The cryptcat command is a utility in Linux that is used to establish encrypted network connections between two systems. It is similar to the nc (netcat) command, but adds support for encrypted communication using various cryptographic algorithms.
To use the cryptcat command, you will need to specify the IP address or hostname of the system that you want to connect to, as well as the port number that the connection should be established on. You can also specify additional options to customize the behavior of the connection.
Here is an example of using the cryptcat command to establish an encrypted connection to a system:
# cryptcat -l -p PORT -k KEY -e COMMAND
This will listen for incoming connections on the specified port, using the specified key for encryption and running the specified command when a connection is established. For example, if you want to listen for incoming connections on port 1234, using a key of “mykey” and running the bash shell when a connection is established, you can use the following command:
# cryptcat -l -p 1234 -k mykey -e bash
This will listen for incoming connections on port 1234, and when a connection is established, it will start a bash shell and use the “mykey” key for encryption.
cryptcat Command Examples
1. [l]isten on a specified [p]ort and print any data received:
# cryptcat -k password -l -p port
2. Connect to a certain port:
# cryptcat -k password ip_address port
3. Set a timeout [w]:
# cryptcat -k password -w timeout_in_seconds ip_address port
4. Scan [z] the open ports of a specified host:
# cryptcat -v -z ip_address port
5. Act as proxy and forward data from a local TCP port to the given remote host:
# cryptcat -k password -l -p local_port | cryptcat -k password hostname remote_port