# samyk/usbdriveby

USBdriveby exploits the trust of USB devices by emulating an HID keyboard and mouse, installing a cross-platform firewall-evading backdoor, and rerouting DNS within seconds of plugging it in.

Repository: https://github.com/samyk/usbdriveby
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/usbdriveby
Homepage: https://samy.pl/usbdriveby/
Language: Arduino
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2017-01-11T19:26:34+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": 4277, "days_push": 3521, "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 1263, forks 277 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:10.383825+00:00)

## What it is
USBdriveby is an Arduino/Teensy microcontroller project that emulates a USB HID keyboard and mouse to covertly install a backdoor, evade firewalls, and reroute DNS on an unlocked machine within seconds of being plugged in. It is a security research proof of concept demonstrating the blind trust operating systems place in USB devices.

## Use cases
- demonstrate badusb hid keyboard and mouse attacks
- test whether a firewall blocks keystroke-driven backdoors
- learn how usb devices exploit os trust
- build a teensy usb attack payload
- security awareness training on usb drop attacks
- evaluate endpoint defenses against hid emulation attacks

## When to choose
- you want a well-known educational proof of concept for USB HID attacks on macOS
- you need reference code for Teensy/Arduino keyboard and mouse emulation payloads

## When to avoid
- you need a maintained or updated tool - the last release was 2017
- you want a production penetration-testing toolkit rather than a demonstration
- you target platforms other than macOS without writing your own payload extensions

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: security, reverse-engineering, penetration-testing, embedded
- domain: security, hardware, penetration-testing
- platform: embedded, cross-platform
- tags: badusb, hid-emulation, teensy, arduino, usb-exploit, hardware-hacking, proof-of-concept, macos

## Member repositories
- samyk/usbdriveby (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:10.383825+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 2026-08-30T05:04:10.323118+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/samyk/usbdriveby (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:10.383825+00:00, sha b1d824f2cc11)
  - homepage: https://samy.pl/usbdriveby/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:16:18.141369+00:00, sha 0306cdd5d676)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.