hollows_hunter vs Stairwell Variant Discovery: side-by-side comparison (2026)

hollows_hunter: A process scanning tool that detects and dumps malicious implants, shellcodes, hooks, and memory patches in running processes.

Stairwell Variant Discovery: Expands a single malware hash into full family visibility via structural analysis. Built by Stairwell.

The table above shows where their features, integrations, deployment and company size fit differ.

hollows_hunter is open-source with 2,318 GitHub stars. Stairwell Variant Discovery is made by Stairwell. The vendor behind a product decides its roadmap, support, and longevity, so check each company's profile before you commit.

Often, yes. hollows_hunter and Stairwell Variant Discovery are both Malware Analysis products. Key differences: hollows_hunter is Free while Stairwell Variant Discovery is Commercial, hollows_hunter is open-source. Use the table above to see where features, deployment and company size fit differ.