# task_vaccine

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

Code injection library for OS X with cross-architecture support.

Checked October 2026.

## What is task_vaccine?

Yet another code injection library for OS X. $ git clone --recursive https://github.com/rodionovd/task_vaccine.git task_vaccine $ cd ./task_vaccine $ rake test $ rake build # will build an x86_64 dynamic library and place it into ./build/x86_64 #include "task_vaccine.h" task_t target = ...; int err = task_vaccine(target, "./payload0.dylib"); if (err != KERN_SUCCESS) { fprintf(stderr, "task_vaccine() failed with error: %d\n", err); } see Usage for details.

Why should I use this thing instead of mach_inject? Well, for a couple of reasons actually: mach_inject's codebase is old and it hasn't been updated for a while. You can not inject i386 targets from x86_64 hosts and vice versa using mach_inject, so you should use two different injectors. With task_vaccine you can actually do it. I have automated tests 🚦

How it works: Pretty straightforward, see: At first, we create a new thread inside a target task (process) and execute _pthread_set_self() function on it. We can only create a raw Mach thread inside a target task. But many functions (such as dlopen()) rely on pthread stuff (locks, etc), so we have to initialize a pthread first and only then execute dlopen() for lo

Tags: OS X, Code Injection

## 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: Startup, SMB, Mid-Market, Enterprise
- Pricing model: Free
- GitHub stars: 54
- Website: github.com

## task_vaccine FAQ

### What is task_vaccine?

task_vaccine is a product in the Red-Team & Adversary Emulation category. It covers OS X and Code Injection.

### What is the pricing for task_vaccine?

task_vaccine is free. Download and setup instructions are at https://github.com/rodionovd/task_vaccine/.

### What are alternatives to task_vaccine?

Alternatives to task_vaccine 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. [Trickest Attack Surface Management](https://cybersectools.com/tools/trickest-attack-surface-management) - Platform for offensive security operations including ASM, VA, and DAST (Commercial)
3. [GoSecure Titan® Adversarial Simulation](https://cybersectools.com/tools/gosecure-titanr-adversarial-simulation) - Human-led adversary emulation service testing detection & response capabilities (Commercial)
4. [Core Security Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/tools/core-security-cobalt-strike) - Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations. (Commercial)
5. [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 task_vaccine alternatives at [https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/taskvaccine](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/taskvaccine)

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

task_vaccine is available as on-premises software. It is listed for startups, small businesses, mid-market companies and enterprises. It is free.

## Compare task_vaccine with similar solutions

- [task_vaccine vs Fortra Cobalt Strike](https://cybersectools.com/compare/fortra-cobalt-strike-vs-taskvaccine)
- [task_vaccine vs Trickest Attack Surface Management](https://cybersectools.com/compare/taskvaccine-vs-trickest-attack-surface-management)
- [task_vaccine vs GoSecure Titan® Adversarial Simulation](https://cybersectools.com/compare/gosecure-titanr-adversarial-simulation-vs-taskvaccine)

All alternatives to task_vaccine: [/alternatives/taskvaccine](https://cybersectools.com/alternatives/taskvaccine)

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

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