# Shadow Workers

Shadow Workers is a Red-Team & Adversary Emulation product. It runs on-premises. Pricing is free.

Shadow Workers is an open source C2 framework and proxy tool for penetration testers to exploit XSS vulnerabilities and malicious Service Workers.

Checked October 2026.

## What is Shadow Workers?

Shadow Workers is an open source command and control (C2) framework and proxy tool designed for penetration testing activities.

The tool focuses on exploiting Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities and malicious Service Workers to establish command and control channels.

It provides an interface for creating and managing C2 servers, enabling penetration testers to test and exploit web application vulnerabilities.

The framework supports proxy functionality to facilitate communication between compromised targets and the C2 infrastructure.

Shadow Workers is specifically designed to assist security researchers and penetration testers in assessing web application security through Service Worker exploitation techniques.

Tags: C2, Proxy, Open Source, XSS

## Quick facts

- Category: [Offensive Security](https://cybersectools.com/categories/offensive-security-testing) · [Red-Team & Adversary Emulation](https://cybersectools.com/categories/offensive-security)
- Deployment: On-Premises
- Company size fit: Mid-Market, Enterprise
- Pricing model: Free
- GitHub stars: 236
- Website: github.com

## Shadow Workers FAQ

### What is Shadow Workers?

Shadow Workers is a product in the Red-Team & Adversary Emulation category. It covers C2, Proxy and Open Source.

### What is the pricing for Shadow Workers?

Shadow Workers is free. Download and setup instructions are at https://github.com/shadow-workers/shadow-workers/.

### What are alternatives to Shadow Workers?

Alternatives to Shadow Workers listed on CybersecTools:

1. [Fortra Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/tools/fortra-cobalt-strike) - Threat emulation product for adversary simulations and red team operations (Commercial)
2. [Core Security Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/tools/core-security-cobalt-strike) - Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations. (Commercial)
3. [Dreadnode Offensive Security Agents](https://cybersectools.com/tools/dreadnode-offensive-security-agents) - AI agent platform for automating offensive security operations and evals. (Commercial)

Compare all Shadow Workers alternatives at [https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/shadow-workers](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/shadow-workers)

### What deployment and organization size does Shadow Workers fit?

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

## Compare Shadow Workers with similar solutions

- [Shadow Workers vs Fortra Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/compare/fortra-cobalt-strike-vs-shadow-workers)
- [Shadow Workers vs Core Security Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/compare/core-security-cobalt-strike-vs-shadow-workers)
- [Shadow Workers vs Dreadnode Offensive Security Agents](https://cybersectools.com/compare/dreadnode-offensive-security-agents-vs-shadow-workers)

All alternatives to Shadow Workers: [/alternatives/shadow-workers](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/shadow-workers)

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Source: https://cybersectools.com/tools/shadow-workers

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