← Back to Academy

Academy Node

SMB Enumeration

SMB enumeration checks shares, permissions, signing, sessions, and whether credentials work against Windows hosts.

Beginner100 XPEnumeration

Why it matters

SMB is usually the first real AD foothold source: usernames, files, passwords, shares, and local admin checks.

How to identify it

  • Port 445 open
  • Anonymous or credentialed SMB access
  • Readable shares or IPC access

BloodHound indicators

  • Sessions
  • AdminTo
  • File shares manually mapped from loot

NetExec commands

nxc smb 192.168.184.0/24
nxc smb 192.168.184.141 -u '' -p '' --shares
nxc smb 192.168.184.141 -d xutslabs.local -u ba_low -p 'Password123' --shares

Impacket commands

smbclient -L //192.168.184.141 -N
smbclient //192.168.184.141/SHARE -U 'xutslabs.local/ba_low%Password123'

Linux commands

smbmap -H 192.168.184.141 -u ba_low -p 'Password123' -d xutslabs.local

Expected output

  • Share listing
  • READ/WRITE permissions
  • Pwn3d! means local admin in NetExec

Success looks like

  • Find readable shares
  • Find files with creds
  • Validate user has admin access

Failure looks like

  • STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
  • No shares beyond IPC$

Troubleshooting

  • Try hostname and IP
  • Add DC to /etc/hosts
  • Try domain and local auth formats

Common mistakes

  • Only checking anonymous SMB
  • Not recursively downloading readable shares
  • Ignoring WRITE access

Alternative attacks

  • LDAP enumeration
  • RPC enumeration
  • Password spraying

What to try next

  • Download readable shares
  • Search for passwords
  • Validate found creds
  • Run BloodHound if creds work

Recommended next lessons