# secretsquirrel/the-backdoor-factory

Patch PE, ELF, Mach-O binaries with shellcode new version in development, available only to sponsors

Repository: https://github.com/secretsquirrel/the-backdoor-factory
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/the-backdoor-factory
Homepage: https://github.com/sponsors/secretsquirrel
Language: Python
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Topics: file-infector, bdf, python, capstone, pe, macho, elf
Last push: 2023-10-30T14:13:32+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4844, "days_push": 1038, "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 3439, forks 772 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:05.014200+00:00)

## What it is
The Backdoor Factory (BDF) is a Python command-line tool that patches Windows PE, Linux ELF, and macOS Mach-O executables with user-supplied shellcode while preserving normal execution of the original binary. It is intended for security professionals and researchers performing penetration testing and binary infection research.

## Use cases
- inject shellcode into a PE executable
- patch ELF binaries for red team exercises
- backdoor a Mach-O binary on macOS
- test antivirus detection of infected binaries
- patch UPX-packed executables
- learn binary patching and code injection techniques

## When to choose
- you are a penetration tester or security researcher needing to patch executables with shellcode
- you need cross-format support for PE, ELF, and Mach-O binaries
- you want a well-known open-source file infection tool for lab experiments

## When to avoid
- you need active development or support - new features are sponsor-only and pull requests are ignored
- you want a defensive or malware-analysis tool rather than an offensive one
- you need ARM ELF support or modern platform guarantees - support is limited and aging

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, reverse-engineering, penetration-testing
- domain: security, penetration-testing, developer-tools
- platform: python, cli
- tags: binary-patching, shellcode, file-infector, pe, elf, macho, red-team, offensive-security, linux, macos, docker

## Member repositories
- secretsquirrel/the-backdoor-factory (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:05.014200+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 2026-08-29T18:37:40.371299+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/secretsquirrel/the-backdoor-factory (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:05.014200+00:00, sha 5cfa0433259f)
  - homepage: https://github.com/sponsors/secretsquirrel (fetched 2026-08-29T09:31:37.617231+00:00, sha 1e8aef1976da)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.