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mfcuk

MIFARE Classic key recovery with no known key — the slow path

What it does

Implements the 'darkside' attack, recovering a first sector key from a MIFARE Classic card without needing any key to begin with.

Why you would want it

It is what you use when mfoc cannot start because every default key has been changed. In practice the pair are used together: mfcuk to recover one key, mfoc to expand that into the rest.

Before it will work

A libnfc-supported reader and patience -- this attack takes minutes to hours where mfoc takes seconds.

How it installs

  • apt: mfcuk

Known problems

Much slower and much less reliable than mfoc, and it does not work against every card revision. Upstream has been quiet since 2018. Both tools predate the hardened MIFARE Classic EV1 variants, against which neither works.

Keeping it current

  • probe: apt policy
  • strategy: apt_upgrade

Source: catalog/packages/mfcuk.yaml