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NMAP Cheat Sheet
Nmap is a free open source tool, employed to discover hosts and services on a computer network by sending packets and analyzing the retrieved responses. Nmap offers features for probing computer networks, including host discovery and service and operating system detection.
Nmap provides additional information on targets, including reverse DNS names, device types, and MAC addresses. It supports scriptable interaction through the Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE) for advanced network reconnaissance.
Core Capabilities
-
Host discovery − Identifying hosts on a network that respond to TCP and/or ICMP requests or have particular ports open
-
Port scanning − Enumerating open ports on target hosts to identify running services
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OS detection − Determining the operating system and hardware characteristics of network devices
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Version detection − Interrogating network services to determine application names and version numbers
Common Use Cases
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Network inventory, mapping, and asset management
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Security auditing by identifying open ports and services
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Firewall rule testing and network connectivity verification
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Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
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DNS queries and subdomain enumeration
Basic Scanning Commands
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Scan a Single Target | nmap [target] | nmap 192.168.0.1 |
| Scan Multiple Targets | nmap [target1] [target2] | nmap 192.168.0.1 192.168.0.2 |
| Scan a Range of Hosts | nmap [range] | nmap 192.168.0.1-10 |
| Scan an Entire Subnet | nmap [ip address/cidr] | nmap 192.168.0.1/24 |
| Excluding Targets | nmap [targets] --exclude [targets] | nmap 192.168.0.1/24 --exclude 192.168.0.100 |
| Aggressive Scan | nmap -A [target] | nmap -A 192.168.0.1 |
Discovery Options
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ping Only Scan | nmap -sn [target] | nmap -sn 192.168.0.1 |
| Skip Ping | nmap -Pn [target] | nmap -Pn 192.168.0.1 |
| TCP SYN Ping | nmap -PS [target] | nmap -PS 192.168.0.1 |
| UDP Ping | nmap -PU [target] | nmap -PU 192.168.0.1 |
| ICMP Echo Ping | nmap -PE [target] | nmap -PE 192.168.0.1 |
| ARP Ping | nmap -PR [target] | nmap -PR 192.168.0.1 |
Advanced Scanning Types
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| TCP SYN Scan | nmap -sS [target] | nmap -sS 192.168.0.1 |
| TCP Connect Scan | nmap -sT [target] | nmap -sT 192.168.0.1 |
| UDP Scan | nmap -sU [target] | nmap -sU 192.168.0.1 |
| TCP NULL Scan | nmap -sN [target] | nmap -sN 192.168.0.1 |
| TCP FIN Scan | nmap -sF [target] | nmap -sF 192.168.0.1 |
| Xmas Scan | nmap -sX [target] | nmap -sX 192.168.0.1 |
Port Scanning Options
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fast Scan | nmap -F [target] | nmap -F 192.168.0.1 |
| Specific Ports | nmap -p [ports] [target] | nmap -p 21-25,80,443 192.168.0.1 |
| All Ports | nmap -p- [target] | nmap -p- 192.168.0.1 |
| Top Ports | nmap --top-ports [number] [target] | nmap --top-ports 100 192.168.0.1 |
Version Detection & OS Fingerprinting
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| OS Detection | nmap -O [target] | nmap -O 192.168.0.1 |
| Service Version Detection | nmap -sV [target] | nmap -sV 192.168.0.1 |
| Aggressive Detection | nmap -A [target] | nmap -A 192.168.0.1 |
Scripting Engine (NSE)
| Goal | Command | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Execute Script | nmap --script [script] [target] | nmap --script vuln 192.168.0.1 |
| Script Categories | auth, default, discovery, safe, vuln | nmap --script safe 192.168.0.1 |
| Update Scripts | nmap --script-updatedb | nmap --script-updatedb |
Conclusion
Nmap is an essential network discovery and security auditing tool that provides comprehensive host discovery, port scanning, and service detection capabilities. Its extensive command-line options and scripting engine make it invaluable for network administrators, security professionals, and penetration testers.
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