Nmap: Getting Started Guide

Nmap is a free utility tool for network discovery, port scanning and security auditing, even though we can use it for more than that but in this article we will learn how to do these three things with nmap.

The original author of nmap is Gordon Lyon (Fyodor). Nmap is licensed under GPL v2 and has available ports in many different languages. Nmap is available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. You can download your copy of nmap from their website.

Lets get started with nmap.

When performing pentests we always look for networks we are going to attack. We need to identify live hosts on the network so that we can attack them. There are plenty of tools available for finding live hosts on a network but nmap is one of the best tools for doing this job.

Lets start with simple host (target) discovery scans i,e scans that will tell us which ip address is up on our target network. Those ip addresses which are up on our target network are the ones that are assigned to a device connected on our target network. Every device on the network is going to have a unique ip address.
To perform a simple host discovery scan we use the following command

nmap -v -sn 10.10.10.0/24

flags we used in the above command are
-v for verbose output
-sn to disable port scan (we don't want to scan for ports right now)

Following the flags is the ip address of the target network on which we want to look for live hosts. The /24 at the end of the ip address is the CIDR that specifies the subnet of the network on which we are looking for live hosts.

After running the above command you should get a list of live hosts on your target network.
If you just want to know the list of ip addresses your command is going to scan, you can use the -sL flag of the nmap like this.

nmap -sL 10.10.10.0/24

this command will simply output the list of ip addresses to scan.

We sometimes want to do dns resolution (resolving ip addresses to domain names) when performing our network scans and sometimes we don't want dns resolution. While performing a host discovery scan with nmap if we want to perform dns resolution we use -R flag in our command like this:

nmap -v -sn -R 10.10.10.0/24

And if we don't want to perform dns resolution of hosts during our scan we add the -n flag to our command like this:

nmap -v -sn -n 10.10.10.0/24

After we have discovered the hosts that are up on our target network, we usually put the ip addresses of these hosts into a file for further enumeration.

Next step in our enumeration would be to detect which operating system and which ports are running on these live hosts, for that we run this command:

nmap -O -v 10.10.10.119

here we use -O (capital o not zero) for operating system detection and by default nmap performs SYN Scan for port discovery. However nmap scans for 1000 ports only by default of a particular host.

To make nmap go over a list of ip addresses in a file we use -iL flag like this:

nmap -O -v -iL targetlist

where targetlist is the name of the file which contains ip addresses that we want to perform port scan on.

To make nmap scan all the ports of a target we use the -p flag like this:

nmap -p- -v 10.10.10.121

We can also specify a range of ports using the -p flag like this:

nmap -p1-500 -v 10.10.10.121

here 1-500 means scan all the ports from 1 to 500.

We can use a number of scan techniques to discover open ports on our network but I will only discuss some of them for brevity.

We can perform a TCP SYN scan using nmap with -sS flag like this:

nmap -sS -v 10.10.10.150

We have also flags for TCP connect and ACK scans which are -sT -sA

nmap -sT -v 10.10.10.150

nmap -sA -v 10.10.10.150

We can also perform UDP scan as well instead of TCP scan using -sU flag

nmap -sU -v 10.10.10.150

We can perform TCP Null, FIN, and Xmas scans using the flags -sN, -sF, -sX

nmap -sN -v 10.10.10.150

nmap -sF -v 10.10.10.150

nmap -sX -v 10.10.10.150

If you don't know what these scans are then please visit Port Scanning Techniques and Algorithms for explanation.

After discovering the open ports on our target host, we want to enumerate what services are running on those open ports. To enumerate services and versions information on open ports we use the -sV flag like this:

nmap -sV -v 10.10.10.118

This should give us information about what services are running on what ports and what versions of those services are running on the target host.

nmap has an interesting feature called NSE nmap scripting engine. It allows users to write their own scripts, using the Lua programming language, to automate a wide variety of networking tasks. nmap ships with a diverse set of scripts which are very helpful to enumerate a target. To use the nmap default set of scripts while enumerating the target, we use the -sC flag like this:

nmap -sC -sV -v 10.10.10.118

We can also save the results of our nmap scans to a file using the -o flag like this

nmap -sC -sV -v -oA defaultscan 10.10.10.119

here -oA tells the nmap to output results in the three major formats at once and defaultscan is the name of the file that will be prepended to all the three output files.

