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Troubleshooting

André Henrique edited this page Jun 30, 2026 · 2 revisions

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for IndustrialXPL-Forge.

Installation Issues

pip install industrialxpl-forge fails

Symptom: pip reports build error or dependency conflict.

Solution:

# Upgrade pip first
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
# Install with verbose output to see exact error
pip install industrialxpl-forge -v
# If scapy fails on Windows, install Npcap first
# https://npcap.com/
# Python version check
python --version # must be 3.9+

ixf command not found after install

Symptom: ixf: command not found or 'ixf' is not recognized

Diagnosis:

# Check if entry point installed
pip show industrialxpl-forge | grep -i location
# Find the scripts directory
python -c "import sys; print(sys.prefix + '/Scripts')" # Windows
python -c "import sys; print(sys.prefix + '/bin')" # Linux/macOS

Solution:

# Linux/macOS: add to PATH
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
# Windows: add Scripts folder to PATH in System Environment Variables
# Or use the full path:
python -m industrialxpl
# Or from the repo:
python ixf.py

Windows crash: AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'write_history_file'

Cause: readline is None on Windows (Unix-only module), and the shell tried to call it.

Fix: Upgrade to v1.0.12+ which guards all readline calls:

pip install --upgrade industrialxpl-forge

If still failing, manually install pyreadline3:

pip install pyreadline3>=3.4

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'scapy'

Cause: scapy failed to install (common on Windows without Npcap).

Fix:

# Install Npcap first (Windows): https://npcap.com/
# Then:
pip install scapy
# On Linux if libpcap missing:
sudo apt install libpcap-dev # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install libpcap-devel # Fedora/RHEL
pip install scapy

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'pysnmp'

Cause: pysnmp not installed or wrong version.

Fix:

pip install "pysnmp>=6.1"
# Note: pysnmp v4.x is incompatible with Python 3.12+

urllib3/requests version warning on startup

Symptom:

RequestsDependencyWarning: urllib3 (2.6.3) or chardet doesn't match a supported version!

Fix:

pip install "requests>=2.31.0,<3.0" "urllib3>=1.26.0,<3.0"

Module Issues

0 modules indexed

Symptom:

[*] Indexing modules...
[+] 0 modules indexed.

Diagnosis:

python -c "
from industrialxpl.core.exploit.utils import index_modules, MODULES_DIR
print('MODULES_DIR:', MODULES_DIR)
print('Exists:', MODULES_DIR.exists())
mods = index_modules()
print('Count:', len(mods))
"

Fix:

# Reinstall package
pip install --force-reinstall industrialxpl-forge
# Or install from source
git clone https://github.com/mrhenrike/IndustrialXPL-Forge.git
cd IndustrialXPL-Forge
pip install -e .

Module import error

Symptom:

ixf > use cve/siemens/cve_2021_22681_s7_1200_hardcoded_key
[-] Error loading module: ...

Diagnosis:

python -c "
from industrialxpl.core.exploit.utils import import_exploit
obj = import_exploit('industrialxpl.modules.cve.siemens.cve_2021_22681_s7_1200_hardcoded_key')
print('OK:', obj)
"

Common causes:

  1. Syntax error in module file — check the file for syntax issues
  2. Missing dependency — the module may require an optional package
  3. Wrong Python version — some modules use f-strings or walrus operator

check() always returns False

Symptom: check shows NOT VULNERABLE even when target should respond.

Diagnosis:

# Test raw connectivity
python -c "
import socket
s = socket.socket()
s.settimeout(5)
try:
 s.connect(('192.168.1.100', 502))
 print('Port open')
 s.close()
except Exception as e:
 print('Failed:', e)
"

Common causes:

  1. Firewall blocking the port
  2. Wrong port number — use show options and verify
  3. Module probe rejected by device — some devices only respond to specific unit IDs
  4. Network routing issue — can you ping the target?

run in simulate mode shows nothing

Cause: Module's run() doesn't call DestructiveGate.print_simulation().

This may be a module bug. Check the module source:

cat industrialxpl/modules/cve/vendor/module_name.py | grep "print_simulation"

If missing, the module only implements live mode. File an issue on GitHub.

Shell Issues

Tab completion not working

Windows: Requires pyreadline3. Install if missing:

pip install pyreadline3

Linux/macOS: readline should be built-in. If not:

pip install readline # macOS
sudo apt install python3-readline # Debian/Ubuntu

Command history not saved between sessions

Symptom: Up-arrow doesn't show previous session commands.

Cause: ~/.ixf_history file not being written (permission issue or readline not available).

Fix:

# Check if file exists
ls -la ~/.ixf_history
# Check write permissions
touch ~/.ixf_history

ANSI colors display as literal escape codes (Windows)

Symptom: Output shows \x1b[32m[+]\x1b[0m instead of colored text.

Fix: Use Windows Terminal or PowerShell 7:

# Install Windows Terminal from Microsoft Store
# Or use PowerShell 7+: https://github.com/PowerShell/PowerShell
# Alternative: disable colors (workaround)
$env:NO_COLOR = "1"
ixf

NSE Issues

nse install fails with Permission Error (Linux)

Fix:

sudo python tools/nse_install.py --install
# or
sudo ixf
# then: nse install

nse install fails on Windows

Fix: Run terminal as Administrator:

  1. Right-click PowerShell → Run as Administrator
  2. Then run ixf and nse install

Nmap not found even though it's installed

Symptom: nse status shows "Nmap NOT installed" but nmap works in terminal.

Cause: nmap not in PATH for the Python process.

Diagnosis:

import shutil
print(shutil.which("nmap")) # Should show path or None

Fix (Linux/macOS):

which nmap # Find nmap path
# Add to PATH if needed
export PATH="/usr/bin:$PATH"

Fix (Windows):

where.exe nmap # Find nmap path
# Add Nmap folder to PATH in System Environment Variables

NSE script not found by Nmap after install

Run nmap --script-updatedb to refresh the script database:

nmap --script-updatedb
# Or use IXF (it runs this automatically after install)
ixf > nse install

SAST / LLM Issues

LLM key not configured

ixf > sast /path/to/plc/ --mode sast
[-] No LLM API key configured

Fix:

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export GOOGLE_AI_STUDIO_API_KEY=AIzaSy...
ixf

Or inside IXF:

ixf > llm-key gemini AIzaSyBGaoio...

LLM request failed: HTTP 429

Rate limit exceeded. Wait a few seconds and retry:

ixf > sast /path/to/plc/ --mode sast

Or switch to a different provider:

ixf > llm-key openai sk-...

SAST response truncated

Symptom: Analysis cuts off mid-sentence.

Cause: Default max_tokens limit.

Workaround: Use a provider with higher token limits (GPT-4o: 128K context, Claude 3.5: 200K).

Performance Issues

IXF starts slowly (module indexing takes 10+ seconds)

Cause: Large number of modules (1190+) being indexed.

Workaround: Indexing is cached in memory for the session. Subsequent operations are fast.

Improvement: Use non-interactive mode for single commands:

ixf stats # faster than interactive start + stats

Scan is very slow

Causes:

  1. Large CIDR range — use --rate-limit to control pace
  2. High timeout — reduce with set timeout 3
  3. Many modules per technique — use ttp-check for faster check-only mode
ixf > ttp T0843 192.168.1.0/24 --rate-limit 100
ixf > set timeout 3
ixf > ttp-check T0843 192.168.1.0/24

Getting Help

  1. Check this troubleshooting guide
  2. Run python tools/env_doctor.py for environment diagnostics
  3. Search GitHub Issues: https://github.com/mrhenrike/IndustrialXPL-Forge/issues
  4. Open a new issue with:
    • IXF version: ixf stats
    • Python version: python --version
    • OS: uname -a (Linux/macOS) or winver (Windows)
    • Full error output

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