Hydra: A Powerful Tool for Password Cracking and Network Security Testing [Cheat Sheet]

Hydra is a popular open-source password cracking tool that can be used to perform brute-force attacks on login credentials of various network protocols, including FTP, HTTP, SSH, Telnet, and others. It uses different attack methods, including dictionary attacks, brute-force attacks, and hybrid attacks, to guess passwords and gain unauthorized access to a system.

Hydra can be used to test the strength of passwords used in network systems and identify potential vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers. It is often used by security professionals, network administrators, and penetration testers as a tool to assess the security of their systems and identify weaknesses that need to be addressed.

Cheat Sheet

Hydra is a powerful tool with many options and parameters that can be customized according to specific requirements. However, some of the most commonly used Hydra commands include:

Web Login Authentication attacks using the GET and POST methods

GET method:

hydra -l <username> -P <password list> <target URL> http-get-form "/<login URL>?<login form data>:<error message>"

Explanation:

• hydra: starts the Hydra tool.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target URL>: specifies the URL of the target website.
• http-get-form: specifies the method to use in the attack, which is HTTP GET in this case.
• "/<login URL>?<login form data>:<error message>": specifies the login URL, form data, and error message to use in the attack.

POST method:

hydra -l <username> -P <password list> <target URL> http-post-form "/<login URL>:<login form data>:<error message>"

Explanation:

• hydra: starts the Hydra tool.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target URL>: specifies the URL of the target website.
• http-post-form: specifies the method to use in the attack, which is HTTP POST in this case.
• "/<login URL>:<login form data>:<error message>": specifies the login URL, form data, and error message to use in the attack.

FTP server:

hydra -t 1 -V -f -l <username> -P <password list> <target> ftp

Explanation:

• -t 1: sets the number of threads to use in the attack (in this case, 1).
• -V: enables verbose output, which shows detailed information about the attack progress.
• -f: forces the tool to continue the attack even if the target is blocking multiple login attempts.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target>: specifies the IP address or domain name of the target FTP server.
• ftp: specifies the target protocol to attack (in this case, FTP).

MySQL server:

hydra -t 1 -V -f -L <username list> -P <password list> <target> mysql

Explanation:

• -t 1: sets the number of threads to use in the attack (in this case, 1).
• -V: enables verbose output, which shows detailed information about the attack progress.
• -f: forces the tool to continue the attack even if the target is blocking multiple login attempts.
• -L <username list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of usernames to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target>: specifies the IP address or domain name of the target MySQL server.
• mysql: specifies the target protocol to attack (in this case, MySQL).

SMB server:

hydra -t 1 -V -f -l <username> -P <password list> <target> smb

Explanation:

• -t 1: sets the number of threads to use in the attack (in this case, 1).
• -V: enables verbose output, which shows detailed information about the attack progress.
• -f: forces the tool to continue the attack even if the target is blocking multiple login attempts.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target>: specifies the IP address or domain name of the target SMB server.
• smb: specifies the target protocol to attack (in this case, SMB).

SMTP server:

hydra -t 1 -V -f -l <username> -P <password list> <target> smtp

Explanation:

• -t 1: sets the number of threads to use in the attack (in this case, 1).
• -V: enables verbose output, which shows detailed information about the attack progress.
• -f: forces the tool to continue the attack even if the target is blocking multiple login attempts.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target>: specifies the IP address or domain name of the target SMTP server.
• smtp: specifies the target protocol to attack (in this case, SMTP).

SSH server:

hydra -t 4 -V -f -l <username> -P <password list> <target> ssh

Explanation:

• -t 4: sets the number of threads to use in the attack (in this case, 4).
• -V: enables verbose output, which shows detailed information about the attack progress.
• -f: forces the tool to continue the attack even if the target is blocking multiple login attempts.
• -l <username>: specifies the username to use in the attack.
• -P <password list>: specifies the path to the file containing a list of passwords to use in the attack.
• <target>: specifies the IP address or domain name of the target SSH server.
• ssh: specifies the target protocol to attack (in this case, SSH).

Please note that these commands are just examples, and the specific options and parameters used may vary depending on the target system and the specific requirements of the attack.

Conclusion

Hydra is a powerful open-source password cracking tool that can be used to perform brute-force attacks on login credentials of various network protocols. It is often used by security professionals, network administrators, and penetration testers to assess the strength of passwords used in their systems and identify potential vulnerabilities that may be exploited by attackers.