Gato vs SCADAShutdownTool: 2026 Comparison
Gato is a free penetration testing tool. SCADAShutdownTool is a free penetration testing tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best penetration testing fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
DevSecOps teams running GitHub Actions at scale need Gato because it's the only tool that systematically maps and exploits CI/CD pipeline misconfigurations before attackers do. With 701 GitHub stars and active community validation, it's proven effective at exposing credential exposure and privilege escalation paths in workflow files that static scanners routinely miss. Skip this if your GitHub Actions usage is light or your CI/CD security program already includes runtime controls; Gato is purpose-built for teams treating pipeline compromise as a material risk, not a checkbox.
Industrial control system penetration testers who need hands-on enumeration and register manipulation will use SCADAShutdownTool to validate SCADA controller hardening without commercial licensing friction. The free pricing and GitHub availability mean you can spin it up in lab environments immediately and integrate it into your testing workflows without vendor lock-in or budget cycles. Skip this if you're looking for multi-protocol fuzzing, forensics, or any scanning beyond direct register interaction; it's a focused testing primitive, not a platform.
