NetworkMiner: Passive Network Sniffer for Forensics and Asset Fingerprinting
General Overview
NetworkMiner is a passive network traffic analyzer focused on extraction — not traffic shaping, blocking, or active probing. It listens, captures, and dissects packets without generating any. That makes it particularly useful in forensic analysis, threat hunting, and asset fingerprinting where stealth and data preservation matter more than speed or volume.
Unlike tools designed for intrusion detection or flow analysis, NetworkMiner takes a different route: pull out files, credentials, metadata, sessions — and let the analyst decide what’s relevant. It’s often used in environments where inspecting raw PCAPs is too low-level, but full-blown SIEMs are overkill.
Built for Windows but usable across platforms via Mono, it remains a niche tool that fills a gap in the investigator’s toolkit.
Capabilities and Features
| Feature | Description |
| Passive Capture | No packets sent; works from mirrored/span ports or PCAP files |
| Host Discovery | Extracts hosts, IPs, MACs, hostnames, and OS fingerprints |
| Credential Extraction | Captures credentials from FTP, HTTP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP, and more |
| File Carving | Reassembles and saves files from HTTP, SMB, TFTP traffic |
| DNS & Session Parsing | Extracts DNS requests, HTTP sessions, SSL/TLS cert info |
| GeoIP Integration | Locates source/destination addresses on maps (when enabled) |
| Plugin Architecture | Support for add-ons and extensions (community or custom) |
| PCAP Compatibility | Can load .pcap and .pcapng for offline analysis |
| User Interface | Tab-based GUI for each artifact type (hosts, files, sessions, etc.) |
| Logging and Export | Outputs CSV, XML, or JSON data for external review or automation |
Deployment Notes
– Works natively on Windows; compatible with Linux/macOS via Mono
– No drivers or kernel hooks — runs entirely in user space
– Can ingest live traffic (via promiscuous mode) or offline PCAP dumps
– Doesn’t require installation — available as portable executable
– Works well with Wireshark, tcpdump, NetWitness PCAPs
– Best results from SPAN/mirror ports or passive taps
Usage Scenarios
– Analyzing packet captures from compromised hosts or suspected breaches
– Carving out exfiltrated files from traffic for forensic preservation
– Identifying unauthorized devices or misconfigured endpoints on LAN
– Inspecting captured credentials from email or legacy protocols
– Profiling hosts and applications during red team/blue team exercises
– Verifying what traffic passes through edge routers or critical segments
Limitations
– Passive only — cannot generate or inject any packets
– Not suitable for real-time alerting or SIEM-like integrations
– Traffic must be mirrored or captured externally — can’t “see” it otherwise
– GUI-based; no headless or automation mode in free edition
– Doesn’t parse encrypted payloads (unless decrypted externally)
Comparison Table
| Tool | Focus | Compared to NetworkMiner |
| Wireshark | Packet-level inspection | More granular, but lower-level and less artifact-focused |
| Zeek (Bro) | Network telemetry engine | Scalable and scriptable; harder to set up and less interactive |
| tcpdump | Raw capture tool | Lightweight, CLI-based; no parsing or analysis layer |
| Xplico | Web-based traffic decoder | Similar purpose, but more complex to install and maintain |
| NetWitness | Commercial forensic suite | Enterprise-grade, expensive; NetworkMiner is lightweight and free |
