Programming Languages Commonly Used by Hackers

In certain situations, it might be necessary and beneficial for researchers and penetration testers to use a technique in addition to or in place of scanners and point-and-click software. A programming language is a tool that assists in the execution ...

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In certain situations, it might be necessary and beneficial for researchers and penetration testers to use a technique in addition to or in place of scanners and point-and-click software. A programming language is a tool that assists in the execution of code that directly influences what will occur. As a result, many hackers prefer and frequently use one or more programming languages to conduct their hacking activities. It is important to have an understanding of hackers and their characteristics, as well as those terms that are commonly associated with hackers.

Hackers are essentially individuals who specialize in working with computers and systems. They often engage in creating software projects, and it is not unheard of for hackers to contribute to fields of study. The primary tool of any hacker is the programming language that they employ. This is why, when contemplating and attempting to use a different method of finding a security glitch, a hacker might use a programming language in addition to using scanners.

There are programming languages that are more often utilized by hackers when breach and penetration checks are carried out. Furthermore, Microsoft operating systems are not going to be discussed in the programs area. There are stricter guidelines and more scanning equipment readily available, designed primarily for determining security flaws on Microsoft operating systems.

Definition of Hacker

Programming Languages Commonly Used by Hackers

The term “hacker” has various interpretations within the tech community. Some view a hacker as a self-motivated programmer who creates and explores challenging software. Others see hackers as individuals who unlawfully access computer systems or deploy viruses. Ethically, there’s a fine line between ethical hacking, where programmers test and secure systems, and malicious hacking, where individuals exploit vulnerabilities for harmful purposes.

Hackers possess a range of skills, primarily programming, scripting, security, and exploitation knowledge. They are not inherently good or bad, with some aiming to enhance security (White Hats) while others seek to exploit weaknesses (Black Hats or crackers), and some falling in between (Grey Hats). Hackers should not be confused with recent pop-culture references or associated with political struggles.

Society typically perceives software engineers and hackers as morally correct individuals detached from capitalism, though many are part of the working class and engaged in scientific research and innovation. Understanding hackers and real programmers have historical roots dating back to the experimentation with technology in the 50s and 60s.

Role of Programming Languages in Hacking

Using programming languages, a hacker has an idea of hacking into someone’s system, bypassing security, getting access to compromised systems, and using various hacking tools. If they pick the wrong programming language, the hacker won’t be able to progress faster in the field. However, it could also become impossible if the wrong programming language is used. Features of programming languages are incorporated into hacking. In networks, such as packet forging, analyzing and manipulating packets, transforming networks, and using flows in special ways. Port scanners can break security containing restrictive input commands.

Breaking or reading things is often done by databases, servers, and files. These are backed by low-level writing languages and memory and process control. When a hacker plans step by step for hacking, they should think about what exactly is necessary for them to continue the hacking process. Similarly, hacking is more likely to happen with the help of this programming language. Information Security or ethical hackers generally start exploiting writing, becoming manipulative, profitable opportunities. High-level language-oriented languages are good writing-oriented, shell-generated logging software. They are used for many reasons as they write, exploit buffers, cut dynamic environments, or try to maintain remote memory. A language is often used for back-end code such as buffer overflows and cyber viruses.

If a hacker not only knows how to exploit a bug but also knows how the exploit is written, then the hacker succeeds in penetration testing. In short, the more versatile and usable a language is in different systems and programs, the more valuable it is to the hacker. Since hackers apply those to various operating systems and services, high-level writing languages should be prioritized. Low-level packages also write exploits, but we do not see these as much, using the base programming languages.

It offers Assembler, which is directly used in hardware access. Understanding and mastering both high and low-level languages makes sense in various offensive measures. They do the same as you do if you are defending. If you can, to some degree, understand what individuals use to attack you?

Low-Level Languages

One of the unique characteristics of hackers as software developers is that they often use one or more low-level programming languages. Low-level languages program more closely to hardware and are often used for tasks where performance is necessary, requiring close control over what the machine is doing. This means they are frequently utilized by many hardware and system software developers.

