hashcat alternatives

Looking for an alternative tool to replace hashcat? During the review of hashcat we looked at other open source tools. Based on their category, tags, and text, these are the ones that have the best match.

Top 3

  1. THC Hydra (password discovery)
  2. Patator (multi-purpose brute-force tool)
  3. acccheck (SMB password guessing and dictionary attack tool)

These tools are ranked as the best alternatives to hashcat.

Alternatives (by score)

78

THC Hydra (thc-hydra)

Introduction

THC Hydra is a brute-force cracking tool for remote authentication services. It supports many protocols, including telnet, FTP, LDAP, SSH, SNMP, and others.

Project details

THC Hydra is written in C.

Strengths and weaknesses

  • + More than 25 contributors
  • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
  • + Project is mature (10+ years)
  • + The source code of this software is available

    Typical usage

    • Penetration testing
    • Security assessment

    THC Hydra review

    60

    Patator

    Introduction

    Patator is based on similar tools like Hydra, yet with the goal to avoid the common flaws these tools have like performance limitations. The tool is modular and supports different types of brute-force attacks or enumeration of information.

    Project details

    Patator is written in Python.

    Strengths and weaknesses

    • + More than 500 GitHub stars
    • + The source code of this software is available

      Typical usage

      • Password discovery
      • Penetration testing
      • Reconnaissance
      • Vulnerability scanning

      Patator review

      56

      acccheck

      Introduction

      The acccheck tool performs a password guessing and dictionary attack on SMB services used to share files and printers.

      Project details

      acccheck is written in Perl.

      Strengths and weaknesses

      • + The source code of this software is available
      • - No updates for a while

      Typical usage

      • Password discovery
      • Password strength testing

      acccheck review

      60

      eapmd5pass

      Introduction

      A tool like this would be most likely used to show the weakness of old authentication protocols, including penetration testing.

      Project details

      eapmd5pass is written in C.

      Strengths and weaknesses

      • + The source code of this software is available

        Typical usage

        • Network analysis
        • Password discovery
        • Penetration testing

        eapmd5pass review

        56

        John the Ripper

        Introduction

        John the Ripper is a mature password cracker to find weak or known passwords. It works on Linux and other flavors of Unix and Microsoft Windows.

        Project details

        100

        Buttercup for desktop

        Introduction

        The typical users have at least a multitude of ten when it comes to passwords. Ensuring that every website has a unique password and remembering, is almost impossible. Passwords managers like Buttercup help with the generation and secure storage of these secrets. It is freely available and open source, making it a good alternative for commercial options.

        Project details

        Buttercup for desktop is written in Node.js.

        Strengths and weaknesses

        • + More than 10 contributors
        • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
        • + The source code of this software is available

          Typical usage

          • Password management

          Buttercup for desktop review

          97

          Confidant

          Introduction

          Most applications with a connection to a database or other software component, need some form of authentication. Often the related credentials are stored in a configuration file. A secret manager like Confidant will provide an alternative, by storing the details in a database. Only applications that need to access the secrets are allowed to obtain them. Often system administrators are denied access to them.

          Project details

          Confidant is written in Python.

          Strengths and weaknesses

          • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
          • + The source code of this software is available
          • + Supported by a large company

            Typical usage

            • Secrets management
            • Secure storage

            Confidant review

            63

            KeePassX

            Introduction

            The database is encrypted with AES (alias Rijndael) or Twofish encryption algorithm using a 256-bit key. KeePassX uses a database format that is compatible with KeePass Password Safe.

            Project details

            KeePassX is written in C++.

            Strengths and weaknesses

            • + The source code of this software is available
            • + Well-known tool
            • - Full name of author is unknown

            Typical usage

            • Secure storage

            KeePassX review

            96

            KeePassXC

            Introduction

            KeePassXC is a cross-platform platform to store sensitive data like passwords, keys, and other secrets. It has a graphical user interface and is written in C++.

            Project details

            KeePassXC is written in C++.

