Pentesting Tools
A popular competition in the cybersecurity community is known as CTF or “Capture the Flag.” These events often take place at hacker conferences such as DEFCON, ROOTCON, HITB, and hackathons. CTF games can be categorized in various ways, including Attack and Defend style, Exploit Development, Packet Capture Analysis, Web Hacking, Digital Puzzles, Cryptography, Stego, Reverse Engineering, Binary Analysis, Mobile Security, and more. In this article, we’ll cover some of the most popular tools used in CTFs and provide examples of how they can be used to solve challenges.
Tools by Name
Here are a given set of commonly used tools used for different stages of the workflow process with samples provided:
Nmap
Network exploration and port scanning tool.
nmap -sS targetIP(TCP SYN Scan)nmap -sU targetIP(UDP Scan)nmap -A targetIP(Aggressive Scan)
Shodan
Search engine for discovering internet-connected devices.
shodan search apache(Search for Apache web servers)shodan host targetIP(Get detailed information about a host)
Recon-ng
Reconnaissance framework for information gathering and OSINT.
recon-ng(Launch the framework)recon-ng> use recon/domains-hosts/bing_domain_web(Use a module)recon-ng> show options(View available options)
theHarvester
Tool for gathering email accounts, subdomains, hosts, employee names, open ports, and banners from different public sources.
theHarvester -d example.com -l 500 -b all(Search for information about a domain)theHarvester -d example.com -b bing(Search for information using Bing search engine)
Dirb
Web content scanner used to find hidden web objects.
dirb https://targetIP/(Scan a website)dirb -o output.txt https://targetIP/(Save the output to a file)
Nikto
Web server scanner designed to scan for web server vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
nikto -h targetIP(Scan a web server)nikto -update(Update Nikto ‘s database)
Enum4linux
Tool for enumerating user accounts and passwords from a Windows or Samba server.
enum4linux -a targetIP(Enumerate all available information)enum4linux -u username -p password targetIP(Specify username and password)
Enumerate Users
Script to enumerate Windows user accounts and groups from a target domain.
enumerate-users -U -G -S -D domainController -u username -p password(Enumerate users, groups, and shares on a domain controller)
Metasploit Framework
Powerful tool used for developing and executing exploits against remote targets.
msfconsole(Launch the framework)msfconsole> use exploit/multi/handler(Use a handler)msfconsole> set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp(Specify the payload)
Burp Suite
Web application penetration testing tool that can be used to identify vulnerabilities in web applications.
burpsuite(Launch the tool)Target > Site map(View the site map)Target > Scope(Configure the scope)
SQLMap
SQL injection exploitation tool that automates the process of detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws.
sqlmap -u "https://targetIP/page.php?id=1"(Detect SQL injection)sqlmap -u "https://targetIP/page.php?id=1" --dump(Dump the database contents)
LinEnum
Script used to enumerate Linux systems and identify privilege escalation vectors.
./LinEnum.sh -t(Run a thorough scan)./LinEnum.sh -k password(Search for passwords)
Windows-Exploit-Suggester
Script that compares a Windows system’s patch level against a database of known vulnerabilities and suggests exploits.
windows-exploit-suggester.py --update(Update the database)windows-exploit-suggester.py
Tools By Challenge Type
Cryptography
CTF challenges often include cryptography as a category, where the goal is to crack or clone cryptographic objects or algorithms to reach the flag. Here are some commonly used tools in CTFs to solve cryptography challenges.
FeatherDuster
An automated, modular cryptanalysis tool
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git clone https://github.com/nccgroup/featherduster.git
cd featherduster
./featherduster
Hash Extender
A utility tool for performing hash length extension attacks
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git clone https://github.com/iagox86/hash_extender.git
cd hash_extender
make
./hash_extender
PkCrack
A tool for Breaking PkZip-encryption
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pkcrack -C encrypted.zip -c plaintext.zip -P password.txt -p plaintext.txt -d decrypted.zip
RSATool
Generate private key with knowledge of p and q
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python RSATool.py -p [prime1] -q [prime2] -n [modulus]
XORTool
A tool to analyze multi-byte xor cipher
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python XORTool.py -x [hexstring] -t [keylength] -f [wordlist.txt]
Steganography
Steganography is the art of hiding messages in plain sight. In CTFs, steganography often involves finding hidden hints or flags using techniques such as encoding messages in media files without instructions. Participants must decode the media to uncover the hidden message.
