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Aircrack-ng Suite

The Aircrack-ng Suite Masterclass: Professional Wi-Fi Security Auditing

The Aircrack-ng suite is the gold standard for wireless network auditing, penetration testing, and security analysis. It integrates powerful tools—airmon-ng, airodump-ng, aireplay-ng, aircrack-ng, airbase-ng, airgraph-ng, airdecap-ng, and more—each responsible for a distinct step in wireless reconnaissance, attack, and analysis.

I. Core Capabilities Overview

Tool
Purpose

airmon-ng

Enables/controls monitor mode on wireless cards

airodump-ng

Captures raw 802.11 frames, lists networks/clients, saves packets

aireplay-ng

Injects traffic, replays packets for handshake/jamming/DoS

aircrack-ng

Cracks WEP/WPA/WPA2-PSK using captured packets and wordlists

airbase-ng

Creates rogue APs/evil twins for MITM and client attacks

airgraph-ng

Visualizes network relationships (graphing) from capture files

airdecap-ng

Decrypts captured encrypted packets (WEP/WPA/WPA2)

II. Professional Usage and Workflow Examples

1. airmon-ng: Enable Monitor Mode

sudo airmon-ng start wlan0

  • Lists interfaces and sets wlan0 to monitor mode for packet capture.[1][2][3]

2. airodump-ng: Recon and Packet Capture

sudo airodump-ng wlan0mon

  • Displays SSIDs, BSSIDs, channels, encryption, client MACs, and saves .cap files for later analysis.[4][5][1]

  • Focus on specific AP/channel:

sudo airodump-ng --bssid AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF --channel 6 --write data wlan0mon

3. aireplay-ng: Packet Injection and Attacks

sudo aireplay-ng --deauth 10 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF wlan0mo

  • Sends 10 deauth packets to the target AP, forcing clients to reconnect for handshake capture.[2][1]

  • ARP replay, fragmentation, and fake authentication also available for WEP attacks.

4. aircrack-ng: Handshake and Key Cracking

aircrack-ng -w /path/to/wordlist.txt -b AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF data.cap

  • Cracks captured WEP/WPA/WPA2 handshakes using a provided wordlist.[3][6][1][2]

  • Supports dictionary, brute force, and custom rule sets.

5. airbase-ng: Rogue AP/Evil Twin Attack

sudo airbase-ng -e "FakeWifi" -c 6 mon0

  • Sets up a rogue AP for MITM, credential harvesting, captive portal exploits.[7][1][2]

6. airdecap-ng: Decrypt Captured Traffic

airdecap-ng -w KEY data.cap

  • Decrypts .cap files post-crack to examine HTTP, telnet, or other unencrypted inner traffic.[2][7]

7. airgraph-ng: Visualize and Map Networks

airgraph-ng -i data.csv -o netgraph.png -g CAPR

  • Processes CSV output from airodump-ng into network graphs mapping clients, APs, relationships.[8][9][10]

III. Advanced Techniques & Scenarios

  • Focused Recon: Use channel/AP-specific filtering in airodump-ng/aireplay-ng to reduce noise and focus attacks on high-value targets.[11][4]

  • Multi-Adapter Attacks: Simultaneously capture and inject with different interfaces; increases reliability in dense environments.

  • Automated Workflows: Script or chain all tools for hands-off assessments (monitor, recon, handshake capture, cracking, reporting).

  • Client-Side Attacks: Leverage airbase-ng/aireplay-ng for evil twin traps, phishing portals, or forced authentication.[2]

  • Graphing & Visualization: Use airgraph-ng to map vulnerable clients and visualize relationships for reporting.[8]

  • Decap & Forensics: Post-crack analysis of traffic using airdecap-ng and Wireshark for sensitive data exposure auditing.[7]

  • Jamming & DoS Testing: aireplay-ng’s deauth/fakeauth for controlled denial-of-service and resilience metric testing.[1]

  • Hybrid Integration: Combine suite output with Kismet, Wireshark, or external scripting for extended analysis and evidence.

IV. Real-World Workflow Example

  1. Enable Monitor Mode

airmon-ng start wlan0

  1. Recon + Capture Handshake

airodump-ng --bssid AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF --channel 11 --write handshake wlan0mon

  1. Deauthenticate for Forced Handshake

aireplay-ng --deauth 25 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF wlan0mon

  1. Crack Key

aircrack-ng -w wordlist.txt -b AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF handshake.cap

  1. Decrypt and Analyze Traffic

airdecap-ng -w crackedkey handshake.cap
wireshark handshake-dec.cap

  1. Graph Relationships

airgraph-ng -i handshake.csv -o wifi-graph.png -g CAPR

V. Pro Tips & Best Practices

  • Use high-perf adapters supporting monitor/injection.

  • Set precise channels and filter clients for focused attacks.

  • Always export relevant PCAP/CSV for evidence and reporting.

  • Combine cracked traffic with Wireshark for sensitive data auditing.

  • Respect legal boundaries—only audit networks with explicit authorization.

  • Regularly update suite and drivers for protocol/EAP compatibility.

  • Automate repetitive tasks with bash/scripts; use graphs for client reporting.

This guide arms wireless security professionals with the full power of the Aircrack-ng suite, allowing for rapid, accurate, and deep wireless penetration testing from network discovery to reporting and post-exploitation.[5][6][10][3][4][1][8][2]

Sources [1] How to Use Aircrack-ng: A Guide to Network Compromise https://www.stationx.net/how-to-use-aircrack-ng-tutorial/ [2] Aircrack-ng - addielamarr https://publish.obsidian.md/addielamarr/Aircrack-ng [3] Mastering Wireless Security: A Deep Dive into Aircrack-ng ... https://securewithsiva.in/post/08-aircrack-ng/ [4] Airodump-ng for Beginners: Scanning and Monitoring Wi-Fi ... https://dev.to/rijultp/airodump-ng-for-beginners-scanning-and-monitoring-wi-fi-networks-377d [5] Airodump-ng https://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=airodump-ng [6] Utilizing Aircrack-Ng in Termux: Comprehensive Guide for ... https://dev.to/terminaltools/utilizing-aircrack-ng-in-termux-comprehensive-guide-for-wi-fi-network-security-l8h [7] Main documentation https://www.aircrack-ng.org/documentation.html [8] Visualize WiFi Relationships with AirGraph-ng | HakByte https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvRdeFGuHMc [9] Signal Intelligence with a Raspberry Pi and AirGraph-NG ... https://www.instagram.com/p/C-yiqA0ANxU/ [10] airgraph-ng [Aircrack-ng] https://www.aircrack-ng.org/doku.php?id=airgraph-ng [11] Advanced WiFi Scanning with Aircrack-NG https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKZb3D-PHS0

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