Open-source password recovery utility Hashcat 7.0.0 released

Hashcat is an open-source password recovery tool that supports five attack modes and more than 300 highly optimized hashing algorithms. It runs on CPUs, GPUs, and other hardware accelerators across Linux, Windows, and macOS, and includes features for distributed password cracking at scale.

Hashcat 7.0.0 touches over 900,000 lines of code and welcoming contributions from 105 developers, including 74 first-timers. The update rolls all previously unannounced 6.2.x features into a single, well-documented release, setting a new bar for flexibility, performance, and extensibility.

Bridging beyond GPUs

One of the headline features is the Assimilation Bridge, which allows external resources such as CPUs, FPGAs, and embedded interpreters to be integrated directly into Hashcat’s cracking pipeline. Complementing this is the new Python Bridge Plugin, which enables rapid development of hash-matching logic in Python without requiring recompilation. It supports multithreading and works with Hashcat’s rule engine by default.

Smarter, faster, more modular

Hashcat can now automatically detect the hash-mode, eliminating the need for users to specify the -m flag. A new Virtual Backend Devices feature partitions physical GPUs into logical units for improved asynchronous processing and better integration with bridges. Hashcat also supports Docker-based builds, including cross-compilation to Windows, making it easier to deploy across platforms.

Expanded algorithm and tool support

This release adds 58 new application-specific hash types, including support for Argon2, MetaMask, Microsoft Online Accounts, SNMPv3, GPG, OpenSSH, and LUKS2. It also introduces 17 new generic hash constructions used in real-world applications and 11 new primitives to support plugin development. Hashcat now includes 20 new tools for extracting hashes from formats such as APFS, VirtualBox, BitLocker, and several cryptocurrency wallets.

Serious performance boosts

Under the hood, Hashcat features a complete refactor of the autotuning engine and memory management system. These changes remove the previous 4GB allocation cap and improve utilization across multi-device setups. Performance gains for specific hash modes include:

scrypt: up to 320 percent
NetNTLMv2 (Intel): up to 223 percent
RAR3: up to 54 percent

Hardware backend improvements

The tool now offers support for AMD’s HIP backend, which is preferred over OpenCL when both options are available. Apple users benefit from native Metal support, with full Apple Silicon compatibility and major speed improvements on macOS.

Hashcat 7.0.0 is available for free on GitHub.

Open-source password recovery utility Hashcat 7.0.0 released