Hackers can, and often do, program in assembly language, which is a low-level programming language designed to be compiled and assembled into machine code or a specific opcode. Assembly language is used to exploit vulnerabilities in tools and constitutes the majority of the cybersecurity professionals who program in lower-level languages. Assembly language is difficult to understand because it has a large amount of syntax and styles required to work with memory on a computer in an organized way.

Another low-level language used by hackers is the C programming language. C was invented in 1972 to develop the Unix operating system. C would go on to become an incredibly popular language for development. Many operating systems are written in C, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and a significant number of Linux distributions.

The language itself has a large set of libraries that can be linked into programs to take them from basic programming all the way to making video games and massive application suites. The language is powerful because while it is designed to be low-level, it is still relatively easy to work with. C also provides greater flexibility in how programs behave.

This often ties into security because it means a program written in C has much greater control over how it interacts with hardware, including memory access, making it easier for a would-be hacker to precisely take over and manipulate the memory and system calls that constitute the operating system of a computer or IoT device at a broad level, regardless of what platform or operating system the attacker is targeting.

Assembly Language

Assembly language is often used in malware and shellcode development and, in combination with a good debugger, is also very useful in reverse engineering, exploiting binary programs, and even in the development of many high-performance applications today. Assembly language is a low-level language, which means there are almost 1-to-1 translations to machine code; you can write assembly code and assemble it directly to machine code to store in a file, or you can use a tool to compile and run it.

Assembly is often used as the first step in development, hence why the language is often labeled “machine language.” For example, a C program is compiled to assembly and then assembled to machine code, or a C# program is directly assembled to machine code, where the lower level language is just a step above assembly. Another example of an assembly method used in other areas of hacking is creating your own shellcode, which is written in assembly, and then converting it. When a vulnerable program is exploited, the shellcode is written in assembly language and sent to the program in machine code; hence, the syntax is technically assembly.

The examples above, though confusing, illustrate a common theme in hackers: using assembly language to directly write and execute machine code. The C language has always been a bridge between the high-level programmer and operating system tasks, but writing code in assembly is even lower level than C and provides more powerful control. If you can remember and make use of the various interrupts, you can do some pretty cool things.

Many newbies opt to skip over the assembly phase, finding assembly too complicated. Depending on the individual and the person’s previous experience, assembly can, in fact, be incredibly complex, especially compared to high-level languages. However, with assembly, you have very fine control of the operating system and the CPU, and because of this, even in this world of “modern” high-level language programming, the knowledge of various assembly languages still has merit.

C language

C is an imperative system language, C99 and C11. It surpassed Java and occupied the second position in the TIOBE index. In 2016, the stable release of C17 superseded C11, obtaining the fifteenth position in the PYPL index, which articulated its inspirational victory across the globe. After 47 years of innovation, C has influenced elegant operating systems, including Unix and Linux. C’s integrity, performance, and features have made it especially useful in Windows for exploitation and coding due to pointer arithmetic. In our population, there are a plethora of system programs implemented in C.

C has the capacity to transport minimal mapping between the underlying machines, shown by resources that provide the full system data. Using the C language, hackers can create a variety of operating system administration entries and contribute to system programming. The C language was invented by system programmers for system programming, who lacked library support. In addition, this language is the basic language that compiles operating systems.

There are various vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows, memory leaks, resource leaks, etc., in C. Hackers may be willing to exploit these vulnerabilities because they result in many errors, such as file access, code execution, disclosure, access controls, or other hardships. Buffer overflow is a common problem with ineffective C because it has no array length monitoring.

If arrays are allocated without a reasonable limit, past the boundary, C enables imposing data meant for another reason. Security developers also wrote software that enhances freedom from such vulnerabilities.

High-Level Languages

High-level programming languages leverage abstractions, allowing hackers (and developers) to create functional applications with less complexity. High-level languages are easier to work with, have more rapid development cycles, and are generally cross-platform.

Hacking is no different in this respect; tools can be written and used in higher-level languages more quickly due to these abstractions. As such, they can be rapidly prototyped for a given environment, whether that be on a desktop, server, or mobile device. Common high-level languages used for hacking are Python and, to a lesser extent, JavaScript.

