Extract a crackable hash from an encrypted 7-Zip (.7z) archive with 7z2john, ready for John the Ripper or hashcat. For authorized password recovery only.
7z2john reads a password-protected 7-Zip archive and produces a hash string for offline cracking. 7-Zip encrypts with AES-256 and derives the key by iterating SHA-256 a large number of times, which makes guessing deliberately slow. The tool extracts the salt, iteration parameter, and a slice of encrypted data so a cracker can test passwords; it does not extract the files. Only use it on archives you own.
Input:
vault.7z (AES-256 encrypted)
Output:
vault.7z:$7z$0$19$0$<salt>$<...>
Why is cracking 7-Zip slow?
7-Zip applies SHA-256 a huge number of times (commonly 2^19 rounds) to derive the AES key, so each password guess is expensive by design.
Does 7z2john reveal the contents?
No. It only emits a hash for John/hashcat to test guesses against.
Which hashcat mode is used?
Encrypted 7-Zip archives use hashcat mode 11600.
This tool extracts password hashes from 7-Zip archive files for password recovery and security testing.
Supported Tools: