We can use masking to target specific patterns without a wordlist. Masks follow a simple syntax where each character pattern type is defined with either a range or a placeholder with a question mark. For example, an uppercase (ASCII) letter would be defined with ?u, which would then be placed in the desired character position. Let's look at some examples:
|
Pattern |
Mask |
|
Six-character password with no symbols; an uppercase initial letter; last character is a digit |
--mask=?u[A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9][A-Za-z0-9]?d |
|
10-character password, all printable ASCII characters possible; first two letters are either A, B, or C of any case; last three characters are digits |
--mask=[A-Ca-c][A-Ca-c]?a?a?a?a?a?d?d?d ... |