Steghide
Hide data in various kinds of images
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steghide embed -cf [cover_file] -ef [embedded_file] -p [passphrase]
steghide extract -sf [stego_file] -p [passphrase]
Stegsolve
Apply various steganography techniques to images
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java -jar stegsolve.jar
Zsteg
PNG/BMP analysis
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zsteg -a [stego_file]
Exiftool
Read and write meta information in files
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exiftool [file]
Pngtools
For various analysis related to PNGs
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pngcheck -v [png_file]
pngcrush -n -v [png_file] [output_file]
Web Challenges
Web challenges in CTF competitions typically use HTTP or similar protocols and involve technologies used for displaying and transferring information over the internet, including PHP, CMSs like Django, SQL, JavaScript, and other related technologies.
BurpSuite
A graphical tool for testing website security
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java -jar burp.jar
Postman
An add-on for Chrome for debugging network requests
N/A (Installed as a Browser Extension)
Raccoon
A high-performance offensive security tool for reconnaissance and
vulnerability scanning
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raccoon -u https://[HOSTNAME]/[PATH] -w [wordlist.txt]
SQLMap
Automatic SQL injection and database takeover tool
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sqlmap -u https://[HOSTNAME]/[PATH] --dbs
W3af
Web Application Attack and Audit Framework
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w3af_console
Forensics
Forensics challenges in CTFs can include analyzing file formats, steganography, memory dumps, or network packet captures.
Audacity
Analyzes sound files (mp3, m4a, whatever)
N/A (Installed as an Application)
Bkhive and Samdump2
Dump SYSTEM and SAM files
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bkhive [SYSTEM_FILE] [HIVE_FILE]`<br>`samdump2 [HIVE_FILE] [SAM_FILE]
CFF Explorer
A PE Editor
N/A (Installed as an Application)
Creddump
Dump Windows credentials
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creddump.py -system [SYSTEM_FILE] -sam [SAM_FILE]
Foremost
Extracts particular kinds of files using headers
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foremost -i [image_file] -o [output_directory] -t [file_type]
NetworkMiner
A network forensic analysis tool
N/A (Installed as an Application)
Shellbags
Investigates NT_USER.dat files
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shellbags.py -f [NTUSER.DAT_FILE]
UsbForensics
Contains many tools for USB forensics
N/A (Installed as a Package)
Volatility
Used to investigate memory dumps
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volatility -f [memory_dump_file] [command]
Reverse Engineering
In CTFs, reverse engineering usually involves taking a compiled program (machine code or bytecode) and converting it back into a more human-readable format.
ApkTool
An Android decompiler
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apktool d [APK_FILE]
Barf
A binary analysis and reverse engineering framework
N/A (Installed as a Package)
Binary Ninja
A binary analysis framework
N/A (Installed as an Application)
BinWalk
A tool used to analyze, reverse engineer, and extract firmware images
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binwalk [IMAGE_FILE]
Boomerang
A tool used to decompile x86 binaries to C
N/A (Installed as a Package)
Frida
A dynamic code injection tool
N/A (Installed as a Package)
GDB
The GNU project debugger
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gdb [BINARY_FILE]
GEF
A GDB plugin
N/A (Installed as a Package)
IDA Pro
The most commonly used reversing software
N/A (Installed as an Application)
Jadx
A tool used to decompile Android files
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jadx-gui [APK_FILE]
Additional Examples
Here are some more examples of how to utilize these tools for web server enumeration and testing purposes.
Nmap
Scan target with version detection enable.
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$ nmap -sV [HOSTNAME]
Scan target on all ports with with version detection enable.
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$ nmap -p- -sV [HOSTNAME]
Scan target on **ports 1-1000** with with **version detection enable**.
```bash
$ nmap -p1-1000 -sV [HOSTNAME]
Scan target on all ports , with with version detection enable , and with a limit rate of 5000 packets per second.
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$ nmap -p- --max-rate=5000 -sV [HOSTNAME]
Gobuster
Brute force directories and files on a web server using a specified wordlist:
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$ gobuster dir -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt -x .php,.html,.txt -u [HOSTNAME] -o ./gobuster.txt
Dirb
Brute force directories and files on a web server using a specified wordlist:
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$ dirb [HOSTNAME] /usr/share/dirb/wordlists/common.txt -w -X .php,.html,.txt
Nikto
Scan a web server for vulnerabilities and potential security issues:
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$ nikto -h [HOSTNAME] -output ./nikto.txt
Scan a web server with SSL enabled:
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$ nikto -h [HOSTNAME] -ssl -output ./nikto.txt
Wfuzz
Brute force web applications and discover hidden content by fuzzing parameters and requests:
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$ wfuzz -c -z file,/usr/share/wfuzz/wordlist/general/common.txt \--hc 400,404,403 -u 'https://[HOSTNAME]/help.php' -d 'page=Fuzz'
Brute force web applications and discover hidden content using multiple threads:
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$ wfuzz -c -z file,/usr/share/wfuzz/wordlist/general/common.txt \--hc 400,404,403 -u 'https://[HOSTNAME]/help.php' -d 'page=Fuzz' -t 10