Python is well known for its simplicity, readability, powerful libraries, and its status as a feature-rich language for scripting purposes. Many exploits and payload tools are written in Python and Ruby due to their multi-platform capabilities. This allows hackers to write the tools once and attack many different operating systems without making changes. Python and other high-level languages make it exceedingly easy to write a script and test it before exploitation.

JavaScript is mainly used by hackers on the client side for web exploitation. JavaScript is not the same as Java. While it is capable of math and string operations, it lacks file and system I/O, thus making it more cumbersome to use overall. High-level languages are easy to read and write, particularly for beginners or those with no coding experience. The main disadvantage of using high-level languages is performance.

CPUs interpret and execute the program written in a high-level language through an interpreter and the many layers of abstractions inherent to high-level languages. This can lead to slower performance in many instances. High-level languages are less performant, but they provide more versatility and ease of use for the average hacker.

Python

When it comes to scripting and automation, most hackers love Python. This module will cover the top programming languages that hackers code in, and Python comes out at the very top of most lists. Python is great for writing simple scripts and also provides the functionality to create advanced tools to aid in testing and exploitation. The hack-friendliness of Python is rooted in its simple and clean syntax that allows newbies and professional developers alike to write scripts with unprecedented speed. If you just started your hacking journey and don’t know programming, Python is highly recommended because of its straightforward syntax.

Writing code in Python is cool, but the best part is the community. Packages, libraries, and frameworks that the language has to offer. In the context of hacking, tools make web scraping in Python a one-liner operation. You can automate mass network exploitation without writing low-level network code. There are popular frameworks for developing your exploit web servers, as well.

You also have libraries if you’re interested in hacking machine learning models and many more interesting modules out there. More importantly, you’ll rarely have a hacking problem, big or small, that hasn’t been solved by someone in the immense Python community. It may be the best-served, largely owing to a hacking ecosystem with over 150,000 custom retainers, tools, and written code to plug in and leverage.

Attackers have coded a number of exciting Python-based exploits. On any beginner penetration testing course, the list of standard tools almost always includes Python-based utilities. However, more attention must be paid to the security of Python code, especially since a lot of Python developers tend to be less invested in proper security and innovation. Further, vulnerabilities are also not too hard to find, meaning a good knowledge of Python will offer a great potential for zero-day.

JavaScript

JavaScript is the programming language of the web. As such, many web applications rely on JavaScript for a significant amount of their functionality. Consequently, JavaScript vulnerabilities and attacks present a major threat to cybersecurity.

While JavaScript can be used to protect against attacks, it also presents many different attack vectors. This can vary from session hijacking and identity theft to securing complete systems by utilizing back-end processes. At the same time, the interactivity and real-time data transmission have met some challenges and threats from various hacking groups and methods. This pushes web application security to an extreme condition in order to protect the privacy and assets of running applications.

While JavaScript holds a great amount of promise as a tool for attacking web applications, a number of challenges are also present. JavaScript introduces a number of new security considerations, and experienced hackers must be able to fully understand the workings of the browser environment and web technologies in order to be successful.

What makes JavaScript particularly interesting from an attacking perspective is the introduction of dynamic content. Using the Document Object Model, it is possible to create or modify the appearance of objects on the fly. The significance of JavaScript as an attacking tool lies in mechanizing the production of complex and finely controlled attacks, especially against browser software.

Aside from those frameworks and environments on a server, other frameworks and libraries have been developed under JavaScript itself for various client-side hacking purposes. The basic concept of many of these renderings is to make client-side persistent connections to the server asynchronously, as simple as possible but as secure and reliable as possible.

In some cases, the JavaScript framework is versatile enough to emulate some, if not all, of the functionality of software exploitation frameworks as used in server-level exploiting. Although it is difficult to develop a rootkit or a Trojan through a web application, most of these frameworks have a built-in feature to gain a valid reconnection to the server at regular time intervals after the first legitimate piece of JavaScript software is authorized through client-side security. In the following subsection, we will discuss in some detail the capability of a few client-side JavaScript frameworks that have been developed and used for various hacking purposes.