This is the end of this short tutorial see you next time.

References:
https://nmap.org/book/scan-methods-null-fin-xmas-scan.html

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Learn A-Z Kali_Linux Commands For Beginerrs

All commands (A-Z) for Kali Linux here:
A
apropos Search Help manual pages (man -k)
apt-get Search for and install software packages (Debian/Ubuntu)
aptitude Search for and install software packages (Debian/Ubuntu)
aspell Spell Checker
awk Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index
B
basename Strip directory and suffix from filenames
bash GNU Bourne-Again SHell
bc Arbitrary precision calculator language
bg Send to background
break Exit from a loop •
builtin Run a shell builtin
bzip2 Compress or decompress named file(s)
C
cal Display a calendar
case Conditionally perform a command
cat Concatenate and print (display) the content of files
cd Change Directory
cfdisk Partition table manipulator for Linux
chgrp Change group ownership
chmod Change access permissions
chown Change file owner and group
chroot Run a command with a different root directory
chkconfig System services (runlevel)
cksum Print CRC checksum and byte counts
clear Clear terminal screen
cmp Compare two files
comm Compare two sorted files line by line
command Run a command – ignoring shell functions •
continue Resume the next iteration of a loop •
cp Copy one or more files to another location
cron Daemon to execute scheduled commands
crontab Schedule a command to run at a later time
csplit Split a file into context-determined pieces
cut Divide a file into several parts
D
date Display or change the date & time
dc Desk Calculator
dd Convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records
ddrescue Data recovery tool
declare Declare variables and give them attributes •
df Display free disk space
diff Display the differences between two files
diff3 Show differences among three files
dig DNS lookup
dir Briefly list directory contents
dircolors Colour setup for `ls'
dirname Convert a full pathname to just a path
dirs Display list of remembered directories
dmesg Print kernel & driver messages
du Estimate file space usage
E
echo Display message on screen •
egrep Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression
eject Eject removable media
enable Enable and disable builtin shell commands •
env Environment variables
ethtool Ethernet card settings
eval Evaluate several commands/arguments
exec Execute a command
exit Exit the shell
expect Automate arbitrary applications accessed over a terminal
expand Convert tabs to spaces
export Set an environment variable
expr Evaluate expressions
F
false Do nothing, unsuccessfully
fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk
fdisk Partition table manipulator for Linux
fg Send job to foreground
fgrep Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string
file Determine file type
find Search for files that meet a desired criteria
fmt Reformat paragraph text
fold Wrap text to fit a specified width.
for Expand words, and execute commands
format Format disks or tapes
free Display memory usage
fsck File system consistency check and repair
ftp File Transfer Protocol
function Define Function Macros
fuser Identify/kill the process that is accessing a file
G
gawk Find and Replace text within file(s)
getopts Parse positional parameters
grep Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern
groupadd Add a user security group
groupdel Delete a group
groupmod Modify a group
groups Print group names a user is in
gzip Compress or decompress named file(s)
H
hash Remember the full pathname of a name argument
head Output the first part of file(s)
help Display help for a built-in command •
history Command History
hostname Print or set system name
I
iconv Convert the character set of a file
id Print user and group id's
if Conditionally perform a command
ifconfig Configure a network interface
ifdown Stop a network interface
ifup Start a network interface up
import Capture an X server screen and save the image to file
install Copy files and set attributes
J
jobs List active jobs •
join Join lines on a common field
K
kill Stop a process from running
killall Kill processes by name
L
less Display output one screen at a time
let Perform arithmetic on shell variables •
ln Create a symbolic link to a file
local Create variables •
locate Find files
logname Print current login name
logout Exit a login shell •
look Display lines beginning with a given string
lpc Line printer control program
lpr Off line print
lprint Print a file
lprintd Abort a print job
lprintq List the print queue
lprm Remove jobs from the print queue
ls List information about file(s)
