netdiscover – Active/Passive ARP Reconnaissance

netdiscover is an active/passive ARP reconnaissance tool designed for network discovery without DHCP. Originally developed for wardriving, it excels at finding hosts on wireless networks and unknown network ranges. Its passive mode allows silent monitoring of ARP traffic without sending any packets.

Security professionals appreciate netdiscover’s stealth capabilities in passive mode, which captures ARP announcements without generating network traffic. This makes it valuable for penetration testing and network reconnaissance where remaining undetected is important.

Key Features

• Passive Mode – Silent ARP monitoring
• Active Scanning – Fast network discovery
• Auto Range Detection – Discover network ranges
• MAC Vendor Lookup – Identify device manufacturers
• Multiple Ranges – Scan multiple subnets
• Curses Interface – Interactive display

Installation

sudo apt install netdiscover    # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install netdiscover    # Fedora/RHEL

Basic Usage Examples

# Active scan of range
sudo netdiscover -r 192.168.1.0/24

# Passive mode
sudo netdiscover -p

# Specify interface
sudo netdiscover -i eth0 -r 192.168.1.0/24

# Fast scan mode
sudo netdiscover -f -r 192.168.1.0/24

# Auto-detect range
sudo netdiscover -i wlan0

Use Cases

• Penetration Testing – Reconnaissance phase scanning
• Wireless Auditing – Discover hosts on wireless networks
• Network Mapping – Document connected devices
• Rogue Detection – Find unauthorized hosts
• Silent Monitoring – Passive network observation

Download netdiscover