Top picks: Fortra Cobalt Strike, Core Security Outflank Security Tooling, PoshC2 — plus 45 more compared.
Security Operationsshad0w is a free tool. Security professionals most commonly compare it with . All 48 alternatives are matched by shared capabilities, tags, and NIST CSF 2.0 coverage.
A closer look at the 8 most relevant alternatives and competitors to shad0w, including their key features and shared capabilities.
Threat emulation tool for adversary simulations and red team operations
Shares 3 capabilities with shad0w: Post Exploitation, Red Team, Lateral Movement
Red team toolkit for EDR evasion, initial access, and post-exploitation.
Shares 3 capabilities with shad0w: Post Exploitation, Red Team, Lateral Movement
A proxy aware C2 framework for penetration testing, red teaming, post-exploitation, and lateral movement with modular format and highly configurable payloads.
Shares 3 capabilities with shad0w: Post Exploitation, Red Team, Lateral Movement
A comprehensive repository of open-source security tools organized by attack phases for red team operations, adversary simulation, and threat hunting purposes.
Shares 3 capabilities with shad0w: Red Team, Lateral Movement, Privilege Escalation
CloudCopy implements a cloud version of the Shadow Copy attack to extract domain user hashes from AWS-hosted domain controllers by creating and mounting volume snapshots.
Shares 3 capabilities with shad0w: Post Exploitation, Red Team, Privilege Escalation
Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations.
Bundled offensive security suites combining pen testing, red teaming, and VM.
CrossC2 is a cross-platform payload generator that extends CobaltStrike's capabilities to Linux and macOS environments for red team operations.
Threat emulation tool for adversary simulations and red team operations
Red team toolkit for EDR evasion, initial access, and post-exploitation.
A proxy aware C2 framework for penetration testing, red teaming, post-exploitation, and lateral movement with modular format and highly configurable payloads.
A comprehensive repository of open-source security tools organized by attack phases for red team operations, adversary simulation, and threat hunting purposes.
CloudCopy implements a cloud version of the Shadow Copy attack to extract domain user hashes from AWS-hosted domain controllers by creating and mounting volume snapshots.
Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations.
Bundled offensive security suites combining pen testing, red teaming, and VM.
CrossC2 is a cross-platform payload generator that extends CobaltStrike's capabilities to Linux and macOS environments for red team operations.
Havoc is a malleable post-exploitation command and control framework that provides a client-server architecture with payload generation, customizable C2 profiles, and team collaboration capabilities for red team operations.
InvisibilityCloak is a proof-of-concept C# code obfuscation toolkit designed for red teaming and penetration testing to conceal post-exploitation tools from detection.
A cross-platform HTTP/2 Command & Control framework written in Golang for post-exploitation activities and remote system management.
A lightweight Command and Control (C2) implant written in Nim that provides remote access capabilities for penetration testing and red team operations.
Pupy is an open-source, cross-platform C2 framework that provides remote access and control capabilities for compromised systems across Windows, Linux, OSX, and Android platforms.
SharpC2 is a C#-based Command and Control framework that provides remote access capabilities for penetration testing and red team operations.
Anti-forensics tool for Red Teamers to erase footprints and test incident response capabilities.
PowerSploit is a PowerShell-based penetration testing framework containing modules for code execution, injection techniques, persistence, and various offensive security operations.
Documentation of an AWS IAM privilege escalation technique that exploits the iam:CreatePolicyVersion permission to gain elevated access through policy manipulation.
SILENTTRINITY is a Python-based, asynchronous C2 framework that uses .NET scripting languages for post-exploitation activities without relying on PowerShell.
A cross-platform post-exploitation HTTP/2 Command & Control framework designed specifically for testing and exploiting containerized environments including Docker and Kubernetes.
KeeFarce extracts cleartext password database information from KeePass 2.x processes in memory using DLL injection and .NET runtime manipulation.
A PHP-based command and control framework that maintains persistent web server access through polymorphic backdoors and HTTP header communication tunneling.
A post-exploitation framework for attacking AWS infrastructure, enabling attacks on EC2 instances without SSH keypairs and extraction of AWS secrets and parameters.
FourCore ATTACK is an adversary emulation platform to manage cyber risk with evidence
AI agent platform for automating offensive security operations and evals.
CLI cheatsheet for Red Specter's 30-tool offensive security platform.
MCP server enabling AI agents to autonomously run 150+ security tools
GraphSpy is a browser-based post-exploitation tool for Azure Active Directory and Office 365 environments that enables token management, reconnaissance, and interaction with Microsoft 365 services.
A covert channel technique that uses WebDAV protocol features to deliver malicious payloads and establish C2 communication while bypassing security controls.
LeakIX is a red-team search engine that indexes mis-configurations and vulnerabilities online.
PyBOF is a Python library that enables in-memory loading and execution of Beacon Object Files (BOFs) with support for argument passing and function targeting.
Parrot Security OS is a comprehensive, secure, and customizable operating system for cybersecurity professionals, offering over 600+ tools and utilities for red and blue team operations.
A command that builds and executes command lines from standard input, allowing for the execution of commands with multiple arguments.
Tool for enumerating proxy configurations and generating CobaltStrike-compatible shellcode.
RedELK is a SIEM tool designed for red teams to monitor and receive alerts about blue team detection activities during penetration testing engagements.
An Azure Function that validates and relays Cobalt Strike beacon traffic based on Malleable C2 profile authentication.
Advanced command and control tool for red teaming and adversary simulation with extensive features and evasion capabilities.
A command line tool that generates randomized malleable C2 profiles for Cobalt Strike to vary command and control communication patterns.
C3 is a framework by WithSecureLabs for rapid prototyping of custom command and control channels that integrates with existing offensive security toolkits.
CobaltBus integrates Cobalt Strike with Azure Service Bus to create covert C2 communication channels for red team operations.
Covenant is a collaborative .NET command and control framework designed for red team operations and offensive security engagements.
A reconnaissance tool that analyzes expired domains for categorization, reputation, and Archive.org history to identify candidates suitable for phishing and C2 operations.
EvilClippy is a cross-platform tool that creates malicious MS Office documents with hidden VBA macros and evasion techniques for penetration testing and red team operations.
A template-driven framework for creating custom evasion techniques to test Anti-Virus and EDR detection capabilities.
A tool for working with Direct System Calls in Cobalt Strike's Beacon Object Files (BOF) for offensive security purposes.
Ivy is a payload creation framework for executing arbitrary VBA source code directly in memory, utilizing programmatical access to load, decrypt, and execute shellcode.
A COM Command & Control framework that uses JScript to provide fileless remote access capabilities on Windows systems through a modular plugin architecture.
Macro_Pack automates the generation and obfuscation of Office documents and scripts for penetration testing and security assessments.
Modlishka is a reverse proxy tool for intercepting and manipulating HTTP traffic, ideal for penetration testers, security researchers, and developers to analyze and test web applications.
Common questions security professionals ask when evaluating alternatives and competitors to shad0w.
The most popular alternatives to shad0w include Fortra Cobalt Strike, Core Security Outflank Security Tooling, PoshC2, Red Teaming Toolkit, and CloudCopy. These Offensive Security tools offer similar capabilities and are frequently compared by security professionals evaluating their options.
