Wi-Fi Cracking
A written tutorial showing how to crack weak WPA/WPA2 Wi-Fi passwords using aircrack-ng tools and hashcat.
- Stars
- 12.7k
- Forks
- 1.2k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- —
- Last update
- 1.9 years ago
- Type
- Learning resource
No commits in over a year — check for forks or alternatives before adopting.
What it is
This is a short walk-through tutorial, not a software program. It explains how someone can capture a WPA/WPA2 Wi-Fi handshake passively with Airodump-ng and then try to guess the network password offline with Aircrack-ng or Hashcat. The author says it targets networks secured with weak, user-chosen passwords, and it is meant for testing your own network's security.
- Check whether your home router password is weak by attempting a crack in a lab setting
- Learn the 4-way handshake process and how monitor mode captures wireless traffic
- Follow the steps to convert a .cap capture into a hashcat-compatible .hccapx file
Great for
- Security students learning how WPA2 handshake attacks work
- People testing the strength of their own Wi-Fi password
- Users comfortable with a Linux command line and a compatible wireless card
Not ideal for
- Anyone wanting to access networks they do not own or have permission to test, since the README says the tutorial can be used for illegal activity
- Beginners without command-line experience, because the guide assumes it
- People with routers that have strong random passwords, since the README notes those are much harder to crack this way
How to get it
- 1
See the README
You'll need: Debian-based Linux (Kali preferred) · Aircrack-ng · A wireless card that supports monitor mode · Hashcat (for the GPU method)
Install Aircrack-ng on Debian-based Linux
sudo apt-get install aircrack-ng - 2
Run it
- Run airmon-ng to list wireless interfaces that support monitor mode
- Start monitor mode with airmon-ng start wlan0 and confirm the new interface with iwconfig
- Run airodump-ng on the monitor interface to find the target network's BSSID and channel
- Capture the handshake with airodump-ng using -c, --bssid and -w, then convert the file for hashcat
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the linked appendix for alternative methods and suggestions
- Use the README's suggested Probable-Wordlists dictionaries when testing against WPA-length passwords
- Consider the naive-hashcat tool the author links if you have a GPU
Downloads
Strengths
- Clear, step-by-step structure with example command output
- Explains the passive nature of the capture and when it is detectable
- Points to additional methods in a linked appendix and translations
Trade-offs
- Written around Debian/Kali Linux; macOS is covered only in a separate appendix
- Relies on weak passwords; the README says strong random passwords are unlikely to fall to these methods
- Offers an educational disclaimer but no legal or permission guidance beyond that
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wifi-cracking (this) | 12.7k | Learning resource | intermediate | 1.9 years ago | Security students learning how WPA2 handshake attacks work |
| PayloadsAllTheThings | 82.3k | Curated list | beginner | 6 days ago | Penetration testers who want a quick reference of payload variations for a known vulnerability class |
| learn-claude-code | 79.7k | Learning resource | intermediate | 10 days ago | Developers who want to understand how coding agents like Claude Code are structured |
| first-contributions | 56.7k | Learning resource | beginner | 4 days ago | People who have never submitted a pull request to an open source project |
| 100-Days-Of-ML-Code | 52k | Learning resource | beginner | 2.9 years ago | Beginners who want a day-by-day sequence of basic machine learning topics |
| claude-howto | 46.4k | Learning resource | beginner | 4 days ago | Developers who have installed Claude Code and want to go beyond basic prompts |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.