CrackMapExec is a network penetration testing framework and automated security scanner designed to assess security postures across large IP ranges. It functions as a multi-protocol security scanner and network protocol auditor used to identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.
The tool provides capabilities for Active Directory auditing to enumerate users and permissions, as well as post-exploitation enumeration to gather system metadata and discover lateral movement paths. It includes a framework for credential spraying and harvesting across various network services.
The system utilizes asynchronous network I/O and parallel execution to manage high volumes of socket connections. It employs a modular protocol implementation and dynamic plugin loading to extend security assessment tools, with a local database for persisting discovered credentials and host metadata.