| name | conducting-wireless-network-penetration-test |
| description | Conducts authorized wireless network penetration tests to assess the security of WiFi infrastructure by testing for weak encryption protocols, captive portal bypasses, evil twin attacks, WPA2/WPA3 handshake capture, rogue access point detection, and client-side attacks. The tester evaluates wireless authentication, network segmentation, and the effectiveness of wireless intrusion detection systems. Activates for requests involving wireless pentest, WiFi security assessment, WPA2/WPA3 testing, or rogue access point detection.
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| domain | cybersecurity |
| subdomain | penetration-testing |
| tags | ["wireless-pentest","WiFi-security","WPA2","WPA3","evil-twin"] |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| author | mahipal |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| nist_csf | ["ID.RA-01","ID.RA-06","GV.OV-02","DE.AE-07"] |
Conducting Wireless Network Penetration Test
When to Use
- Assessing the security of enterprise wireless networks including guest, corporate, and IoT WiFi segments
- Testing whether attackers within physical proximity can compromise wireless authentication and access internal networks
- Validating wireless intrusion detection/prevention system (WIDS/WIPS) capabilities against known attack techniques
- Evaluating the effectiveness of WPA3 migration and transition mode configurations
- Testing network segmentation between wireless and wired networks after a wireless network compromise
Do not use against wireless networks without written authorization from the network owner, for jamming or denial-of-service attacks against wireless infrastructure unless explicitly authorized, or in environments where wireless disruption could affect life-safety systems.
Prerequisites
- Written authorization specifying target SSIDs, BSSIDs, and physical testing locations
- External WiFi adapter supporting monitor mode and packet injection (Alfa AWUS036ACH, TP-Link TL-WN722N v1)
- Kali Linux or equivalent with up-to-date wireless tools (aircrack-ng suite, hostapd, bettercap)
- Physical access to the testing location during authorized testing hours
- Knowledge of the target's wireless architecture (SSIDs, authentication types, RADIUS infrastructure)
Workflow
Step 1: Wireless Reconnaissance
Discover and map all wireless networks in the target environment:
- Enable monitor mode:
airmon-ng start wlan0
- Capture wireless traffic:
airodump-ng wlan0mon -w recon --output-format csv,pcap to discover all SSIDs, BSSIDs, channels, encryption types, and connected clients
- Identify target networks from the authorized scope and note their security configurations (WEP, WPA2-Personal, WPA2-Enterprise, WPA3-SAE, WPA3-Transition)
- Enumerate connected clients and their signal strengths to understand client distribution
- Check for hidden SSIDs by capturing probe requests from clients:
airodump-ng wlan0mon --essid-regex ".*" -c <channel>
- Identify rogue access points by comparing discovered BSSIDs against the client's authorized AP inventory
Step 2: WPA2-Personal Handshake Capture and Cracking
For WPA2-PSK networks, capture the 4-way handshake and attempt offline cracking:
- Target the specific AP:
airodump-ng wlan0mon -c <channel> --bssid <bssid> -w capture
- Deauthenticate a connected client to force re-authentication:
aireplay-ng -0 5 -a <bssid> -c <client_mac> wlan0mon
