aircrack-ng

aircrack-ng [-w wordlist] [-b bssid] [-e essid] [options] capture-file

aircrack-ng is a WiFi security auditing tool that cracks WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK encryption keys. For WPA/WPA2, it uses dictionary attacks against captured 4-way handshakes. For WEP, it exploits cryptographic weaknesses using statistical methods.The tool reads packet capture files containing wireless traffic, identifies encryption types and captured handshakes, and attempts to recover the passphrase.

-w file

Wordlist for WPA/WPA2 cracking

Target access point MAC address

Target network name

Attack mode (1: WEP, 2: WPA/WPA2)

Write found key to file

Quiet mode (no status display)

WPA cracking speed test (benchmark)

Number of CPU threads to use

Use KoreK attack instead of PTW for WEP cracking (PTW is the faster modern default)

Disable last keybyte brute-force (WEP). -x1 enables (default), -x2 brute-forces last two keybytes

Experimental single brute-force attack, used when standard attacks fail with over 1 million IVs

Use PTW attack for WEP cracking (default)

WEP decloak mode, skips broken keystreams

Maximum number of IVs to use for WEP cracking

Run only one try to crack key with PTW

For authorized security testing only. WPA/WPA2 cracking requires a captured 4-way handshake. Success depends on wordlist quality; complex passwords may be uncrackable. GPU-accelerated tools like hashcat are faster for WPA.

aircrack-ng evolved from the original aircrack tool, with the "-ng" (next generation) version first released in 2006. It became the standard open-source WiFi security assessment toolkit.

airodump-ng(1), aireplay-ng(1), hashcat(1)