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Packet Capture and Analysis

It's crucial for any security or systems administrator to be able to capture and analyze network traffic. This allows for advanced troubleshooting as well as security review. Furthermore, having a working knowledge of the traditional capture filters, like those used in the `tcpdump` and `wireshark` utilities, is a requirement of some certification exams, such as the LPIC-3 303-200.

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Path Info

Level
Clock icon Intermediate
Duration
Clock icon 1h 0m
Last updated
Clock icon Aug 29, 2025

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Table of Contents

  1. Challenge

    Use a `tshark` capture filter to collect TCP traffic on port 80.

    1. Use a tshark capture filter to collect TCP traffic on port 80. Store the capture command output in /root/http_out.

      	tshark -f "tcp port 80" -V -R http > http_out

    2. In another SSH session, run curl www.example.com/index.html during the capture.

      	curl www.example.com/index.html

      Note: curl may produce output but it does not need to be recorded.

  2. Challenge

    Use a `tshark` display filter to collect HTTP traffic and print only HTTP response codes.

    1. Use a tshark display filter to collect HTTP traffic and print only HTTP response codes. Store the capture command output in /root/http_response.

      	tshark -Y http -Tfields -e http.response.code > http_response

    2. In a separate SSH session, run curl www.example.com/index.html and then curl www.example.com/error.html during the capture:

      	curl www.example.com/index.html

      	curl www.example.com/error.html

      Note: curl may produce output but it does not need to be recorded.

  3. Challenge

    Use a `tshark` capture filter that prints the IP address of hosts sending traffic to the test workstation on TCP port 22.

    1. Use a tshark capture filter that prints the IP address of hosts sending traffic to the test workstation on TCP port 22. Observe any IP addresses printed after several seconds.

      	tshark -f "tcp src port 22" -Tfields -e ip.dst

      Add the IP address(es) to /root/ssh_ip in a newline-delimited format.

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