            Strengths and weaknesses

            • + More than 50 contributors
            • + Runs on multiple platforms
            • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
            • + The source code of this software is available

              Typical usage

              • Password management
              • Secure storage

              KeePassXC review

              84

              LaZagne

              Introduction

              The LaZagne tool can be a good addition to the toolkit of pentesters or forensic specialists to recover sensitive details from systems. For a pentester, this typically means that limited access has been gained. By trying to find passwords from local applications, the step to other applications or privilege level might be possible. For example, a password that is shared among multiple services, or even finding an administrator password.

              Project details

              LaZagne is written in Python.

              Strengths and weaknesses

              • + More than 10 contributors
              • + More than 3000 GitHub stars
              • + The source code of this software is available

                Typical usage

                • Data extraction
                • Information gathering
                • Password discovery
                • Password recovery

                LaZagne review

                60

                PassGen

                Introduction

                PassGen is a tool to help with password dictionary attacks to guess a password. It does not perform the attack but creates the related database.

                Project details

                PassGen is written in Python.

                Strengths and weaknesses

                • + The source code of this software is available

                  Typical usage

                  • Password discovery
                  • Password strength testing
                  • Security assessment

                  PassGen review

                  60

                  Passmgr

                  Introduction

                  Passmgr is a simple portable password manager written in Go. It helps with storing secrets, like passwords and API keys.

                  Project details

                  64

                  TeamVault

                  Introduction

                  Storing passwords within a team security can be a challenging task. TeamVault is a password manager with the goal to be easy to use, flexible, and adhering to several security principles. These include a solid base for the data encryption, support for folders, and role-based access control (RBAC).

                  Project details

                  TeamVault is written in Python.

                  Strengths and weaknesses

                  • + The source code of this software is available
                  • - No releases on GitHub available

                  Typical usage

                  • Password management
                  • Secrets management

                  TeamVault review

                  56

                  mimipenguin

                  Introduction

                  The tool requires root permissions to work.

                  Project details

                  mimipenguin is written in Python, shell script.

                  Strengths and weaknesses

                  • + The source code of this software is available
                  • - No releases on GitHub available
                  • - Full name of author is unknown

                  Typical usage

                  • Information gathering
                  • Security assessment

                  mimipenguin review

                  64

                  mimipy

                  Introduction

                  The mimipy tool is based on the work of mimipenguin and ported to Python. It can extract passwords from memory or overwrite them to prevent capture.

                  Project details

                  mimipy is written in Python.

                  Strengths and weaknesses

                  • + The source code of this software is available

                    Typical usage

                    • Data extraction
                    • Information gathering
                    • Security assessment

                    mimipy review

                    60

                    not24get

                    Introduction

                    API: pwdCheckModule object in ppolicy.
                    Executable: "check password script" in Samba suite (not24get_check)

                    This module is a wrapper around libpasswdqc, the library that powers the pam_passwdqc module.

                    Project details

                    not24get is written in C.

                    Strengths and weaknesses

                    • + The source code of this software is available

                      Typical usage

                      • Password strength testing

                      not24get review

                      48

                      pass (password-store)

                      Introduction

                      The pass utility is also known as password-store. It uses GPG and Unix directories to store passwords and others secrets.

                      Project details

                      60

                      pass-rotate

                      Introduction

                      This tool makes it easier to rotate your passwords one at a time or in bulk. For example, when security events or as a routine to do a regular rotation of passwords.

                      Project details

                      pass-rotate is written in Python.

                      Strengths and weaknesses

                      • + The source code of this software is available

                        Typical usage

                        • Password management

                        pass-rotate review

                        74

                        pick

                        Introduction

                        Tools like pick are used to store passwords and secrets safely.

                        Project details

                        pick is written in Golang.

                        Strengths and weaknesses

                        • + Very low number of dependencies
                        • + The source code of this software is available

                          Typical usage

                          • Data security
                          • Secure storage

                          pick review

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