macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install ncracklocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew
Install ncrack with Homebrew, apt, dnf, Nix, pacman
Network authentication cracking tool. Version 0.7 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-22.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install ncrackDebian stable package indexes · ncrack · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install ncrackFedora Rawhide package metadata · ncrack · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#ncracknixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/nc/ncrack/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S ncrackArch Linux sync databases · ncrack · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
overview
Package summary
Network authentication cracking tool
Project links
Commands and aliases
- ncrack
history
Project history and usage
Ncrack is the Nmap project's standalone network-authentication cracking tool. It was built for high-speed, parallel credential testing across many network services, with Nmap-like command-line syntax, timing controls, runtime interaction, and a modular protocol architecture.
Project history
The official Ncrack page says it began as a Google Summer of Code project in 2009. The man page describes it as a Summer 2009 project and beta-quality software, while a September 10, 2010 nmap-dev announcement calls Ncrack 0.3ALPHA a post-SoC release and highlights new SMB and RDP modules.
Adoption history
Ncrack's adoption came from the Nmap ecosystem and password-auditing niche: security professionals used it to test large networks for weak or default passwords. The official page later added a deprecation notice saying Ncrack is useful for some purposes but not fully developed or maintained, and that Nmap's focus shifted to brute-force scripts in NSE.
How it is used
Package users run ncrack against authorized targets with service-qualified host specs, username and password lists, timing templates, and per-service options. It can consume Nmap target output formats, report discovered credentials, and test modules such as SSH, RDP, FTP, Telnet, HTTP(S), SMB, VNC, databases, and other network protocols.
Why package nerds care
Ncrack is significant less because it became the dominant password-auditing tool and more because it shows how the Nmap community tried to split credential testing into a specialized engine. The later deprecation notice is part of the package story: keeping it available helps reproduce old workflows, but users should notice that active Nmap credential work moved elsewhere.
Timeline
- Summer 2009: Ncrack starts as a Google Summer of Code project.
- September 10, 2010: Ncrack 0.3ALPHA announced with SMB and RDP modules.
- 2019: Official page identifies 0.7 as the latest release and says main focus shifted to Nmap NSE brute-force scripts.
Related projects
- Nmap, Nmap Scripting Engine, Nsock, password auditing tools, Hydra-like credential testing workflows
Sources
security posture
Risk level: blue
broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.
Risk classifier
blue risk · medium confidence · tool
Why
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
Signals
- text:network
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
ncrack | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-07
manager version0.7
manager updated2026-06-22
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detected0.7
https://github.com/nmap/ncrack
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:ncrack |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.7 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/ncrack |
| Homepage | https://nmap.org/ncrack/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/nmap/ncrack |
| Upstream docs | https://nmap.org/ncrack |
| License | LicenseRef-Homebrew-cannot-represent |
| Source archive | https://github.com/nmap/ncrack/archive/refs/tags/0.7.tar.gz |
| Last updated | 2026-06-22T14:05:35-07:00 |
| Pulse | updated |
| Dependencies | openssl@3 |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | ncrack |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 1 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
ncrack 0.7+debian-6
High-speed network authentication cracking tool
sudo apt install ncrack- Section: net
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ncrack
Nix95%
ncrack
nix profile install nixpkgs#ncrack- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ncrack
Ubuntu apt95%
ncrack 0.7+debian-5ubuntu1
High-speed network authentication cracking tool
sudo apt install ncrack- Section: universe/net
- Architecture: amd64
- 4 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ncrack
dnf95%
ncrack 0.7-18.fc44
A high-speed network auth cracking tool
sudo dnf install ncrack- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-GPLv2-with-exceptions
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: ncrack
- 7 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ncrack
pacman95%
ncrack 0.7-3
High-speed network authentication cracking tool
sudo pacman -S ncrack- License: GPL2
- Architecture: x86_64
- 1 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Ncrack
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment