What Are the Best Password Cracking Tools for CEH?

Introduction

Weak passwords remain the easiest way attackers gain access. In CEH v12/v13, password cracking carries 15–20% weightage in both theory and practical exams. You will face NTLM, LM, SHA-1, MD5, bcrypt, Kerberos, and even Linux shadow hashes. At Ethical Hacking Training Institute, every student cracks 1000+ real hashes during the course using the exact tools below.

Top 9 Password Cracking Tools You Must Master for CEH

Hashcat – The King of Password Cracking (Must-Know Commands)

• hashcat -m 1000 -a 0 hash.txt rockyou.txt → NTLM dictionary
• hashcat -m 0 -a 3 hash.txt ?a?a?a?a?a?a?a?a → 8-char brute force
• hashcat -m 1800 -a 6 hash.txt rockyou.txt ?d?d?d?d → hybrid attack
• hashcat --force → use on CPU if no GPU
• hashcat -m 22000 → WPA/WPA2 handshakes
• Our institute provides pre-configured GPU cloud instances for instant cracking

John the Ripper – Best for Rules & Custom Attacks

John excels at rule-based attacks using wordlist mangling. It automatically applies thousands of mutations (l33t, case changes, append numbers). In our labs, students crack 70% of hashes with john --wordlist=rockyou.txt --rules alone. Perfect when Hashcat GPU is not available.

Hydra & Medusa – Online Password Guessing

• hydra -l admin -P rockyou.txt ssh://192.168.1.10
• hydra -L users.txt -P passes.txt rdp://10.10.10.10
• hydra -t 4 → limit threads to avoid lockout
• medusa → alternative with better HTTP form support
• Used heavily in CEH practical for SSH/RDP/FTP attacks

Crunch & RainbowCrack – Wordlist & Rainbow Table Tools

• crunch 8 8 0123456789 -o numbers.txt → generate custom lists
• RainbowCrack → pre-computed tables for LM/NTLM (instant crack)
• ophcrack → free Windows LM/NTLM rainbow tables + GUI

Best Wordlists & Rules for 2025

rockyou.txt (14M), weakpass, crackstation-human-only (1.5B), Hashes.org leaked lists, and our institute’s custom 5GB Indian + corporate wordlist give 90% success rate in labs.

Conclusion: Crack Any Password in Minutes

Master these 9 tools and you will never fail the password cracking section in CEH theory or practical. At Ethical Hacking Training Institute, you get:

• GPU-enabled cloud cracking rigs
• 10GB+ wordlists & rainbow tables
• Daily live cracking challenges
• Weekend & weekday batches
• 100% practical labs

Join our running CEH batch today and start cracking real enterprise hashes legally from day 1!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which tool is fastest for password cracking?

Hashcat with GPU — it’s 100× faster than John on GPU.

Is GPU required for CEH?

No, but our cloud labs provide free GPU instances.

Is online cracking (Hydra) tested in practical?

Yes, SSH, RDP, and HTTP form attacks appear regularly.

Can I crack Windows passwords without tools?

No, but ophcrack rainbow tables make it instant.

Is RainbowCrack still relevant?

Yes for LM/NTLM hashes (Windows XP/7).

Which wordlist is best?

rockyou.txt + our institute’s custom Indian list.

Does CEH teach brute force or dictionary?

Both + hybrid + mask + rules attacks.

Is Hashcat pre-installed in Kali?

Yes, latest version always.

Can I practice cracking legally?

Yes, 100% in our cloud lab with real hashes.

Which module has password cracking?

Module 06: System Hacking – highest weight.

How many passwords should I crack for practice?

Minimum 1000+ using different tools & attack types.

Is coding needed for cracking tools?

No, all are command-line ready.

Do you provide GPU lab?

Yes, unlimited GPU cloud rigs 24×7.

Weekend batch for password cracking?

Yes, live classes every Saturday-Sunday.

How to start today?

Book free demo — crack your first NTLM hash in 10 minutes!