First, we must obtain the WPA/WPA2 handshake file that is used to crack the password for a wireless network. It is a file that contains the encrypted authentication exchange between a client and an access point, which occurs when the client connects to the network.
Requirements
To capture a WPA/WPA2 handshake file and attempt to crack the password for a wireless network, you will need the following tools:
- A wireless network adapter that supports monitor mode.
- The Aircrack-ng suite of tools, which includes the following:
- Airodump-ng: a tool for capturing packets from wireless networks
- Aireplay-ng: a tool for generating and injecting traffic into wireless networks
- Aircrack-ng: a tool for cracking WPA/WPA2 passwords
Installation
The Aircrack-ng suite of tools can be installed on a computer running a Unix-like operating system such as Linux or macOS.
Debian-based Linux
To install Aircrack-ng on a Debian-based Linux distribution such as Ubuntu, you can use the following steps:
Update the package manager’s list of available packages:
sudo apt update
Install the Aircrack-ng suite of tools:
sudo apt install aircrack-ng
Fedora-based Linux
To install Aircrack-ng on a Fedora-based Linux distribution, you can use the following steps:
Update the package manager’s list of available packages:
sudo dnf update
Install the Aircrack-ng suite of tools:
sudo dnf install aircrack-ng
macOS
To install Aircrack-ng on macOS, you can use the following steps:
Install the Homebrew package manager:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Install the Aircrack-ng suite of tools:
brew install aircrack-ng
Usage
Step 1: Put your wireless adapter into monitor mode using the following command:
sudo airmon-ng start wlan0
Replace “wlan0” with the name of your wireless adapter.
To get a list of all available network interfaces on your system, you can use the following command:
ifconfig
Keep in mind that the names of network interfaces can vary depending on your operating system and hardware configuration. It’s a good idea to double-check the names of your interfaces before using them in any commands.
Step 2: Use a airodump-ng to scan for wireless networks and capture packets. Use the following command to scan for all wireless networks:
airodump-ng mon0
Replace “mon0” with the name of the interface that was created when you put your wireless adapter into monitor mode.
Step 3: When you see the network you want to attack, note the BSSID (MAC address) and channel of the access point, and use Ctrl+C to stop the scan.
Step 4: Use the following command to create a new terminal window and start airodump-ng to capture packets from the target network:
airodump-ng -c [channel] --bssid [BSSID] -w [capture file] mon0
Replace “[channel]” with the channel of the target network, “[BSSID]” with the BSSID of the target network, and “[capture file]” with the name you want to give to the capture file. This command will start capturing packets from the target network and saving them to the specified capture file.
Step 5: In a separate terminal window, use the aireplay-ng command to send deauthentication packets to the target network. This will force clients to reconnect to the network, which will capture their handshake in the process. Use the following command:
aireplay-ng --deauth 0 -a [BSSID] mon0
Replace “[BSSID]” with the BSSID of the target network and replace “mon0” with the name of your wireless adapter.
Leave airodump-ng and aireplay-ng running until you have captured a sufficient number of packets (usually at least 20,000). You can use Ctrl+C to stop the capture once you have enough packets.
Step 6: Use the aircrack-ng to crack the captured WPA/WPA2 handshake file and determine the password for the wireless network. The following command will start Aircrack-ng and begin the cracking process:
aircrack-ng [capture file] -w [dictionary file]
Replace “[capture file]” with the name of your capture file and “[dictionary file]” with the name of your dictionary file.
Automated tools
If you’re a lazy person who doesn’t want to go through the hassle of setting up a wireless penetration testing environment and cracking WPA/WPA2 passwords manually, you might want to try using a tool like Fluxion! Just sit back, relax, and let the tool do all the hard work for you.
Fluxion is designed to automate the process of cracking the password for a wireless network, using a variety of techniques to perform the attack, including creating a fake access point, capturing a WPA/WPA2 handshake, and attempting to crack the password using a dictionary attack. It is based on the Aircrack-ng suite of tools.
There are a number of additional tools that may be used, some of which are:
- Wifite: a tool for automating the process of cracking WPA/WPA2 passwords using the Aircrack-ng suite of tools
- Airgeddon: a tool for performing wireless security assessments and exploiting vulnerabilities
- Wifiphisher: a tool for performing phishing attacks against wireless networks
It is important to note that capturing a WPA/WPA2 handshake and attempting to crack the password is illegal unless you have permission from the owner of the wireless network. This information is provided for educational purposes only and should not be used for any illegal or unauthorized purposes.