# bats3c/shad0w

A post exploitation framework designed to operate covertly on heavily monitored environments

Repository: https://github.com/bats3c/shad0w
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/shad0w
Homepage: https://blog.dylan.codes/shad0w/
Language: C
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: shad0w, c2, red-team, c, docker, dotnet, shellcode
Last push: 2021-09-29T00:15:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2318, "days_push": 1800, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2179, forks 330 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:23.051312+00:00)

## What it is
SHAD0W is a modular post-exploitation C2 (command and control) framework written in Python and C, designed to operate covertly in heavily monitored environments. It evades EDR and AV using syscalls, process injection, and in-memory execution of .NET assemblies via Donut, with encrypted HTTPS beacon communication.

## Use cases
- run a covert C2 server for red team operations
- evade EDR and AV during penetration tests
- execute .NET assemblies fully in memory on Windows targets
- bypass userland API hooking with dynamically resolved syscalls
- mirror a legitimate website to disguise C2 traffic
- steal credentials with Mimikatz through a beacon
- disable Sysmon and ETW logging on a compromised host
- exfiltrate files over an encrypted HTTPS channel

## When to choose
- you need a free, modular, Docker-based C2 for authorized red team engagements
- you want in-memory execution of offensive tooling to avoid detection
- you need HTTPS-encrypted beacon traffic with proxy awareness
- you want a CLI-driven C2 with extensible Python modules

## When to avoid
- you need a commercially supported C2 with enterprise guarantees
- you want a actively maintained tool - the last release was 2021 and the project is beta
- you lack authorization to test systems - this is offensive tooling
- you need non-Windows implant support as beacons primarily target Windows

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, cryptography, cli, developer-tools
- domain: security, penetration-testing
- platform: windows, python, c
- tags: c2, red-team, post-exploitation, edr-evasion, av-bypass, penetration-testing, beacon, process-injection, shellcode, donut, command-line, docker, linux

## Member repositories
- bats3c/shad0w (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:23.051312+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 2026-08-30T02:48:45.660619+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/bats3c/shad0w (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:23.051312+00:00, sha 620eb28aa337)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.