# wifidump

## NAME



           wifidump - Provides an interface to capture Wi-Fi frames from a
           remote host through SSH.
    


## SYNOPSIS



           **wifidump**[ **--help**] [ **--version**] [ **--extcap-interfaces**] [
           **--extcap-dlts**] [ **--extcap-interface** =<interface> ] [
           **--extcap-config**] [ **--extcap-capture-filter** =<capture filter> ] [
           **--capture**] [ **--fifo** =<path to file or pipe> ] [ **--remote-host** =<IP
           address> ] [ **--remote-port** =<TCP port> ] [
           **--remote-username** =<username> ] [ **--remote-password** =<password> ] [
           **--sshkey** =<public key path> ] [ **--remote-interface** =<interface> ] [
           **--remote-channel-frequency** =<channel frequency> ] [
           **--remote-channel-width** =<channel width> ]
    
           **wifidump --extcap-interfaces**
    
           **wifidump --extcap-interface** =<interface> **--extcap-dlts**
    
           **wifidump --extcap-interface** =<interface> **--extcap-config**
    
           **wifidump --extcap-interface** =<interface> **--fifo** =<path to file or
           pipe> **--capture --remote-host=myremotehost --remote-port=22**
           **--remote-username=user --remote-interface=eth2**
           **--remote-channel-frequency=5180 --remote-channel-width=40**
    


## DESCRIPTION



           **Wifidump** is an extcap tool that allows you to capture Wi-Fi
           traffic from a remote host over an SSH connection using **tcpdump**.
           The requirement to capture Wi-Fi frames is that the remote host
           must have the necessary binaries to manage and put the wanted
           interface into monitor mode. Such binaries include: **ip** , **iw** , and
           **iwconfig**. Also, because using monitor mode and managing the Wi-Fi
           interface requires root privileges, the system must be configured
           to allow the wanted user to run these binaries using sudo without
           entering a password.
    
           Typically wifidump is not invoked directly. Instead it can be
           configured through the Wireshark graphical user interface or its
           command line. The following will start Wireshark and start
           capturing from host **remotehost** :
    
               $ wireshark '-oextcap.wifidump.remotehost:remotehost' -i wifidump -k
    
           To explicitly control the remote capture command:
    
               $ wireshark '-oextcap.wifidump.remotehost:remotehost' \
                           '-oextcap.wifidump.remotechannelfrequency:5180' \
                           '-oextcap.wifidump.remotechannelwidth:40' \
                           -i wifidump -k
    
           Supported interfaces:
    
            1. wifidump
    


## OPTIONS



           --help
               Print program arguments.
    
           --version
               Print program version.
    
           --extcap-interfaces
               List available interfaces.
    
           --extcap-interface=<interface>
               Use specified interfaces.
    
           --extcap-dlts
               List DLTs of specified interface.
    
           --extcap-config
               List configuration options of specified interface.
    
           --capture
               Start capturing from specified interface and write raw packet
               data to the location specified by --fifo.
    
           --fifo=<path to file or pipe>
               Save captured packet to file or send it through pipe.
    
           --remote-host=<remote host>
               The address of the remote host for capture.
    
           --remote-port=<remote port>
               The SSH port of the remote host.
    
           --remote-username=<username>
               The username for ssh authentication.
    
           --remote-password=<password>
               The password to use (if not ssh-agent and pubkey are used).
               WARNING: the passwords are stored in plaintext and visible to
               all users on this system. It is recommended to use keyfiles
               with a SSH agent.
    
           --sshkey=<SSH private key path>
               The path to a private key for authentication.
    
           --remote-interface=<remote interface>
               The remote network interface to capture from.
    
           --remote-channel-frequency=<channel frequency>
               The remote channel frequency in MHz.
    
           --remote-channel-width=<channel width>
               The remote channel width in MHz.
    
           --extcap-capture-filter=<capture filter>
               The capture filter. It corresponds to the value provided via
               the **tshark -f** option, and the Capture Filter field next to the
               interfaces list in the Wireshark interface.
    


