NAME

       ciscodump - Provide interfaces to capture from a remote Cisco router through SSH.

SYNOPSIS

       ciscodump [ --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> ] [ --remote-filter=<filter> ]
       [ --sshkey=<public key path> ] [ --remote-interface=<interface> ]

       ciscodump --extcap-interfaces

       ciscodump --extcap-interface=<interface> --extcap-dlts

       ciscodump --extcap-interface=<interface> --extcap-config

       ciscodump --extcap-interface=<interface> --fifo=<path to file or pipe> --capture
       --remote-host=remoterouter --remote-port=22 --remote-username=user
       --remote-interface=<the router interface>

DESCRIPTION

       Ciscodump is an extcap tool that relies on Cisco EPC to allow a user to run a remote
       capture on a Cisco router in a SSH connection. The minimum IOS version supporting this
       feature is 12.4(20)T. More details can be found here:
       https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/ios-nx-os-software/ios-embedded-packet-capture/datasheet_c78-502727.html

       Supported interfaces:

        1. cisco

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 save it in place 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.

       --remote-filter=<filter>

           The remote filter on the router. This is a capture filter that follows the Cisco IOS
           standards
           (https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/ip/access-lists/26448-ACLsamples.html).
           Multiple filters can be specified using a comma between them. BEWARE: when using a
           filter, the default behavior is to drop all the packets except the ones that fall into
           the filter.

           Examples:

               permit ip host MYHOST any, permit ip any host MYHOST (capture the traffic for MYHOST)

               deny ip host MYHOST any, deny ip any host MYHOST, permit ip any any (capture all the traffic except MYHOST)

       --sshkey=<SSH private key path>

           The path to a private key for authentication.

       --remote-interface=<remote interface>

           The remote network interface to capture from.

       --extcap-capture-filter=<capture filter>

           Unused (compatibility only).

EXAMPLES

       To see program arguments:

           ciscodump --help

       To see program version:

           ciscodump --version

       To see interfaces:

           ciscodump --extcap-interfaces

       Only one interface (cisco) is supported.

       Example output

           interface {value=cisco}{display=SSH remote capture}

       To see interface DLTs:

           ciscodump --extcap-interface=cisco --extcap-dlts

       Example output

           dlt {number=147}{name=cisco}{display=Remote capture dependent DLT}

       To see interface configuration options:

           ciscodump --extcap-interface=cisco --extcap-config

       Example output

           ciscodump --extcap-interface=cisco --extcap-config
           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}
           arg {number=1}{call=--remote-port}{display=Remote SSH server port}{type=unsigned}
               {default=22}{tooltip=The remote SSH host port (1-65535)}{range=1,65535}
           arg {number=2}{call=--remote-username}{display=Remote SSH server username}{type=string}
               {default=<current user>}{tooltip=The remote SSH username. If not provided, the current
               user will be used}
           arg {number=3}{call=--remote-password}{display=Remote SSH server password}{type=string}
               {tooltip=The SSH password, used when other methods (SSH agent or key files) are unavailable.}
           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}
           arg {number=5}{call--sshkey-passphrase}{display=SSH key passphrase}
               {type=string}{tooltip=Passphrase to unlock the SSH private key}
           arg {number=6}{call=--remote-interface}{display=Remote interface}{type=string}
               {required=true}{tooltip=The remote network interface used for capture}
           arg {number=7}{call=--remote-filter}{display=Remote capture filter}{type=string}
               {default=(null)}{tooltip=The remote capture filter}
           arg {number=8}{call=--remote-count}{display=Packets to capture}{type=unsigned}{required=true}
               {tooltip=The number of remote packets to capture.}

       To capture:

           ciscodump --extcap-interface cisco --fifo=/tmp/cisco.pcap --capture --remote-host 192.168.1.10
               --remote-username user --remote-interface gigabit0/0
               --remote-filter "permit ip host 192.168.1.1 any, permit ip any host 192.168.1.1"

           Note
           Packet count is mandatory, hence the capture will start after this number.

KNOWN ISSUES

       The configuration of the capture on the routers is a multi-step process. If the SSH
       connection is interrupted during it, the configuration can be in an inconsistent state.
       That can happen also if the capture is stopped and ciscodump can’t clean the configuration
       up. In this case it is necessary to log into the router and manually clean the
       configuration, removing both the capture point (WIRESHARK_CAPTURE_POINT), the capture
       buffer (WIRESHARK_CAPTURE_BUFFER) and the capture filter (WIRESHARK_CAPTURE_FILTER).

       Another known issues is related to the number of captured packets (--remote-count). Due to
       the nature of the capture buffer, ciscodump waits for the capture to complete and then
       issues the command to show it. It means that if the user specifies a number of packets
       above the currently captured, the show command is never shown. Not only is the count of
       the maximum number of captured packets, but it is also the exact number of expected
       packets.

SEE ALSO

       wireshark(1), tshark(1), dumpcap(1), extcap(4), sshdump(1)

NOTES

       ciscodump 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.

AUTHORS

       Original Author
       Dario Lombardo <lomato[AT]gmail.com>

                                            2022-03-04                               CISCODUMP(1)