Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters

by Justin Seitz

When it comes to creating powerful and effective hacking tools, Python is the language of choice for most security analysts. But just how does the magic happen?

In Black Hat Python, the latest from Justin Seitz (author of the best-selling Gray Hat Python), you'll explore the darker side of Python's capabilities writing network sniffers, manipulating packets, infecting virtual machines, creating stealthy trojans, and more. You'll learn how to:


Create a trojan command-and-control using GitHub
Detect sandboxing and automate common malware tasks, like keylogging and screenshotting
Escalate Windows privileges with creative process control
Use offensive memory forensics tricks to retrieve password hashes and inject shellcode into a virtual machine
Extend the popular Burp Suite web-hacking tool
Abuse Windows COM automation to perform a man-in-the-browser attack
Exfiltrate data from a network most sneakily
Insider techniques and creative challenges throughout show you how to extend the hacks and how to write your own exploits.When it comes to offensive security, your ability to create powerful tools on the fly is indispensable. Learn how in Black Hat Python.

"

Genres: Hackers, Programming, Technology, Nonfiction, Computer Science, Technical, Computers

171 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2014

Reviews

[Julio Biason · Rating 2 out of 5]

The very first chapter give me high hopes for this book: Since Python is basically part of every single Linux install, you could do a shitton retrieving system and user information by just using the normal packages. You won't even need to install nmap or similar; using plain Python packages, you could check which services are running and such.

But then, things go downhill.

After the first chapter, you start to add Python packages, which means you need to have root access -- and even if you use something like a virtualenv, you still would announce yourself by requesting things over the net using easy_install (the book never mentions pip -- heck, it doesn't even mentions virtualenv to avoid being root), which could be easily blocked by sysadmins if your company doesn't have anything with Python.

And it doesn't stop at that: after these starting chapters, it start hacking Windows machines. Heck, Python is not installed by default on Windows and a py2exe executable weights something like 15Mb, which isn't much in bandwidth, but it's noticeable. And then it starts installing packages and more packages and requesting to run things as administrator, which would surely be a hassle.

The Python code itself is simplistic, to say the least. At the very first chapters I noticed that the code was basically C code translated to Python, which wouldn't be a problem if you're thinking about replacing basic hack code with Python code -- because it is easier to find Python installed than GCC, for example -- but with the problems cited above actually make me think that the author never really cared about Pythonic code, just did the very minimum to make code run and that's it.

So, it's a bad book about hacking because it requires privileged access beforehand and it's a bad book about Python because it doesn't follow Python good practices. In the end, it's just a book with a few interesting Python libraries, nothing more.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, great examples with solid explanations of code. Great fun to play with in my spare time. As I had prior experience with sockets in C I was pleased to be able to pick up sockets in python so quickly. Github did not disappoint.

Not a book for a beginner scripter even if it does start with "how to install an IDE" - which was my only hang up ironically. Kali 2.0 came out a few weeks after this book and my determination to test it out while working through this book was a pain the ass. Eventually gave up on dropping WingIDE into Kali 2.0 and stuck with CLI and good ol' GCC.

[Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than Gray Hat Python, though some dependencies are a hell to install. Gives information on useful tools every penetration tester/hacker should have in their arsenal.

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[Anton Antonov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tech book was quite different from the ones I’ve read before, especially at that period of time.
It offered a unique and enjoyable reading experience. Although hacking and penetration testing aren’t my areas of interest, the book helped me confirm that.

What I did find valuable was learning how to write small Python programs for decoding the Internet Protocol (IP) and ICMP. It served as a fun introduction to concepts that were relatively new to me at the time.

The book delves further into hacking and writing various small hacky programs. While it’s entertaining, it’s not my preferred type of fun - and that’s perfectly fine.

P.S. There’s also a 2nd edition from 2021 that I haven’t checked out yet. I recommend starting with that one, as the book now uses dated Python libraries.

