 65495 targetLarge ICMP — Send oversized ICMP payload (ping-of-death style test)hping3 -S -p 80 -a 10.0.0.5 targetFixed spoof — Set a specific spoofed source addressVerify firewall rules by sending custom packets with specific flags, ports, and source addresses.
Assess open ports using SYN, ACK, FIN, or NULL scans with full control over packet headers.
Simulate denial-of-service conditions with SYN floods, ICMP floods, or custom flood patterns.
Identify target operating systems by analyzing responses to crafted TCP/IP packets.
Validate anti-spoofing firewall rules by sending packets with forged source IP addresses.
Discover maximum transmission unit along network paths using fragmented packets.
Information Gathering
Automated network scanner with service detection and scripting.
Sniffing & Spoofing
Python packet manipulation library for programmatic packet crafting.
Stress Testing
Slow HTTP DoS tool for testing web server connection handling.
Stress Testing
HTTP KeepAlive stress testing tool for web applications.
Sniffing & Spoofing
Command-line packet capture tool for analyzing hping3 test results.
Sniffing & Spoofing
GUI packet analysis for deep inspection of crafted packet responses.
Outputs a stream showing the packets sent and the exact responses received, including latency metrics and TCP flag statuses.
This tool is designed for authorized security testing, educational purposes, and legitimate network administration only. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal.