Discovering Hidden SSID via Wireshark
Discover hidden Wi-Fi Networks in 5 minutes
Launch Wireshark from Kali Linux
Behind the scenes I used QT_SCALE_FACTOR=1.2 wireshark to make fonts more readable – better visibility. But otherwise, sudo wireshark
wlan0 as the interface to capture traffic
Hidden Wi-Fi networks as usually marked as SSID: <MISSING>
A display filter can be used to isolate specific Wi-Fi management frames, it is not always necessary but it helps reveal a hidden network name
wlan.fc.type_subtype == 0x04
Shows Probe Request Frames
wlan.fc
Frame control field in the 802.11 wireless header
type_subtype
Combines the type and subtype of the 802.11 frame
0x04
Hexadecimal value shows the Probe Request frame subtype
Expand IEEE 802.11 Wireless Management
Expand Tagged paramenters
And there’s the hidden SSID
