How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper

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How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 5, 2025

Cracking a Password-Protected .7z File with John the Ripper

This tutorial is specifically for .7z extension files and with John The Ripper. If you have other extensions such as .zip, .tar, .rar, ... the tutorial may not work.

John the Ripper is a versatile tool for password cracking. To crack a .7z file, you need to prepare the archive for cracking by extracting its hash and then use John to attack it via brute force, dictionary, or exploiting vulnerabilities.

Step 1: Setup Your Environment

Install John the Ripper and the necessary tools:

Code 
sudo apt update

sudo apt install john p7zip-full python3 -y

Step 2: Extract the Hash

From Kali, run the 7z2john.py script on your .7z file to extract the hash:

Code 
python3 7z2john.py yourfile.7z > hash.txt

This creates a hash.txt file containing the hash for John to process.

Step 3: Run a Brute-Force Attack

Use John to run a brute-force attack:

Code 
john --incremental hash.txt

Explanation:

--incremental: Instructs John to try all possible character combinations.
Limitations: This is time-intensive, especially for long or complex passwords.

You can edit .john/john.conf file to setup the settings regarding the password characteristics, suchas :
- MinLen (minimum lenght)
- MaxLen (maximum lenght)
- Charset (define a specific set of characters)
- CharCount (number of characters to consider for password)

Here is an example of a conf.file for a password between 6 and 8 characters, with lowercase, uppcaser, numbers and special characters :

Code 
# John the Ripper Configuration File

[Incremental:Custom6-8]

File = $JOHN/all.chr

MinLen = 6

MaxLen = 8

CharCount = 95

Charset = ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789!@#$%^&*()-_=+[]{}|;:'",.<>?/`~\

To use this configuration then use the following command, specifying the name of the incremental conf you've setup (Custom6-8)

Code 
john --incremental=Custom6-8 hash.txt

Monitor the progress:

Code 
john --show hash.txt

Step 4: Run a Dictionary Attack

Prepare or download a wordlist (e.g., rockyou.txt):
If not installed, you can get it:

Code 
sudo apt install wordlists

The wordlist is usually found at /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt. Run John with the dictionary attack:

Code 
john --wordlist=/usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt hash.txt

Explanation:

--wordlist: Specifies a file containing potential passwords.
Efficiency: Faster than brute force if the password is common.

Step 5: Exploit Known Vulnerabilities (if applicable)

Weak Encryption (ZIPCrypto in some older .7z files):

Tools like pkcrack can exploit encryption weaknesses (not directly supported by John).
If you suspect the .7z uses a weak algorithm, consider alternative tools like 7zCracker for vulnerability exploitation.

Known-plaintext attack:

If you have access to part of the unencrypted content of the .7z, tools like bkcrack may help derive the password. This isn't a feature of John but can complement your efforts.

Step 6: View the Cracked Password

Once John successfully cracks the password, display it:

Code 
[*]john --show hash.txt

Tips for Optimization

Use GPU acceleration with Hashcat for complex passwords.
Customize attack modes in John by editing john.conf.
Combine dictionary and brute-force attacks:

Code 
john --wordlist=wordlist.txt --rules hash.txt

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - 7 - Jan 5, 2025

Nice thread.
Im sure your a secret Fallen member

You might want to make a note that if a file is zipped with a password there could be a reason for it such as being scanned by an AV.
So be careful with files you brute from within password encrypted zipps

John the ripper been going a long time too.
Reminds me of the Cain and Abel days

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 5, 2025

(Jan 5, 2025 07:10 AM)7 Wrote: Nice thread.
Im sure your a secret Fallen member

Thanks mate, maybe one day I'll be part of this group 😉

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - 7 - Jan 5, 2025

(Jan 5, 2025 07:24 AM)Bastille Wrote: Thanks mate, maybe one day I'll be part of this group 😉

I think you would make a great addition

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - DramaKing - Jan 6, 2025

Nice tutorial, I just want to point out that OpenCL can be a real pain to get the dependencies for and get working with John. CUDA is unsupported. Also, it only works with specific formats. I believe that 7z-opencl does exist.

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - oka986 - Jan 6, 2025

cant Install 7z2john.py

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 6, 2025

(Jan 6, 2025 10:57 AM)oka986 Wrote: cant Install 7z2john.py

This tutorial is based on Linux, you don't need to install 7z2john.py, you donwload it from github :

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openwall/john/bleeding-jumbo/run/7z2john.py

Then you make it executable with the following command :
chmod +x 7z2john.py

When you encouter an issue, feel free to provide details such as : error messages, operating system you use, and so on ..

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - oka986 - Jan 6, 2025

404:Not Found i am on linux but the error code is to long to put into here the main thing i see is ERROR 404 not found
"HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found" hope this could help

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 6, 2025

(Jan 6, 2025 11:05 AM)oka986 Wrote: 404:Not Found i am on linux but the error code is to long to put into here the main thing i see is ERROR 404 not found
"HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 404 Not Found" hope this could help

The repo doesn't longer exist, but you can find the Python script here : https://github.com/truongkma/ctf-tools/blob/master/John/run/7z2john.py

I'm updating the tutorial

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - oka986 - Jan 6, 2025

hey sorry it still doesn't work
" line 786
print "%s:$7z$0$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s" % (fname,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print(...)? "

sorry if this is annoying u

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 6, 2025

(Jan 6, 2025 11:43 AM)oka986 Wrote: hey sorry it still doesn't work
" line 786
print "%s:$7z$0$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s$%s" % (fname,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
SyntaxError: Missing parentheses in call to 'print'. Did you mean print(...)? "

sorry if this is annoying u

It looks like that this script is old and uses an old version of Python to run. Now, we're using Python 3, that could explain why it doesn't work

I've tried tho through Kali Linux where 7z2john is already available, what system are you using ?
[Image: lQrrG3L.png]

With the wordlist option it works like a charm :
[Image: E8bk1eo.png]

"cat" was the word I've put on the HF.7z file

Feel free to provide details on your config / environment

Or maybe you didn't install john ? :

Code 
sudo apt install john

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - labrute00920 - Jan 16, 2025

Hi everyone, can anyone help me find a Snapchat password or give me a reliable active link on the dark, thank you

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Bastille - Jan 16, 2025

(Jan 16, 2025 01:59 AM)labrute00920 Wrote: Hi everyone, can anyone help me find a Snapchat password or give me a reliable active link on the dark, thank you

Do not hijack someone else's thread, make your own thread in the most approriated section. And read the following thread : https://hackforums.net/showthread.php?tid=6279168

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - JoseMar - Jan 17, 2025

Nice thread my friend, keep it up this good work🕵️✌

RE: How to crack passwords on .7z files with John the Ripper - Rizwan awan - Nov 30, 2025

I am looking help to crack 7z password, but using Windows, not Linux , kindly help me in this regard