Client
Ethical Hacker
Timeframe
Apr - 2025
Services
Web Application brute force
Project Overview
Cerberus is a CLI-based tool built with Python and Selenium for ethically brute-forcing web login forms in a real browser environment. Designed with ethical hacking and penetration testing in mind, it allows users to automate password guessing attacks and determine login success using intelligent techniques, not just URL changes or static text checks.
This tool is ideal for testing login resilience, especially for web apps that rely heavily on JavaScript, session cookies, and dynamic elements after login.
Features
Command Line Interface: Prompts for all key inputs like login URL, username, wordlist file, and input field names.
Real Browser Automation: Uses Selenium WebDriver for realistic login testing (supports headless mode).
Advanced Success Detection:
Looks for logout links.
Checks for post-login redirect URLs.
Detects disappearance of login forms.
Searches for user-profile-related DOM elements.
Verifies presence of session cookies.
Retry Logic: Re-attempts passwords for greater reliability.
Color-Coded Output: Enhances readability of success/failure messages.
Clean Exit: Automatically stops on success or if the wordlist is exhausted.
Challenge
Ensuring cross-site compatibility with different login form structures.
Avoiding false positives from partial page loads or JavaScript errors.
Balancing browser performance with reliability, especially in headless mode.
Handling rate limits and CAPTCHA-triggering logins gracefully.
Results
Functional CLI tool, easy to run directly in Kali or any Python-supported OS.
Successfully tested against local DVWA setups and several self-hosted login portals.
Demonstrated high detection accuracy using layered verification methods.
Used as a learning tool in browser-based authentication bypass and automation.