# lem0nSec/ShellGhost

A memory-based evasion technique which makes shellcode invisible from process start to end.

Repository: https://github.com/lem0nSec/ShellGhost
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/shellghost
Language: C
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2023-10-16T06:40:24+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 29/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 82
- inputs: {"age_days": 1159, "days_push": 1052, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1200, forks 140 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:57.945510+00:00)

## What it is
ShellGhost is a proof-of-concept memory-based evasion technique written in C that keeps shellcode invisible in memory from process start to end. It uses Vectored Exception Handling and software breakpoints to decrypt and execute shellcode instructions one at a time, defeating memory scanners like PE-Sieve and Moneta.

## Use cases
- evade EDR memory scanners during red team operations
- execute shellcode without exposing it in memory
- demonstrate AV/EDR evasion concepts
- hide payload from PE-Sieve and Moneta scans
- implement breakpoint-based shellcode mapping
- run reverse shells undetected in memory

## When to choose
- you need a red team POC for in-memory shellcode evasion
- you want to study Vectored Exception Handling-based evasion techniques
- you need shellcode that never appears fully decrypted in memory

## When to avoid
- you need production-ready, supported tooling
- your use case is defensive security rather than offensive testing
- you target non-Windows platforms

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: experimental
- function: security, cryptography
- domain: security, penetration-testing, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cpp
- tags: shellcode, edr-evasion, red-team, vectored-exception-handling, memory-evasion, offensive-security

## Member repositories
- lem0nSec/ShellGhost (main) score 29

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:57.945510+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 2026-08-30T06:20:50.068342+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lem0nSec/ShellGhost (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:57.945510+00:00, sha 1a0dcae10d3e)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.