AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods vs Fortra Cobalt Strike: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods: Documentation of an AWS IAM privilege escalation technique that exploits the iam:CreatePolicyVersion permission to gain elevated access through policy manipulation..

Fortra Cobalt Strike: Threat emulation tool for adversary simulations and red team operations. built by Fortra. Core capabilities include Post-exploitation payload (Beacon) with PowerShell execution, keylogging, screenshots, and file downloads, Malleable Command and Control (C2) language for network indicator customization, Browser pivoting for hijacking authenticated web sessions..

Both serve the Offensive Security market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.

AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods is open-source with 923 GitHub stars. Fortra Cobalt Strike is developed by Fortra. Vendor maturity, funding stage, and team size can be important factors when evaluating long-term viability and support quality.

AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods and Fortra Cobalt Strike serve similar Offensive Security use cases: both are Offensive Security tools, both cover Red Team. Key differences: AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods is Free while Fortra Cobalt Strike is Commercial, AWS IAM Privilege Escalation Methods is open-source. Review the feature comparison above to determine which fits your requirements.