Search icon CANCEL
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Arrow up icon
GO TO TOP
Learning Penetration Testing with Python

You're reading from   Learning Penetration Testing with Python Utilize Python scripting to execute effective and efficient penetration tests

Arrow left icon
Product type Paperback
Published in Sep 2015
Publisher
ISBN-13 9781785282324
Length 314 pages
Edition 1st Edition
Languages
Arrow right icon
Author (1):
Arrow left icon
Christopher Duffy Christopher Duffy
Author Profile Icon Christopher Duffy
Christopher Duffy
Arrow right icon
View More author details
Toc

Table of Contents (12) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Understanding the Penetration Testing Methodology FREE CHAPTER 2. The Basics of Python Scripting 3. Identifying Targets with Nmap, Scapy, and Python 4. Executing Credential Attacks with Python 5. Exploiting Services with Python 6. Assessing Web Applications with Python 7. Cracking the Perimeter with Python 8. Exploit Development with Python, Metasploit, and Immunity 9. Automating Reports and Tasks with Python 10. Adding Permanency to Python Tools Index

Understanding how to parse XML files for reports

We are going to use nmap XMLs as an example to show how you can parse data into a useable format. Our end goal will be to place the data in a Python dictionary of unique results. We can then use that data to build structured outputs that we find useful. To begin, we need an XML file that can be parsed and reviewed. Run an nmap scan of your localhost with the nmap -oX test 127.0.0.1 command.

This will produce a file that highlights the two open ports using XML markup language, as shown here:

Understanding how to parse XML files for reports

With an actual XML file, we can review the components of the data structure. Understanding how an XML file is designed will better prepare you to generate the code that will read it. Specifically, the descriptions here are based on what the etree library classifies the components of an XML file as. The etree library handles the XML data conceptually like a tree, with relevant branches, subbranches, and even twigs. In computer science terms, we call this...

lock icon The rest of the chapter is locked
Register for a free Packt account to unlock a world of extra content!
A free Packt account unlocks extra newsletters, articles, discounted offers, and much more. Start advancing your knowledge today.
Unlock this book and the full library FREE for 7 days
Get unlimited access to 7000+ expert-authored eBooks and videos courses covering every tech area you can think of
Renews at $19.99/month. Cancel anytime