I need to Attack a Cisco switch on my Network

[Dean Romanelli]

Hi all,

I have come into a new site acquisition. The site bought a Cisco 2960 switch from a contractor and paid him to install it a few years ago.  When the site came under our ownership, I asked them to get the login credentials from the contractor for the switch. His answer was more or less, "It's configuration is fine, you don't need access."  Mind you, we OWN the switch and the job he was hired to do was completed years ago.

Anyway, I am tired of the back and forth so I would like to just brute force it.  I sit in the USA, and the switch is in India. My infrastructure is the following for this connection:

My PC-------ASA 5520-----------VPN-------------ASA 5505-------Cisco 2960 Switch

He has login access configured for regular HTTP over port 80 only, so clear text. My subnet is permitted past both firewalls.  Is there any way I can make this happen from a remote site or do I have to be on the LAN?

[Marvin Rhoads · Accepted solution]

The easiest thing is to have someone on site plugged into the console port with a terminal session and sharing their screen with you. They might need to use a mobile hotspot if the switch is the only connectivity they have on-site.

Then power cycle the switch and follow the password recovery procedure.

[Dean Romanelli]

Hi Marvin,

Thanks.  Yeah the switch is their main form of connectivity, so I will have to find a way to rearrange some things so that I don't lose connection when it is pwoer cycled.