⚙️ Configuration Reference

NetSentinel supports multiple configuration methods for supplying credentials and domain details — including a JSON-based config file, INI-style environment overrides, and full environment variable support.

This page outlines all supported parameters and shows how to use each approach.

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📁 Configuration File Format (JSON)

By default, NetSentinel loads configuration from:

utils/config.json

If this file is not found, it attempts to read from environment variables.

🔧 config.json Example

{
  "domain": "corp.local",
  "username": "lowpriv",
  "password": "Spring2025!",
  "dc_ip": "10.0.0.5"
}

🔍 Parameters

Key	Description	Required for
domain	Active Directory domain name	Kerberos scan
username	Username with LDAP/Kerberos read access	Kerberos scan
password	Corresponding password	Kerberos scan
dc_ip	Domain Controller IP address	Kerberos scan

This file must be present if environment variables are not set and the --kerberos-scan flag is used.

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📜 INI-Style Environment Override

You can also create a .env file and load it using tools like python-dotenv, or just export variables directly in your shell.

Example .env

NETSENTINEL_DOMAIN=corp.local
NETSENTINEL_USER=lowpriv
NETSENTINEL_PASS=Spring2025!
NETSENTINEL_DC=10.0.0.5

NetSentinel does not currently auto-load .env files, but you can either:

• Set variables in your shell (see next section), or
• Extend config.py to parse .env if desired

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🌐 Environment Variable Usage

If the JSON file is absent, NetSentinel will fall back to the following environment variables:

Variable Name	Description	Required for
NETSENTINEL_DOMAIN	Active Directory domain name	Kerberos scan
NETSENTINEL_USER	Username with read access	Kerberos scan
NETSENTINEL_PASS	Password for the user	Kerberos scan
NETSENTINEL_DC	IP address of the domain controller	Kerberos scan

Bash Example

export NETSENTINEL_DOMAIN=corp.local
export NETSENTINEL_USER=lowpriv
export NETSENTINEL_PASS='Spring2025!'
export NETSENTINEL_DC=10.0.0.5

Then run NetSentinel normally:

python3 main.py --target 10.0.0.0/24 --kerberos-scan

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🧠 Order of Precedence

NetSentinel uses the following precedence when loading configuration:

1. Command-line overrides (planned for future versions)
2. Environment variables (if all 4 are set)
3. JSON config (utils/config.json)

If configuration is incomplete, the Kerberos scan will not run, and an error will be logged.

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✅ Quick Test

To verify that config is loaded correctly:

python3 -c 'from utils.config import Config; c = Config(); print(c.domain, c.username, c.dc_ip)'

This should print values from either the environment or config file.

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🛠 Config Tips for Red Teams

• Avoid embedding credentials directly in config files in production environments
• Use disposable test credentials for CTFs or labs
• Consider extending config.py to support encryption or vault-based loading

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🔐 Security Reminder

Your credentials grant access to directory services. Never commit config.json or .env files to a Git repository. Use .gitignore to keep them local:

# .gitignore
utils/config.json
.env

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📝 Summary

Method	Format	Priority	Supports Kerberos
config.json	JSON	Low	✅ Yes
Environment	Shell	Medium	✅ Yes
CLI Override	Planned	High	❌ (not implemented)

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This configuration flexibility allows NetSentinel to be safely used in a wide range of environments - from isolated testbeds to tightly controlled enterprise AD domains.