# nmap/ncrack

Ncrack network authentication tool

Repository: https://github.com/nmap/ncrack
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ncrack
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2024-04-14T21:37:48+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3908, "days_push": 871, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1220, forks 270 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:01.935898+00:00)

## What it is
Ncrack is a high-speed network authentication cracking tool from the Nmap project, designed to audit hosts and network devices for weak passwords. It supports many protocols including SSH, RDP, HTTP, SMB, and various databases, with a modular architecture and Nmap-like command-line syntax.

## Use cases
- audit network hosts for weak passwords
- bruteforce SSH credentials during a pentest
- test RDP and VNC logins for poor passwords
- large-scale password auditing of multiple hosts
- check database services like MySQL and PostgreSQL for default credentials
- security audit of client networks

## When to choose
- you need fast, large-scale credential auditing across many hosts and protocols
- you want Nmap-style CLI syntax and runtime interaction
- you need a modular tool you can extend with custom protocol modules

## When to avoid
- you need a general vulnerability scanner rather than authentication testing
- you want a GUI-based password auditing tool
- your use case is offline password hash cracking rather than network authentication

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: security, penetration-testing, cli
- domain: security, penetration-testing, networking, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: password-cracking, bruteforce, network-audit, credential-testing, nmap-family, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- nmap/ncrack (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.935898+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:16:01.442225+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nmap/ncrack (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:01.935898+00:00, sha a62f93c67282)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.