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[Daniel Gligorov · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half of the book, 90 pages are good, but then shifts to Windows stuff.
I liked the examples with multi threading.
However “Violent Python, Syngress” is a much better read and if you have red that one, you can skip this one.

[baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this throughout 2023 for great insights and ways to create some good Python scripts. It's a bit outdated (Python 2.7) and not suitable for beginners at all. Make sure to be proficient with Python before buying

[Srdan Dukic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific book with heaps of theory and hands on examples. Covers a lot of topics.

By the end of the book I was not "coding along", but rather just reading through the examples.

Some parts were a bit dated, but most of the examples still worked.

[Chakrit Yau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Python ทำให้ทุกอย่างง่ายดาย แม้กระทั่งการเขียน malware

[Frank Palardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a few years old but good for python networking.

[Mike Sachs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent book, but many of the codes just don't work. Be prepared to fix them. But, hey that's a good way to learn too right?

[العاقل البحري]

super

[Michal Zima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent content, so many things to learn it's hard to find a start.

But the code could be written in python3

[عَبدُالكَرِيمْ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is full of snippet of codes! What's the use of that on a physical book? I wish it just discussed ideas and methods like the book Algorithm or the like.

Meh read. Didn't really like it.

[BBFlyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting codes, but book hard to read on an eReader because of the way the code was linked to the explanation.

[tungdam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entry levels for for hacking. There’s not much about python. Good examples and use cases. Things are well explained. I skipped several chapters as its windows related though.

[Chris]

Not bad.

[Hugh Smalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Hat Python explores the darker side of Python’s capabilities, helping you test your systems and improve your security posture.

When it comes to creating powerful and effective hacking tools, Python is the language of choice for most security analysts. But just how does the magic happen?

In *Black Hat Python*, the latest from Justin Seitz (author of the best-selling *Gray Hat Python*), you'll explore the darker side of Python's capabilities writing network sniffers, manipulating packets, infecting virtual machines, creating stealthy trojans, and more. You'll learn how to:

Create a trojan command-and-control using GitHub
Detect sandboxing and automate common malware tasks, like keylogging and screenshotting
Escalate Windows privileges with creative process control
Use offensive memory forensics tricks to retrieve password hashes and inject shellcode into a virtual machine
Extend the popular Burp Suite web-hacking tool
Abuse Windows COM automation to perform a man-in-the-browser attack
Exfiltrate data from a network most sneakily
Insider techniques and creative challenges throughout show you how to extend the hacks and how to write your own exploits.When it comes to offensive security, your ability to create powerful tools on the fly is indispensable. Learn how in *Black Hat Python*.

"

[Julio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well laid out book. It reads easily and the python examples are great. Seitz python is simple and effective. You'll get a taste of it early on with his python packet sniffer.
I found of special interest his approach to XSS and Windows post exploitation techniques. Here's what you'll take away from this book: python's capacity to interact with many different api's and programs is what makes it such a powerful tool.

[Michael Corley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book should definitely be on your shelf if you are a programmer and particularly if you a python programmer. It is a must own text which lays out how to conduct attacks in a very simple manner. I always thought there was so much mystery concerning hacking and cyber security, but he breaks down complex topics at a code level so you can understand them. It is extremely well written and very understandable.

[AMAN KAUSHIK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Hat Python touches the essence of ethical hacking and penetration testing. It provides hands-on knowledge about networking, building small servers, creating custom hacking tools, and privilege escalation. The book dives deep into scripting for cybersecurity, automation, and exploiting system vulnerabilities, making it a must-read for anyone interested in offensive security. It is an amazing and insightful read.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early chapters of this book are great, but once it gets into Windows content, it's just too much work to try to get the libraries installed to even try the code. The authors don't mention the issues of getting some of the libraries (specifically pyWinhook) to actually install, so if you get bogged down there, it's not just you.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, it was a good book. I especially liked the online code. Also, I liked that, being an EFF member, I got a discount.

[Graziano Misuraca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but they got lazy (again) with checking their code samples.