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telnetshell

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Use telnet to interact with IoT device shells for pentesting operations including device enumeration, vulnerability discovery, credential testing, and post-exploitation. Use when the user needs to interact with network-accessible shells, IoT devices, or telnet services.

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iothackbot-marketplace

BrownFineSecurity/iothackbot

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iothackbot

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BrownFineSecurity/iothackbot
514stars

/skills/telnetshell/SKILL.md

Last Verified

January 15, 2026

Install Skill

Select agents to install to:

Scope:
npx add-skill https://github.com/BrownFineSecurity/iothackbot/blob/main//skills/telnetshell/SKILL.md -a claude-code --skill telnetshell

Installation paths:

Claude
.claude/skills/telnetshell/
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Instructions

# IoT Telnet Shell (telnetshell)

This skill enables interaction with IoT device shells accessible via telnet for security testing and penetration testing operations. It supports unauthenticated shells, weak authentication testing, device enumeration, and post-exploitation activities.

## Prerequisites

- Python 3 with pexpect library (`pip install pexpect` or `sudo pacman -S python-pexpect`)
- telnet client installed on the system (`sudo pacman -S inetutils` on Arch)
- Network access to the target device's telnet port

## Recommended Approach: Telnet Helper Script

**IMPORTANT**: This skill includes a Python helper script (`telnet_helper.py`) that provides a clean, reliable interface for telnet communication. **This is the RECOMMENDED method** for interacting with IoT devices.

### Default Session Logging

**ALL commands run by Claude will be logged to `/tmp/telnet_session.log` by default.**

To observe what Claude is doing in real-time:
```bash
# In a separate terminal, run:
tail -f /tmp/telnet_session.log
```

This allows you to watch all telnet I/O as it happens without interfering with the connection.

### Why Use the Telnet Helper?

The helper script solves many problems with direct telnet usage:
- **Clean output**: Automatically removes command echoes, prompts, and ANSI codes
- **Prompt detection**: Automatically detects and waits for device prompts
- **Timeout handling**: Proper timeout management with no arbitrary sleeps
- **Easy scripting**: Simple command-line interface for single commands or batch operations
- **Session logging**: All I/O logged to `/tmp/telnet_session.log` for observation
- **Reliable**: No issues with TTY requirements or background processes
- **JSON output**: For programmatic parsing and tool chaining

### Quick Start with Telnet Helper

**Single Command:**
```bash
python3 .claude/skills/telnetshell/telnet_helper.py --host 192.168.1.100 --command "uname -a"
```

**Custom Port:**
```bash
python3 .claude/skills/telnetshell/telnet_helper

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