Scripting Languages

Scripting Languages: A scripting language, also known as a script, is a lightweight programming language that supports and is commonly used to write scripts, which are executed on operating systems. Two common examples of scripting languages are Bash for Unix-based operating systems and Windows PowerShell for the Windows operating system. The purpose of a script is to automate the implementation of simple to complex tasks.

For some scripting languages, such as Bash, scripts are entirely human-readable plain text files and do not integrate a compilation or linking step like large, complex programs written in higher-level scripting languages and system programming languages. With the use of a scripting language, hackers can write and execute scripts from the command line or within an operating system interpreter or command processor. A command processor is a computer program that interprets and executes textual commands based on command-line input. Scripts written using a scripting language are virtually language-agnostic when it comes to sharing with other hackers. In addition, scripting largely powers many hacking tasks, including system administration and management as well as penetration testing and vulnerability assessments.

Moreover, scripting languages allow hackers or security practitioners to easily modify what the script does in a non-destructive and intuitive way on the fly. They also offer the capability for control flow branching and control flow statements, thereby offering the development of advanced scripts capable of making more complex “next hop” decisions. Upon execution, the interpreter or command processor encounters the script files and proceeds to read this file line by line and execute the listing of commands.

Bash Scripting

Bash is a powerful and often overlooked scripting language that can be used to create helpful automations. It is the most common command-line interpreter for Unix-based systems. You may be unfamiliar with the term CLI, but you are likely familiar with the concept. The idea of a CLI is to interact with the computer by typing commands as text.

Bash can be used to write scripts on systems that use the Bash shell. These scripts can carry out system tasks, test different possibilities, and use the output of one command as the input to another, to name a few possibilities. Even experienced enthusiasts and expert professionals who write hundreds, thousands, or even millions of lines of new code use Bash with increasing frequency to do their work. Every other programming and scripting language itself contains built-in capabilities that allow these languages to interact seamlessly with Bash for the purpose of gaining access to these various tools that are considered to be essential.

Let’s explore three examples of Unix scripting with Bash, but for the purpose of hacking: setting shells, subshells, and background jobs; not echoing commands; and a cacheless command that also uses the command. The command reads input and is often used to set variables on automatic downloads or other scripts.

Many admins believe that all hackers are expert coders and, therefore, will be writing programs to exploit your network or devices. From a real-world security assessment view, you should become an absolute wizard at using Bash. Below is a new paragraph so that I can then indicate that Bash script issues can also be used to gain unauthorized entry into an organization.

PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is a task automation framework and scripting language specifically developed for system administration. Scripting and command-line management are among its advanced architecture and capabilities. Both localhost and server administration tasks can be implemented through cmdlets. Attack techniques of all types leverage PowerShell. Some of these attack techniques are:

  • Windows Event Log and discovery with Sysmon capabilities
  • Microsoft Management Console and other tools have the ability to manage attacks
  • Mimikatz is a utility designed to facilitate attacks such as credential theft, system exploitation, keylogging, screenshot capture, packet sniffing, and username and password credential collection, among others.

PowerShell’s functions and integration: PowerShell scripts are made of cmdlets; they are used to execute a command and provide data. Command parsing, an integrated tool, helps to modify output and save it in various formats like XML, JSON, and binary. Communication and writing files and information to the system are two additional features of this program. Real-world hacks using PowerShell: Cybercriminals utilize PowerShell to initiate attacks by embedding it inside malware. To perform different activities such as reconnaissance, propagation, and data theft, the attacker runs a PowerShell script after exploitation. They used PowerShell scripts to execute shellcode in the remote system in this case.

The attacker harvested the password hashes of the local administrators by running the Mimikatz tool and executing another PowerShell script. Instead of the .exe file, the attacker directly ran PowerShell within the infected system to steal the password hashes. Finally, they used compromised Windows systems to transfer information from criminal servers. Efficiency and flexibility: The attacker can use PowerShell to perform multiple actions within single sessions, such as creating a listener, obtaining files, and executing shellcode, all using a single command. PowerShell has the flexibility to handle the most common push and pull post-exploitation communications on its own. Its functionality can also be integrated into tools to manage infrastructure.

