# Pacu

Pacu is a Penetration Testing product. It runs on-premises. Pricing is free.

Pacu is an open-source AWS exploitation framework designed for offensive security testing against cloud environments through modular attack capabilities.

Checked October 2026.

## What is Pacu?

Pacu is an open-source AWS exploitation framework developed by Rhino Security Labs for offensive security testing against cloud environments.

The framework enables penetration testers to identify and exploit configuration flaws within AWS accounts through a modular architecture that allows for easy expansion of functionality.

Current modules support various attack vectors including:
- User privilege escalation
- IAM user backdooring
- Vulnerable Lambda function exploitation
- Additional AWS-specific attack scenarios

The tool requires Python 3.7+ and pip3 for installation, making it a lightweight solution for cloud penetration testing activities. Pacu focuses specifically on AWS environments and provides a structured approach to testing cloud security configurations and identifying potential vulnerabilities in AWS deployments.

Tags: Lambda, AWS, Privilege Escalation

## Where it fits in your security program (NIST CSF 2.0)

- [Identify](https://cybersectools.com/guides/building-identify-program-small-team): helps you know your assets and your risks.

## Quick facts

- Category: [Offensive Security](https://cybersectools.com/categories/offensive-security-testing) · [Penetration Testing](https://cybersectools.com/categories/pentesting-tools)
- Deployment: On-Premises
- Company size fit: Mid-Market, Enterprise
- Pricing model: Free
- GitHub stars: 4,883
- Website: github.com

## Pacu FAQ

### What is Pacu?

Pacu is a product in the Penetration Testing category. It covers Lambda, AWS and Privilege Escalation.

### What is the pricing for Pacu?

Pacu is free. Download and setup instructions are at https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu/.

### What are alternatives to Pacu?

Alternatives to Pacu listed on CybersecTools:

1. [AWS Security Agent](https://cybersectools.com/tools/aws-security-agent) - AI-powered agent for automated security reviews and penetration testing (Commercial)
2. [Ironwood Cyber Enlight](https://cybersectools.com/tools/ironwood-cyber-enlight) - Autonomous pentesting platform that discovers, exploits & maps attack paths. (Commercial)
3. [Managed Autonomous Pentesting (MAP)](https://cybersectools.com/tools/hackurity-art-stack) - Managed continuous autonomous pentesting using payload-less exploitation and attack paths (Commercial)
4. [PT Dephaze](https://cybersectools.com/tools/pt-dephaze) - Agentless automated pentest platform for continuous infrastructure security testing. (Commercial)
5. [KinoSec Zeus](https://cybersectools.com/tools/kinosec-zeus) - Autonomous AI black-box pentesting platform with exploit chaining and PoC generation. (Commercial)

Compare all Pacu alternatives at [https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/pacu](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/pacu)

### What deployment and organization size does Pacu fit?

Pacu is available as on-premises software. It is listed for mid-market companies and enterprises. It is free.

## Compare Pacu with similar solutions

- [Pacu vs AWS Security Agent](https://cybersectools.com/compare/aws-security-agent-vs-pacu)
- [Pacu vs Ironwood Cyber Enlight](https://cybersectools.com/compare/ironwood-cyber-enlight-vs-pacu)
- [Pacu vs Managed Autonomous Pentesting (MAP)](https://cybersectools.com/compare/hackurity-art-stack-vs-pacu)

All alternatives to Pacu: [/alternatives/pacu](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/pacu)

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Source: https://cybersectools.com/tools/pacu

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More on Pacu: funding, momentum, hiring and news, plus the full product and company record, are available through the Mandos MCP Server (paid plans), which connects to AI assistants: https://mandos.io/mcp?utm_source=cybersectools.com&utm_medium=product-md