Top picks: Charlotte, PLCinject, Luyten — plus 45 more compared.
Security OperationsEvaluating UPX alternatives comes down to matching Security Operations capabilities to your environment, integrations, and budget rather than chasing feature parity. The options below are compared on what actually drives a switch: coverage, deployment fit, pricing, and real reviews from security teams. Independent and vendor-neutral: we never sell rankings.
UPX is a free Red-Team & Adversary Emulation tool. Security professionals most commonly compare it with Charlotte, PLCinject, Luyten, SigThief, and Windows Oneliners for Remote Code Execution. 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 UPX, including their key features and shared capabilities.
Charlotte is an undetected C++ shellcode launcher for executing shellcode with stealth.
PLCinject is a tool for injecting and patching blocks on PLCs with a call instruction.
Java decompiler GUI tool for Procyon under Apache License.
SigThief extracts digital signatures from signed PE files and appends them to other files to create invalid signatures for testing Anti-Virus detection mechanisms.
Collection of Windows oneliners for executing arbitrary code and downloading remote payloads.
Platform for offensive security operations including ASM, VA, and DAST
Threat emulation tool for adversary simulations and red team operations
Human-led adversary emulation service testing detection & response capabilities
Charlotte is an undetected C++ shellcode launcher for executing shellcode with stealth.
PLCinject is a tool for injecting and patching blocks on PLCs with a call instruction.
SigThief extracts digital signatures from signed PE files and appends them to other files to create invalid signatures for testing Anti-Virus detection mechanisms.
Collection of Windows oneliners for executing arbitrary code and downloading remote payloads.
Platform for offensive security operations including ASM, VA, and DAST
Threat emulation tool for adversary simulations and red team operations
Human-led adversary emulation service testing detection & response capabilities
Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations.
Red team toolkit for EDR evasion, initial access, and post-exploitation.
Bundled offensive security suites combining pen testing, red teaming, and VM.
AI agent platform for automating offensive security operations and evals.
AI-powered continuous pentesting platform combining autonomous agents with human hackers.
Govt-focused cyber intelligence & surveillance software provider.
AI-assisted vulnerability research and advanced offensive cyber tooling firm.
Boutique security firm offering red team, OSINT, and adversary simulation services.
CLI cheatsheet for Red Specter's 30-tool offensive security platform.
Boutique cybersecurity firm offering pentesting, consulting, and DFIR services.
Autonomous offensive security platform that finds, validates, and remediates attack paths.
Autonomous AI offensive cyber platform for sovereign-grade threat neutralization.
MCP server enabling AI agents to autonomously run 150+ security tools
A specification/framework for extending default C2 communication channels in Cobalt Strike
An open-source framework that enables building and deploying AI 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.
Open-source C2 framework for red team ops and adversary simulation.
MITRE Caldera™ is an automated adversary emulation platform built on the MITRE ATT&CK framework that supports red team operations and incident response activities through a modular C2 server and plugin architecture.
A covert channel technique that uses WebDAV protocol features to deliver malicious payloads and establish C2 communication while bypassing security controls.
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.
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.
SharpEDRChecker scans system components to detect security products and tools.
Kali Linux is a specialized Linux distribution for cybersecurity professionals, focusing on penetration testing and security auditing.
RedELK is a SIEM tool designed for red teams to monitor and receive alerts about blue team detection activities during penetration testing engagements.
RedEye is a visual analytic tool that provides enhanced situational awareness and operational insights for both Red and Blue Team cybersecurity operations.
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.
Chameleon aids in evading proxy categorization to bypass internet filters.
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.
CrossC2 is a cross-platform payload generator that extends CobaltStrike's capabilities to Linux and macOS environments for red team operations.
Darkarmour is an open-source Windows antivirus evasion framework that enables security professionals to bypass antivirus detection through customizable obfuscation and anti-analysis techniques.
A managed code hooking template for .NET assemblies, enabling API hooking, code injection, and runtime manipulation.
A reconnaissance tool that analyzes expired domains for categorization, reputation, and Archive.org history to identify candidates suitable for phishing and C2 operations.
A shellcode generator that creates position-independent code for loading and executing .NET Assemblies, PE files, and Windows payloads from memory.
Common questions security professionals ask when evaluating alternatives and competitors to UPX.
The most popular alternatives to UPX include Charlotte, PLCinject, Luyten, SigThief, and Windows Oneliners for Remote Code Execution. These Red-Team & Adversary Emulation tools offer similar capabilities and are frequently compared by security professionals evaluating their options.
There are 48 alternatives to UPX listed on CybersecTools, all within the Red-Team & Adversary Emulation category. Each alternative is matched based on shared capabilities, tags, and NIST CSF coverage areas.
UPX is a free Red-Team & Adversary Emulation tool. You can use it at no cost. Both free and commercial alternatives are available for comparison.
UPX is a Red-Team & Adversary Emulation tool within the broader Security Operations category. It is used by security professionals for red-team & adversary emulation capabilities and can be compared against 48 similar tools.