## EXAMPLES



           To see program arguments:
    
               wifidump --help
    
           To see program version:
    
               wifidump --version
    
           To see interfaces:
    
               wifidump --extcap-interfaces
    
           Only one interface (wifidump) is supported.
    
           **Example output**
    
               interface {value=wifidump}{display=Wi-Fi remote capture}
    
           To see interface DLTs:
    
               wifidump --extcap-interface=wifidump --extcap-dlts
    
           **Example output**
    
               dlt {number=147}{name=wifidump}{display=Remote capture dependent DLT}
    
           To see interface configuration options:
    
               wifidump --extcap-interface=wifidump --extcap-config
    
           **Example output**
    
               arg {number=0}{call=--remote-host}{display=Remote SSH server address}{type=string}
                   {tooltip=The remote SSH host. It can be both an IP address or a hostname}{required=true}{group=Server}
               arg {number=1}{call=--remote-port}{display=Remote SSH server port}{type=unsigned}
                   {tooltip=The remote SSH host port (1-65535)}{range=1,65535}{group=Server}
               arg {number=2}{call=--remote-username}{display=Remote SSH server username}{type=string}
                   {tooltip=The remote SSH username. If not provided, the current user will be used}{group=Authentication}
               arg {number=3}{call=--remote-password}{display=Remote SSH server password}{type=password}
                   {tooltip=The SSH password, used when other methods (SSH agent or key files) are unavailable.}{group=Authentication}
               arg {number=4}{call=--sshkey}{display=Path to SSH private key}{type=fileselect}
                   {tooltip=The path on the local filesystem of the private ssh key}{mustexist=true}{group=Authentication}
               arg {number=5}{call=--sshkey-passphrase}{display=SSH key passphrase}{type=password}
                   {tooltip=Passphrase to unlock the SSH private key}{group=Authentication}
               arg {number=6}{call=--remote-interface}{display=Remote interface}{type=string}
                   {tooltip=The remote network interface used to capture}{default=auto}{group=Capture}
               arg {number=7}{call=--remote-channel-frequency}{display=Remote channel}{type=selector}
                   {tooltip=The remote channel used to capture}{group=Capture}
               arg {number=8}{call=--remote-channel-width}{display=Remote channel width}{type=selector}
                   {tooltip=The remote channel width used to capture}{group=Capture}
               arg {number=9}{call=--remote-filter}{display=Remote capture filter}{type=string}
                   {tooltip=The remote capture filter}{group=Capture}
               arg {number=10}{call=--remote-count}{display=Packets to capture}{type=unsigned}
                   {tooltip=The number of remote packets to capture.}{group=Capture}
               arg {number=11}{call=--log-level}{display=Set the log level}{type=selector}
                   {tooltip=Set the log level}{required=false}{group=Debug}
               arg {number=12}{call=--log-file}{display=Use a file for logging}{type=fileselect}
                   {tooltip=Set a file where log messages are written}{required=false}{group=Debug}
    
           To capture:
    
               wifidump --extcap-interface=wifidump --fifo=/tmp/wifidump.pcap --capture --remote-host 192.168.1.10 --remote-username user --remote-channel-frequency 5180 --remote-channel-width 40
    
               **Note**
    
               To stop capturing CTRL+C/kill/terminate application.
    
           The wifidump binary can be renamed to support multiple instances.
           For instance if we want wifidump to show up twice in wireshark
           (for instance to handle multiple profiles), we can copy wifidump
           to wifidump-host1 and wifidump-host2. Each binary will show up an
           interface name same as the executable name. Those executables not
           being "wifidump" will show up as "custom version" in the interface
           description.
    


## NOTES



           **Wifidump** is part of the **Wireshark** distribution. The latest version
           of **Wireshark** can be found at https://www.wireshark.org.
    
           HTML versions of the Wireshark project man pages are available at
           https://www.wireshark.org/docs/man-pages.
    


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