Open-source alternatives to Hoaxshell

Ladon is an internal network penetration scanner and vulnerability assessment tool designed to identify high-risk security flaws and assets across network segments. It operates as a fileless security scanner, executing its engine and modules directly in memory to avoid leaving a disk footprint on target systems. The project is distinguished by its integration as a plugin for command beacons, specifically within the Cobalt Strike framework. This allows for memory-resident network discovery and vulnerability detection. It further supports stealth operations through payload and script obfuscatio

This project consists of PHP-based payloads and scripts designed to establish reverse network connections for remote shell access. It functions as a remote command execution tool used during security auditing to gain an interactive shell on a web server. The scripts utilize PHP network sockets to redirect system shell input and output to a remote TCP connection. This allows for the establishment of a network connection from a target server back to a controlled machine to execute remote commands. These capabilities support penetration testing workflows, PHP server auditing, and post-exploitat

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

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

jexboss is a Java deserialization exploit framework and network vulnerability scanner designed to identify and exploit deserialization flaws to achieve remote code execution on target servers. It functions as a suite of tools for delivering payloads and executing system commands on vulnerable remote applications. The project includes a reverse shell orchestrator to establish and maintain persistent remote command connections from exploited targets back to a listener. It also provides post-exploitation automation for managing remote access and updating software on compromised systems. The fra

This project is a red teaming knowledge base and offensive security playbook designed to simulate adversary behavior. It serves as a comprehensive collection of technical guides and tactics for executing red team operations. The repository provides detailed instructions for Active Directory exploitation, including Kerberos abuse and domain privilege escalation. It covers defense evasion through API unhooking and payload obfuscation, as well as Windows internals research involving the manipulation of kernel objects and system memory. The capability surface extends to network penetration testi

This project is a curated collection of tools, scripts, and technical guides designed to enhance offensive security operations using Cobalt Strike. It serves as a resource hub for managing command and control infrastructure and deploying security engagements. The collection includes toolkits for evading endpoint detection and response systems, alongside libraries for automating red team tasks such as reconnaissance and host enumeration. It provides resources for developing post-exploitation frameworks, specifically focusing on the creation of reflective libraries and memory-resident code. Th

Exegol is an offensive security platform and containerized tooling orchestrator designed to deploy and manage isolated security operations environments. It functions as a workspace manager that provisions pre-configured security images and toolkits within Docker containers to protect host systems from malicious payloads. The platform distinguishes itself by integrating AI security workflow orchestration, allowing AI assistants to discover and trigger security tools through a standardized communication protocol. It further provides remote desktop gateway capabilities, enabling GUI access via X

This project is a technical guide and reference for internal network penetration testing. It serves as a collection of procedures for exploiting and navigating private corporate networks during security assessments. The repository provides specialized manuals and cheat sheets focused on active directory attacks, lateral movement, and privilege escalation. It includes a post-exploitation playbook for maintaining system persistence and clearing forensic traces. The documentation covers a broad range of security capabilities, including initial access, network pivoting and tunneling, and interna

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

Villain is a command and control framework and distributed orchestrator designed for managing reverse TCP and HoaxShell connections. It serves as a reverse shell manager and payload generation tool, allowing for the coordination of remote access across multiple target systems. The project distinguishes itself through a distributed architecture that synchronizes active remote sessions and broadcasts messages across connected server instances for collaborative operations. It includes a fileless execution engine that runs scripts directly in remote memory over HTTP to avoid writing files to the

dnscat2 is a DNS tunneling tool and covert command and control server that encapsulates encrypted traffic within DNS queries and responses. It functions as an encrypted DNS proxy designed to bypass network firewalls and establish communication paths when standard outbound ports are blocked. The project enables the creation of covert network channels by acting as an authoritative nameserver. It supports remote command execution through interactive shells and provides a mechanism for tunneling TCP network traffic to reach restricted remote hosts. The system includes capabilities for multiplexe

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

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

LOLBAS is a curated database and knowledge base of signed Windows binaries that can be misused to bypass security restrictions and execute unauthorized code. It serves as a technical registry that maps trusted system files to their functional capabilities and the offensive tactics they enable. The project distinguishes itself by providing a capability-driven indexing system and a tactics registry that relates legitimate binary functionality to known security evasion techniques. It includes an association layer that links specific system binaries to attack patterns and tactical objectives, pro

Covenant is a .NET-based command and control framework designed for red team operations and adversary simulation. It serves as a collaborative platform for coordinating security assessments, managing remote implants, and executing tasks on compromised systems through a centralized server. The project is distinguished by its dynamic payload generator, which compiles and obfuscates executable binaries and scripts on the fly to bypass detection. It further separates itself through a collaborative environment that allows multiple authenticated operators to share a synchronized state, track operat

