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// arsenal·Password CrackingIntermediateFOSS

John the Ripper

Open-source password cracker with the most diverse hash format support of any open tool.

Password Cracking

$ john-the-ripper --help

John the Ripper

// what it is

Description

Openwall's John (and the community 'jumbo' fork) supports hundreds of formats — from /etc/shadow to KeePass to PDF to PKCS#12. CPU-only on the official version; the jumbo fork has some GPU support but Hashcat is faster.

// use cases

What people use it for

  • Crack unusual hash formats Hashcat doesn't support
  • CTF challenge cracking

// commands

The commands you'll type

Auto-detect format

$ john --wordlist=rockyou.txt shadow.txt

Show cracked

$ john --show shadow.txt

ZIP cracking

$ zip2john secret.zip > secret.hash && john secret.hash

// facts

category
Password Cracking
platforms
LIN · WIN · MAC
license
FOSS
difficulty
Intermediate

// related in Password Cracking