30 open-source projects similar to powershellempire/empire, ranked by shared indexed features. Tags may describe platforms or build tools rather than the same primary purpose. Check each project’s use case, license, and deployment requirements before treating it as a replacement.
Nishang is a PowerShell-based offensive security framework designed for red teaming and penetration testing on Windows targets. It functions as a post-exploitation toolkit and payload generator to automate attacks and manage remote targets. The project provides specialized capabilities for bypassing security controls, such as disabling the Antimalware Scan Interface and employing in-memory execution to avoid disk-based detection. It includes a variety of stealthy command and control mechanisms, utilizing non-standard channels like DNS TXT records, ICMP traffic, and webmail for communication a
Empire is a post-exploitation command-and-control (C2) framework designed for red team operations. It deploys and manages agents written in PowerShell, Python, C#, Go, and C across Windows, Linux, and macOS, using encrypted communication channels over HTTP, HTTPS, and SMB. The framework executes over 400 built-in modules for reconnaissance, privilege escalation, credential theft, and lateral movement, and provides a modular engine for authoring custom attack modules. What sets Empire apart is its multi-language agent deployment system, which allows operators to choose implants that suit each
Empire is a command and control framework and post-exploitation toolkit used for network penetration testing. It serves as a centralized platform for coordinating remote agent communication and automating the delivery of security testing payloads to target systems. The project provides a suite of modules for host reconnaissance, lateral movement, and credential harvesting across corporate environments. It functions as a remote administration tool to maintain persistence and execute commands on compromised hosts. The framework incorporates capabilities for agent orchestration and the executio
Pupy is a command and control framework and post-exploitation suite used for remote administration and system management. It functions as a cross-platform tool for deploying payloads and controlling multiple remote agents through encrypted communication channels. The framework features a multi-platform payload generator that creates custom executable files using configurable network launchers. It employs a network traffic obfuscator that stacks encryption and obfuscation protocols to hide communication from observation. The system provides capabilities for in-memory code execution, remote pr
This project is a post-exploitation framework and command and control platform designed for security research and penetration testing. It functions as a remote access tool consisting of a central command server and encrypted executable payloads that establish reverse shell connections. The system utilizes a web-based dashboard for multi-client administration, allowing for remote host monitoring and direct shell access through an in-browser terminal. It generates cross-platform, encrypted binaries that employ a multi-stage delivery chain and a key exchange mechanism to secure communications.
Maskphish is a comprehensive security toolkit that integrates capabilities for digital forensics, network vulnerability scanning, open-source intelligence, penetration testing, and social engineering. It functions as a multi-purpose framework for automating reconnaissance and executing security audits across diverse network environments. The project features a specialized phishing and social engineering toolkit used for cloning websites, masking URLs, and deploying deceptive pages to capture user credentials. It also includes a remote access Trojan builder for generating platform-specific exe
Sliver is a command and control framework designed for adversary emulation and security assessment operations. It provides a centralized platform for managing remote systems, enabling security professionals to coordinate multi-operator sessions and maintain persistent, secure communication channels across diverse network environments. The framework distinguishes itself through its focus on stealth and infrastructure flexibility. It utilizes dynamic payload obfuscation to generate unique binaries and supports in-memory execution to minimize disk artifacts. Communication is secured through mutu
Havoc is a post-exploitation framework used for red team operations. It provides a centralized command and control system for managing remote agents through persistent network connections and customizable communication profiles. The framework focuses on security evasion and stealth, utilizing indirect syscall execution, return address spoofing, and hardware-breakpoint patching to bypass endpoint detection and response tools. It includes a payload generation workflow to create executable shellcode or DLLs for initial remote access. The system covers a broad range of operational capabilities,
OffensiveNim is a red teaming framework and post-exploitation toolkit developed in Nim. It provides a collection of low-level primitives and a Windows API wrapper designed for offensive security operations, including malware development and shellcode loading. The project focuses on evasion and obfuscation through techniques such as API unhooking, direct system calls, and anti-debugging mechanisms. It features diverse payload delivery methods, including reflective binary loading, the execution of .NET assemblies via CLR hosting, and various shellcode injection techniques using fibers, COM obje
TacticalRMM is a remote monitoring and management platform designed for overseeing endpoints and automating IT administration. It functions as an endpoint management tool and IT automation framework, providing a centralized dashboard for executing scripts, monitoring system health, and managing remote devices across multiple tenants. The platform distinguishes itself through a comprehensive remote administration suite that includes real-time shell access, remote file management, and registry editing. It integrates with third-party remote desktop software and provides a hierarchical policy inh
