Pentest Commands

Pentest Commands - Quick Reference Guide for Penetration Testing Commands

Skill Overview

Pentest Commands is a command reference tool designed specifically for penetration testers. It provides complete quick-reference commands for eight popular security testing tools—Nmap, Metasploit, Hydra, SQLMap, and more—helping you quickly find the commands you need during security assessments.

Use Cases

Authorized Penetration Testing

In officially approved security assessment projects with written permission, quickly find network scanning, vulnerability exploitation, and password-cracking commands to improve penetration testing efficiency.

CTF Security Competitions

In capture-the-flag (CTF) contests, quickly look up the command syntax of commonly used tools for scenarios such as port scanning, service identification, vulnerability detection, and privilege escalation.

Security Research and Learning

For cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers to learn and review how to use penetration testing tools, and to master various security assessment commands.

Core Features

Network Scanning and Enumeration

Covers all Nmap scan types, including host discovery, port scanning, service detection, and NSE scripts. Includes commands for TCP/UDP scanning, operating system identification, vulnerability detection scripts, and enumeration for services such as SMB, HTTP, and SSH.

Exploitation and Penetration

Provides a complete command reference for the Metasploit Framework, including common exploit modules (EternalBlue, MS08-067, Shellshock, etc.), scanner modules, Handler configuration, and msfvenom payload generation.

Password Cracking and Web Testing

Integrates Hydra multi-protocol brute forcing, John the Ripper hash cracking, SQLMap SQL injection detection, Nikto web vulnerability scanning, and Aircrack-ng wireless penetration testing and Tshark traffic analysis tools.

Common Questions

Can penetration testing commands be used in any environment?

No. All penetration testing tools and commands are for use only within the scope of clear written authorization, including approved security assessment projects, self-built test environments, or CTF competitions. Scanning or attacking other people’s systems without authorization is illegal.

Is this skill suitable for penetration testing beginners?

Yes, but you need some foundation. The skill assumes you already understand the basic concepts of penetration testing and the purposes of the related tools. It is mainly for quickly looking up command syntax and parameters. It is recommended to use Kali Linux or other penetration testing distributions and learn the basics of each tool first.

How do I choose the right scanning commands?

Choose based on the target and what information you want to obtain: use nmap -sn for quick host discovery; use nmap -sV for port and service identification; use nmap --script vuln for comprehensive vulnerability scanning. Note that some scans (such as UDP scanning and version detection) can be time-consuming—adjust timing parameters (e.g., -T4/-T5) as needed to speed things up.