PowerShell for hackers

  • Built on the .NET framework, Windows PowerShell has significant potential for hacking.
  • System administration, automation, forensics, and hacking activities have all garnered widespread recognition. For administrative purposes, administrators employ PowerShell on a regular basis. – Malvertisers and cybercriminals now use PowerShell maliciously; attackers are using PowerShell attacks to establish anti-forensic and robust infrastructures.
  • CLI scripting, shell coding, and attackers, as well as the perfect blend of both hacking and system administration, are the perfect combinations to achieve reverse shell connections that attain persistence.

Hacking with PowerShell: There has been a great effort made to construct a high-level API that was developed in the last few years. The management and scripting capabilities for the attacks, penetration testing, and firewalls among the infrastructures are not to be missed.

Specialized Hacking Languages

A hacker needs to know the correct language to use for one of several purposes. Some of these language types were discussed in previous sections. Hackers must either have mastered one or many specialized languages, or must use one or more general-purpose languages for the task at hand. In most cases, general-purpose languages are acceptable where more specialized languages are not practical.

Specialized Hacking Languages: While hacking can be, and is, accomplished in a broad range of languages, in the interest of time and efficiency, those who consider themselves to be hackers or security professionals will often tend to use a specific subset of available languages for the attacks. Specialized languages focus on a specific area of hacking attacks and can be helpful in developing exploits and malicious code quickly due to extremely low-level ability for interaction with the systems compared to general-purpose languages.

Those listed here are the most well-known and widely used hacking languages and are those that hackers of varying levels will tend to turn to. This section provides high-level overviews and where they apply, very high-level potential applications and uses for each language listed. A single chapter is dedicated to coverage of attack tools and appropriate uses of hacking languages.

SQL: Think of Structured Query Language (SQL) as the programming language of databases. Its primary purpose is to interact directly with databases to store, retrieve, or manipulate the data. If an attacker can inject their own database commands, then they can view, modify, delete, and create any information in the database. There are a wide variety of techniques and mechanisms where SQL injection can occur – from user-malformed data to errors in the way input is handled by the application.

While a general understanding of languages such as SQL will provide some potential for undertaking social engineering, information gathering, passive information exchange, and the like – it is important to understand that the basis for this text is on users who are, in whatever way, capable of actively identifying and exploiting weaknesses.

As such, it is important that readers are familiar with and proficient in the use of one or more appropriate hacking languages for the remainder of this text. This will provide the active reader with the necessary insight to take advantage of a variety of software weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It should be noted also that as technology changes, methods, attacks, testing, and defense also change. As such, readers should be continually familiarizing themselves with the latest in the world of hacking and security in general.

SQL

Structured Query Language is used to communicate with and manage data stored in relational database management systems as well as other cloud-based systems or proprietary solutions. As data-oriented attacks become more prominent, SQL has become an attraction for hackers. This section describes the most common vulnerabilities used to break into databases and how they can be used to gain unauthorized access and expose data. Understanding how to communicate with a database is essential for understanding these attacks, as well as for scripting the commands to break into the database in the first place.

Vulnerabilities

SQL injection is used by attackers to target data-driven applications and can detect and exploit vulnerabilities in these applications. This attack can be used to bypass an authentication system, retrieve the contents of an entire database, add, modify, or delete data in the database, or execute administrative operations on the database.

The main problems that allow an attacker to carry out an SQL injection attack are poor coding in the application, especially input validation. Input validation is the process of checking data supplied by a user on the client-side or server-side.

About the Author
Hi, I’m Mayank, a passionate content creator and a current student pursuing a Bachelor of Computer Science in India. Through my website, I aim to share educational and informational content that helps readers enhance their knowledge and understanding in various fields.With a keen interest in technology, education, and digital tools, I strive to present valuable insights in a simple and engaging manner. Thank you for visiting my website I hope you find the content helpful and inspiring!

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