This project is a post-exploitation framework and privilege escalation script suite designed to scan local system configurations for security gaps. It serves as a system enumeration toolset used to identify paths for gaining higher administrative privileges on a target host. The suite incorporates capabilities for security penetration testing and vulnerability assessment reporting. It uses shell-based system enumeration and pattern-based vulnerability matching to detect misconfigurations, while employing heuristic-based permission analysis to evaluate system flags. Findings are gathered thro
fsociety is a penetration testing framework and security tool orchestrator designed to conduct full security audits. It functions as a wrapper that integrates external security binaries into a unified, menu-driven interface, providing a centralized system for command-line parameter mapping and execution. The project distinguishes itself by organizing specialized utilities into domain-specific collections for structured navigation. It automates the transition between different phases of an audit by chaining reconnaissance and exploitation tools through sequential workflow automation. The fram
Stitch is a command and control framework and post-exploitation toolkit designed for managing multiple remote systems from a central server. It functions as a remote administration tool and payload builder, enabling the execution of commands and the deployment of agents across different operating systems. The project features a cross-platform builder for generating custom executable agents with configurable network bindings and boot behaviors. It utilizes encrypted communication channels to secure traffic between the controller and remote clients, and it supports the execution of dynamic scri
Merlin is a cross-platform command and control framework and remote access tool. It provides a server and agent system for post-exploitation coordination, utilizing an HTTP/2 framework for secure communication and the execution of commands across multiple operating systems. The project features an in-memory code execution engine that runs assemblies and shellcode directly within a process to avoid writing files to disk. It implements a decentralized communication architecture through a peer-to-peer network, allowing agents to exchange data via direct bind or reverse connections. To evade det
Bjorn is a penetration testing framework that automates network scanning, credential brute-forcing, vulnerability assessment, and data exfiltration, all coordinated through an event-driven task pipeline and controlled via a web-based dashboard. Its modular plugin architecture allows independent security modules to be loaded and chained together, with an asynchronous network scanner discovering live hosts and open ports without blocking the main execution flow. The framework distinguishes itself by integrating a credential brute-force engine that systematically attempts login combinations agai
Viper is a command and control infrastructure manager and post-exploitation framework designed for adversary attack simulation and security assessment. It functions as an orchestrator for penetration testing, combining a system for managing compromised hosts across multiple operating systems with tools for security workflow automation. The platform is distinguished by its use of large language model agents to coordinate red team tasks, automate data processing, and provide intelligent decision support. It includes a network pivot visualizer that uses directional graphs to map relationships an
AllHackingTools is a security tool orchestrator and suite designed to install, update, and manage a wide array of third-party hacking and security utilities from a single command interface. It functions as a centralized hub for network analysis, open source intelligence, penetration testing, and social engineering tools. The project provides specialized frameworks for gathering open source intelligence and searching for user profiles across social platforms. It includes toolkits for network reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, and the execution of security exploits, as well as a social eng
CrackMapExec is a network penetration testing framework and automated security scanner designed to assess security postures across large IP ranges. It functions as a multi-protocol security scanner and network protocol auditor used to identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. The tool provides capabilities for Active Directory auditing to enumerate users and permissions, as well as post-exploitation enumeration to gather system metadata and discover lateral movement paths. It includes a framework for credential spraying and harvesting across various network services. The system utilize
The framework is a comprehensive penetration testing platform designed for the development, testing, and execution of security exploits. It serves as a research toolkit and automated assessment environment, enabling security professionals to identify and validate vulnerabilities within networked systems and infrastructure through repeatable, standardized procedures. The platform distinguishes itself through a modular architecture that supports reflective payload injection, allowing for the execution of code directly in memory without writing to disk. It utilizes an asynchronous event loop to
Lantern is a network utility designed to provide access to restricted internet content by tunneling traffic through encrypted connections. It functions as a censorship circumvention tool that enables private web browsing and ensures reliable connectivity in environments where standard network access is blocked or monitored. The application employs a decentralized infrastructure that routes data through a network of distributed proxy nodes. To maintain connectivity in the face of interference, it utilizes dynamic proxy discovery and adaptive fallback mechanisms that automatically switch betwee
