# RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu

The AWS exploitation framework, designed for testing the security of Amazon Web Services environments.

Repository: https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pacu
Homepage: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/pacu-open-source-aws-exploitation-framework/
Language: Python
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: aws-security, penetration-testing, aws, security, python
Last push: 2026-05-19T22:31:37+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 73/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 83, release rhythm 44, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3003, "days_push": 106, "days_rel": 163, "gap_med": 242, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5312, forks 797 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:15.419947+00:00)

## What it is
Pacu is an open-source AWS exploitation framework for offensive security testing of Amazon Web Services environments. It provides a modular, Metasploit-like CLI where penetration testers can enumerate, exploit configuration flaws, escalate IAM privileges, backdoor users, and attack Lambda functions using compromised AWS keys.

## Use cases
- test the security of my AWS account with a simulated attacker
- find IAM privilege escalation paths in an AWS environment
- run an authenticated AWS penetration test
- enumerate AWS resources using compromised credentials
- backdoor IAM users and persist access during a red team engagement
- audit exploitable AWS configuration flaws beyond compliance scanning

## When to choose
- you are a penetration tester or red teamer assessing an AWS environment
- you need exploit-focused AWS testing rather than compliance auditing
- you want a modular, extensible framework for cloud attack simulation

## When to avoid
- you need a defensive compliance or misconfiguration scanner rather than an offensive tool
- you are testing clouds other than AWS
- you lack authorization to test the target AWS account

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: active
- function: penetration-testing, security, cli
- domain: security, penetration-testing, cloud-computing, developer-tools
- platform: windows, python, cli, cross-platform
- tags: aws, aws-security, offensive-security, red-team, exploitation-framework, iam-privilege-escalation, cloud-pentesting, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu (main) score 73

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.419947+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:58:58.706721+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RhinoSecurityLabs/pacu (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:15.419947+00:00, sha bc21758b9a61)
  - homepage: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/aws/pacu-open-source-aws-exploitation-framework/ (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:48.167581+00:00, sha f844e3c3df08)
  - site_page: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/assessment-services/penetration-testing-faq (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:48.176993+00:00, sha 278a35fe2580)
  - site_page: https://rhinosecuritylabs.com/company (fetched 2026-08-29T08:53:48.179003+00:00, sha e06bc29de2a6)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.