What tools can I build in Ruby to automate penetration testing tasks

+1 vote
I’m interested in using Ruby to develop tools that automate specific penetration testing tasks. I know Ruby has libraries like Metasploit, but I’m curious about what other types of automation tools I can create for tasks such as reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, or password cracking.

Can anyone suggest ideas or examples of penetration testing tools in Ruby, along with any useful libraries or resources that might streamline the development process?
Oct 29 in Cyber Security & Ethical Hacking by Anupam
• 6,890 points
113 views

1 answer to this question.

+1 vote

Ruby is a versatile language that is well-suited for developing penetration testing automation tools due to its wide range of libraries and its ability to integrate with other tools. Here are some types of automation tools you can build using Ruby, along with useful libraries and examples:

1. Reconnaissance Tools

Automate the process of gathering information about a target, such as domain information, IP addresses, and public-facing services.

Example Tools:

  • Whois Lookup Tool: Use the whois gem to fetch domain registration details.
  • DNS Information Gathering: Use the resolv and dnsruby gems to query DNS records and enumerate subdomains.

Libraries:

  • whois: For domain lookup.
  • resolv and dnsruby: For DNS queries and subdomain enumeration.
require 'whois'
client = Whois.whois('example.com')
puts client.parser.nameservers

2. Vulnerability Scanning Tools

Automate the process of scanning for vulnerabilities in web applications, networks, or servers.

Example Tools:

  • Port Scanning Tool: Build a tool to check open ports using TCP/UDP scans.
  • Basic HTTP Vulnerability Scanner: Automate checks for common web application vulnerabilities (e.g., SQL injection, XSS).

Libraries:

  • socket: For port scanning.
  • open-uri & nokogiri: For HTTP requests and parsing responses for vulnerabilities.
require 'socket'

def port_scan(host, port)
  begin
    socket = TCPSocket.new(host, port)
    puts "Port #{port} is open."
    socket.close
  rescue Errno::ECONNREFUSED
    puts "Port #{port} is closed."
  end
end

port_scan('example.com', 80)

3. Password Cracking Tools

Develop tools for automating password cracking using dictionary attacks or brute-force techniques.

Example Tools:

  • Brute Force Cracker: Automate dictionary attacks for cracking hashed passwords (e.g., MD5, SHA1).
  • Rainbow Tables: Implement rainbow table lookups to optimize cracking efficiency.

Libraries:

  • bcrypt: For bcrypt hashing and cracking.
  • digest: For MD5, SHA1, and other hash algorithms.
require 'bcrypt'

password_hash = BCrypt::Password.create("secret")
puts password_hash

4. Network Sniffing Tools

Monitor network traffic to detect potential security issues, such as unencrypted data or suspicious patterns.

Example Tools:

  • Packet Sniffer: Capture network packets and analyze them for unencrypted credentials.
  • Man-in-the-Middle Simulation: Automate MITM attacks for testing encryption weaknesses.

Libraries:

  • pcapruby: A Ruby binding for libpcap that allows you to capture and analyze packets.
require 'pcapruby'

Pcap.open_live('eth0', 65535, true, 0) do |dev|
  dev.each_packet do |pkt|
    puts pkt
  end
end

5. Exploitation Tools

Automate the exploitation of known vulnerabilities.

Example Tools:

  • Exploit Framework: Integrate with Metasploit to automate exploit deployment.
  • Reverse Shell: Create a Ruby-based reverse shell for controlled exploitation.

Libraries:

  • msf: Use the Metasploit framework from Ruby for exploit automation.
  • socket: For creating simple reverse shells.

6. Web Scraping & Information Extraction

Gather sensitive data from web applications, scrape for vulnerabilities, or analyze website content.

Example Tools:

  • Crawl Websites: Automate the crawling of websites for potential security issues.
  • Form Fuzzer: Automatically submit data to forms to check for flaws.

Libraries:

  • nokogiri: For parsing HTML/XML and web scraping.
  • mechanize: For automating web interactions (clicking links, submitting forms).
require 'mechanize'

agent = Mechanize.new
page = agent.get('http://example.com')
form = page.form_with(action: '/login')
form.field_with(name: 'username').value = 'admin'
form.field_with(name: 'password').value = 'password123'
page = form.submit
puts page.body

7. Reporting and Logging Tools

Generate detailed reports based on the penetration testing tasks performed.

Example Tools:

  • Report Generator: Automate the process of generating HTML/PDF reports for vulnerabilities found.

Libraries:

  • erb: For embedding Ruby code in HTML templates.
  • prawn: For generating PDF reports
answered Nov 6 by CaLLmeDaDDY
• 9,600 points
Thank you for this excellent guide! The examples are very detailed and give a clear roadmap for anyone looking to automate their penetration testing tasks with Ruby. The explanations of each library and its use case were spot on!

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