Netdiscover – ARP Reconnaissance Tool

Netdiscover is an ARP reconnaissance tool used in Kali Linux to detect live hosts within a network. It is particularly useful in wireless and wired networks where DHCP servers are not available. Netdiscover operates by sending ARP requests to identify active devices and retrieve their IP and MAC addresses.

Install Netdiscover

Netdiscover comes pre-installed in Kali Linux. However, if it is missing, it can be installed using:

$ sudo apt install netdiscover

Basic Usage

The basic syntax of Netdiscover is as follows:

$ netdiscover [options]

Scanning the Network

To scan the network and identify active devices, use:

sudo netdiscover

This will automatically detect the local network range and scan for active hosts.

Scanning a Specific IP Range

To scan a specific IP range, use:

sudo netdiscover -r 192.168.1.0/24

This command will scan the subnet 192.168.1.0/24 for active hosts.

Passive Mode

Netdiscover can run in passive mode to listen for ARP requests without sending packets:

sudo netdiscover -p

This is useful for monitoring network activity without being detected.

Verbose Output

For detailed output, use verbose mode:

sudo netdiscover -v

Netdiscover is a simple yet effective tool for network reconnaissance, helping security professionals and penetration testers identify active devices within a network using ARP scanning techniques.