Ethical-Hacking-Labs is a comprehensive cybersecurity training curriculum and lab suite designed for learning penetration testing, network analysis, and offensive security techniques. It provides a structured environment for practicing the full attack lifecycle, from initial reconnaissance and scanning to exploitation and post-compromise analysis. The project provides instructional materials and guided exercises that cover specific technical domains, including open source intelligence research and network security courseware. It includes a practical workbook for identifying system vulnerabili
pyload is a Python-based download manager that automates file transfers from web hosters and cloud storage services. It functions as a modular task automator, utilizing a plugin-based architecture to handle site-specific connection protocols and decryption requirements. The system provides multiple ways to interact with the download queue, including a centralized web-based dashboard for remote management and a terminal interface for command-line control. It also acts as a REST API download controller, exposing system functions and status tracking to external applications through an OpenAPI-co
This project is a comprehensive, community-curated directory of cybersecurity resources, tools, and educational materials. It functions as a centralized index for researchers and students to discover frameworks and utilities across the entire security lifecycle, ranging from initial vulnerability assessment to post-exploitation analysis. The repository distinguishes itself through a hierarchical taxonomy that organizes diverse security disciplines into a searchable, version-controlled knowledge base. Rather than hosting software directly, it utilizes a decentralized aggregation model that lin
This project is a privacy-focused VPN manager and WireGuard client application designed to establish encrypted tunnels that mask user IP addresses and activity. It focuses on maintaining anonymity through a system that supports account creation without personal identifying information. The application distinguishes itself with advanced privacy tools, including a multi-hop orchestrator for routing traffic through multiple sequential servers and a network traffic obfuscator that uses Shadowsocks, TCP, and QUIC to bypass deep packet inspection and censorship. It also implements quantum-resistant
PowerSploit is a collection of PowerShell modules designed for security assessment, penetration testing, and red team operations. It provides a framework for auditing Windows system configurations and evaluating the effectiveness of security defenses within an enterprise environment. The framework focuses on techniques that leverage native system administration tools and scripting environments to perform operations. It includes capabilities for executing arbitrary commands, escalating user privileges, and maintaining system persistence through event subscriptions. By utilizing in-memory execu
KeeWeb is a web-based password manager and vault that allows users to open and edit encrypted databases through a browser interface. It functions as a cross-platform tool for managing password vaults using the KeePass database format. The application provides a self-hosted password vault that can be deployed as a single HTML file or via Docker. It integrates with remote storage providers using OAuth to synchronize encrypted database files across multiple devices. The system includes capabilities for secure credential generation, two-factor authentication management through time-based one-tim
NodeBB is a real-time, self-hosted community forum platform built on Node.js. It is designed to support scalable discussion environments by utilizing a document-oriented database for content storage and an in-memory engine for high-speed data retrieval and session management. The platform provides a comprehensive administrative interface for managing user groups, forum settings, and system health. What distinguishes the platform is its native support for federated social networking via the ActivityPub protocol, allowing forums to exchange content, synchronize discussions, and interact with de
SpiderFoot is an open-source reconnaissance and intelligence automation framework designed to streamline the collection and correlation of data for security investigations. It functions as a comprehensive platform that automates the querying of hundreds of public data sources to map digital footprints, identify exposed assets, and uncover potential security threats across an organization's external perimeter. The platform distinguishes itself through a modular, plugin-based architecture that executes data gathering tasks in parallel, supported by a directed graph data model that tracks relati
udp2raw is a network tunneling tool designed to bypass firewalls and obfuscate UDP traffic. It wraps UDP packets in alternative headers and utilizes raw socket networking to move data through networks that otherwise block or throttle UDP traffic. The project distinguishes itself by simulating TCP connections, mimicking the three-way handshake and sequence numbering to trick firewalls into treating UDP streams as TCP traffic. It further stabilizes these connections through heartbeat-driven port rotation, which automatically switches ports to recover sessions after detected failures. The tool
EQGRP is a remote access trojan framework and post-exploitation toolkit. It provides a centralized command and control infrastructure for deploying persistent implants and managing remote agents across diverse operating systems. The project includes tools for digital forensic evasion, such as modifying system logs and filesystem timestamps to remove execution traces. It features a network interception system for capturing and reconstructing data streams by hooking into the system root, as well as exploits designed for kernel privilege escalation to elevate process permissions to administrativ