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

This project is a suite of tools for generating encoded shell commands and network listener configurations used in offensive security operations. It provides a collection of command generators for various shells and listeners to establish remote access during security penetration tests. The tool features a reverse shell payload generator that creates encoded command strings and a network listener command generator that produces the server-side syntax needed to accept incoming network connections. It includes a Base64 command encoder to transform shell commands into encoded strings to bypass s

AutoSploit is an automated exploitation framework designed for discovering remote hosts and executing exploit modules at scale to establish reverse shells. It functions as a network reconnaissance tool and a remote code execution orchestrator, managing the deployment of attack modules against multiple targets. The system features a proxy-based traffic masker that routes network requests through external servers and rotates HTTP headers and user agents to obscure the source of activity. It allows for custom exploit orchestration through the integration of external attack modules and the manage

Pingtunnel is a network utility that implements ICMP tunneling by encapsulating TCP and UDP traffic within ICMP echo packets. It functions as an encrypted network tunnel and a SOCKS5 proxy server, allowing network traffic to be routed through a secure channel to bypass restrictive firewalls and network filters. The tool secures transmitted data using symmetric encryption to prevent interception of the tunneled payload. It uses a SOCKS5 proxy interface to accept standard network requests and redirect them into the ICMP tunnel. The system includes adaptive network polling to balance latency an

toggleterm.nvim is a Lua-based terminal manager and session orchestrator for Neovim. It provides a system for opening, hiding, and organizing multiple persistent terminal windows, allowing shell sessions to be integrated directly within the text editor. The plugin distinguishes itself by offering a floating terminal interface and the ability to define custom terminal classes. These classes allow for specialized instances with dedicated commands and environment variables, while named terminal selection enables users to focus specific sessions using descriptive labels rather than numeric identi

MasterDnsVPN is a DNS tunneling VPN and network censorship bypass tool that encapsulates network traffic within DNS queries to circumvent restrictive firewalls. It functions as a secure tunneling protocol and SOCKS5 proxy server, allowing local application traffic to be routed through a secure tunnel to a remote destination. The project distinguishes itself through a DNS resolver load balancer that distributes traffic across multiple resolvers based on latency and packet loss scoring. It further secures and masks traffic using symmetric payload encryption—supporting ChaCha20, AES-GCM, and XOR

KCP is a low-latency transport protocol and reliability layer designed to provide TCP-like guaranteed delivery and ordering over UDP. It implements an automatic repeat request protocol to minimize network jitter and delays, prioritizing timeliness over bandwidth efficiency. The project distinguishes itself through a pluggable congestion controller and flow control logic, allowing the transport layer to be tuned for specific network environments. It includes a NAT keep-alive system that uses periodic heartbeat packets to maintain active communication paths and prevent address translation timeo

Cloak is a set of censorship circumvention tools designed for secure proxy tunneling and internet traffic obfuscation. It focuses on bypassing restrictive firewalls and state surveillance by disguising proxy connections as standard web browsing. The project utilizes HTTP fingerprint masquerading to imitate common browser signatures and routes traffic through content delivery networks to mask the identity of the origin server. To further hide the server's purpose, it includes a mechanism to redirect unauthenticated connection requests to a third-party website. The system implements transport

HackTools is a browser extension pentesting toolkit designed for offensive security professionals. It serves as a centralized collection of tools for generating payloads, managing penetration testing workflows, and accessing security reference materials within a web-based interface. The project provides specialized utilities for generating attack strings for XSS, SQL injection, and reverse shells to identify and exploit web vulnerabilities. It includes a data encoding and hashing utility to convert information between various formats for the purpose of bypassing security filters or verifying

Discover is an integrated suite of security tools designed for penetration testing, container auditing, payload generation, network reconnaissance, and automated open-source intelligence gathering. This collection of bash scripts provides a coordinated framework for security auditing on Kali Linux and Ubuntu. The toolkit includes a specialized generator for creating reverse shell payloads across various hardware architectures and operating systems, paired with automated configuration for network listeners. It also features a dedicated container security auditor to identify vulnerabilities, le

EHole is a specialized toolkit for network asset parsing, binary transformation, payload generation, and vulnerability research. It functions as an asset discovery and fingerprinting tool designed to identify software versions and high-value assets across IP ranges and URLs using custom fingerprints. The project provides a vulnerability research toolkit for decrypting software credentials and retrieving factory default passwords for security devices and web applications. It also includes a security payload generator for encoding and escaping command strings to bypass shell tokenization and ex