Medusa
A practical guide to the high-speed network login brute-forcer for password auditing and penetration testing.
Medusa is a fast, open-source, parallel login brute-forcer designed for security professionals, penetration testers, and system administrators who need to assess the strength of user credentials across networked services. Focused on speed, flexibility, and scalability, Medusa supports numerous remote authentication protocols and allows testers to launch highly efficient password-guessing attacks against large sets of targets.
Whether you're auditing enterprise systems, checking for weak credentials in remote services, or simulating brute-force attacks during red team operations, Medusa delivers the raw power and versatility needed for large-scale password security assessments.
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What Medusa Does
Medusa automates the process of testing username and password combinations across network services such as SSH, FTP, HTTP, Telnet, RDP, and many more. It works by attempting logins in parallel across users, passwords, and hosts, drastically increasing the speed of brute-force attacks compared to serial tools. Medusa is ideal for credential auditing in security assessments and supports modular extensions to add or customize protocol support.
By targeting multiple hosts and protocols simultaneously, Medusa uncovers weak or reused passwords across exposed services with remarkable efficiency.
Key Features of Medusa
High-Speed Parallel Brute-Forcing
Designed to be fast and scalable by conducting multiple login attempts across targets in parallel.
Modular Architecture
Supports a wide range of authentication modules, including SSH, FTP, HTTP, IMAP, MSSQL, MySQL, RDP, Telnet, VNC, and more.
Flexible Target Input
Accepts input in various formats: single hosts, multiple hosts, user lists, password lists, or combinations for massive credential testing.
Error Handling and Logging
Logs successful logins and errors cleanly for reporting and post-assessment analysis.
Customizable Attack Logic
Allows control over thread counts, delay between attempts, maximum attempts per host/user, and more.
Cross-Platform Availability
Available for Unix-based systems and easily compiled on various Linux distributions.
Advanced Use Cases
Credential Auditing and Policy Testing
Identify weak, default, or reused passwords across systems to validate security policies and enforce stronger credentials.
Red Team and Penetration Testing
Simulate external or internal brute-force attacks on exposed services during authorized security engagements.
Service Enumeration and Attack Surface Mapping
Use Medusa in combination with port scanning tools (like Nmap) to identify login endpoints and weak entry points.
CTF Competitions and Security Training
Practice brute-force techniques in lab environments and Capture the Flag scenarios to understand authentication weaknesses.
Automated Security Workflows
Integrate Medusa into automated scripts and security pipelines to routinely check for weak logins during vulnerability management.
Latest Updates
Recent improvements to Medusa include:
Expanded protocol module support including fixes for newer versions of SSH, HTTP, and SMB
Performance enhancements for multi-threaded attacks across large host lists
Improved logging formats for easier parsing and analysis
Additional error-handling options for unstable or rate-limiting services
Ongoing community support via GitHub forks and contributions
Why It Matters
Password security remains one of the most common weaknesses exploited by attackers. Medusa helps defenders stay ahead by identifying and eliminating weak credentials before threat actors can exploit them. With its speed and multi-protocol capabilities, Medusa is a critical asset for any team conducting password audits, risk assessments, or internal red team exercises.
Requirements and Platform Support
Medusa runs on:
Linux and other Unix-like systems (Kali Linux, Ubuntu, etc.)
It requires:
GCC for compilation (or pre-built binaries on some distros)
Access to the target network or remote services
Username and password lists for brute-force input
Root or sudo privileges for some modules (e.g., SMB, RDP)
Medusa is open-source and available for free at https://github.com/jmk-foofus/medusa, with detailed documentation, plugin development guides, and a growing user community focused on credential testing and secure authentication practices.