lsof List open files
M
make Recompile a group of programs
man Help manual
mkdir Create new folder(s)
mkfifo Make FIFOs (named pipes)
mkisofs Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem
mknod Make block or character special files
more Display output one screen at a time
mount Mount a file system
mtools Manipulate MS-DOS files
mtr Network diagnostics (traceroute/ping)
mv Move or rename files or directories
mmv Mass Move and rename (files)
N
netstat Networking information
nice Set the priority of a command or job
nl Number lines and write files
nohup Run a command immune to hangups
notify-send Send desktop notifications
nslookup Query Internet name servers interactively
O
open Open a file in its default application
op Operator access
P
passwd Modify a user password
paste Merge lines of files
pathchk Check file name portability
ping Test a network connection
pkill Stop processes from running
popd Restore the previous value of the current directory
pr Prepare files for printing
printcap Printer capability database
printenv Print environment variables
printf Format and print data •
ps Process status
pushd Save and then change the current directory
pwd Print Working Directory
Q
quota Display disk usage and limits
quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage
quotactl Set disk quotas
R
ram ram disk device
rcp Copy files between two machines
read Read a line from standard input •
readarray Read from stdin into an array variable •
readonly Mark variables/functions as readonly
reboot Reboot the system
rename Rename files
renice Alter priority of running processes
remsync Synchronize remote files via email
return Exit a shell function
rev Reverse lines of a file
rm Remove files
rmdir Remove folder(s)
rsync Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)
S
screen Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh
scp Secure copy (remote file copy)
sdiff Merge two files interactively
sed Stream Editor
select Accept keyboard input
seq Print numeric sequences
set Manipulate shell variables and functions
sftp Secure File Transfer Program
shift Shift positional parameters
shopt Shell Options
shutdown Shutdown or restart linux
sleep Delay for a specified time
slocate Find files
sort Sort text files
source Run commands from a file `.'
split Split a file into fixed-size pieces
ssh Secure Shell client (remote login program)
strace Trace system calls and signals
su Substitute user identity
sudo Execute a command as another user
sum Print a checksum for a file
suspend Suspend execution of this shell •
symlink Make a new name for a file
sync Synchronize data on disk with memory
T
tail Output the last part of file
tar Tape ARchiver
tee Redirect output to multiple files
test Evaluate a conditional expression
time Measure Program running time
times User and system times
touch Change file timestamps
top List processes running on the system
traceroute Trace Route to Host
trap Run a command when a signal is set(bourne)
tr Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
true Do nothing, successfully
tsort Topological sort
tty Print filename of terminal on stdin
type Describe a command •
U
ulimit Limit user resources •
umask Users file creation mask
umount Unmount a device
unalias Remove an alias •
uname Print system information
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
uniq Uniquify files
units Convert units from one scale to another
unset Remove variable or function names
unshar Unpack shell archive scripts
until Execute commands (until error)
uptime Show uptime
useradd Create new user account
userdel Delete a user account
usermod Modify user account
users List users currently logged in
uuencode Encode a binary file
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode
V
v Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
vdir Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
vi Text Editor
vmstat Report virtual memory statistics
W
wait Wait for a process to complete •
watch Execute/display a program periodically
wc Print byte, word, and line counts
whereis Search the user's $path, man pages and source files for a program
which Search the user's $path for a program file
while Execute commands
who Print all usernames currently logged in
whoami Print the current user id and name (`id -un')
wget Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS or FTP
write Send a message to another user
X
xargs Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)
xdg-open Open a file or URL in the user's preferred application.
yes Print a string until interrupted
. Run a command script in the current shell
!! Run the last command again

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