CobaltBus vs AzureC2Relay: 2026 Comparison
CobaltBus is a free offensive security tool. AzureC2Relay is a free offensive security tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best offensive security fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Red teams running Azure-native infrastructure need CobaltBus because it hides Cobalt Strike traffic inside Service Bus messages, eliminating the need for external C2 domains that network monitoring catches. The free pricing and 246 GitHub stars signal active maintenance by practitioners who understand both Azure specifics and operator workflow. Skip this if your organization lacks Azure environments or prefers commercial red team frameworks with vendor support; CobaltBus demands hands-on Azure knowledge to deploy safely.
Red teamers and penetration testers running Cobalt Strike campaigns through Azure need AzureC2Relay to hide C2 traffic behind legitimate cloud infrastructure without burning blue team detections on obviously malicious beacon patterns. The tool validates traffic against your Malleable C2 profile before relaying through an Azure Function, meaning only properly authenticated beacons get through; attackers often skip this layer and get caught on the first anomalous request. Skip this if you're not already deeply comfortable with Azure Functions, Malleable C2 profiles, and infrastructure-as-code deployments; the 236 GitHub stars reflect a small, skilled audience rather than a tool that abstracts away operator complexity.
