Part of Resources — curated tool lanes + command reference — not a curriculum start.
Reference · authorized use only
Security tools
102 tools in curated categories (Network, Web testing, OSINT, Linux, Forensics, SOC, Cloud, Containers, AI Security). Each tool opens an end-to-end manual: what it is, when to use it, Kali Linux notes, help/man style commands, installation, examples, and important limits. Authorized use only.
Command syntax lives in Commands (merged with this toolkit by category).
Showing 102 of 102 tools · Command reference (merged workflow)
Network
Discovery, capture, and connectivity on networks you own or are authorized to test.
Examples: Nmap, Wireshark, tcpdump
Courses: networking fundamentals · network security
Wireshark
BeginnerPacket Analyzer
Capture network packets and inspect traffic to understand protocols, troubleshoot connectivity, and investigate issues on authorized networks.
tcpdump
IntermediatePacket Capture (CLI)
Command-line packet capture, ideal for servers and scripted collection.
Nmap
BeginnerNetwork Scanner
Discover hosts and services on networks you are authorized to test.
Netcat
BeginnerNetwork Utility
Read/write raw TCP/UDP connections for testing connectivity.
Zeek
IntermediateNetwork Security Monitor
Turn network traffic into rich, structured logs.
Suricata
IntermediateIDS/IPS
Signature-based intrusion detection and prevention.
Kismet
IntermediateWireless
Wireless network detector, sniffer, IDS.
Aircrack-ng
AdvancedWireless
Wi‑Fi security auditing suite (authorized networks only).
Web testing
Proxies, DAST, fuzzers, and browser inspection for authorized web apps.
Examples: Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP
Courses: web application security · bug bounty hunting
Burp Suite
IntermediateWeb Proxy
Intercept, inspect and modify HTTP traffic between your browser and a web app.
OWASP ZAP
BeginnerWeb Proxy / DAST
Open-source web proxy and automated scanner for finding web vulnerabilities.
Browser Developer Tools
BeginnerWeb Inspection
Inspect HTML, JavaScript, network requests, cookies and storage in your browser.
Gobuster
BeginnerContent Discovery
Brute-force directories, DNS subdomains and vhosts on authorized targets.
ffuf
IntermediateWeb Fuzzer
Fast web fuzzer for content discovery and parameter testing.
sqlmap
IntermediateWeb Exploitation
Detect SQL injection flaws in authorized applications.
curl
BeginnerHTTP Client
Send HTTP requests from the command line.
Semgrep
IntermediateSAST
Lightweight static analysis for many languages.
Postman
BeginnerAPI Testing
Build and test HTTP/API requests with collections and environments.
Insomnia
BeginnerAPI Testing
Lightweight REST/GraphQL client for API exploration.
GraphQL Voyager
IntermediateAPI Testing
Visualize GraphQL schemas (use on schemas you are allowed to view).
CodeQL
AdvancedSAST
Semantic code analysis for vulnerability patterns.
ZAP Automation Framework
IntermediateDAST
Automate OWASP ZAP scans in CI.
OSINT
Public-source recon — pair with /osint ethics and course callouts.
Examples: Amass, theHarvester
Courses: ethical hacking penetration testing · soc analyst blue team
Amass
IntermediateRecon / OSINT
Map an organization's external attack surface via subdomain enumeration.
Subfinder
BeginnerRecon / OSINT
Passive subdomain discovery from public sources.
theHarvester
BeginnerOSINT
Collect emails, names and subdomains from public sources.
Sherlock
BeginnerOSINT — Username
Find public accounts across many sites for a username (authorized investigations only).
Maigret
IntermediateOSINT — Username
Username search across thousands of sites with rich reporting (fork/evolution of Sherlock-style tooling).
ExifTool
BeginnerOSINT — Image & Media
Read and write metadata in images, PDFs, and media files.
Maltego CE
IntermediateOSINT — Graph & Links
Visual link analysis between domains, people, and infrastructure (Community Edition).
SpiderFoot
IntermediateOSINT — Automation
Automated OSINT collection with modular scans (self-hosted).
Recon-ng
IntermediateOSINT — Framework
Modular recon framework (Metasploit-style for OSINT).
Holehe
BeginnerOSINT — Email
Check if an email is registered on many sites (no password needed).
Google Dorking (Search operators)
BeginnerOSINT — Web
Use advanced search operators to find indexed sensitive pages — for defense and authorized assessments.
Censys
IntermediateOSINT — Internet-wide
Search certificates, hosts, and services exposed on the internet.
Have I Been Pwned
BeginnerOSINT — Breach
Check if emails appear in known public breach datasets.
SecurityTrails
IntermediateOSINT — DNS
Historical DNS, subdomains, and WHOIS intelligence.
DNSDumpster
BeginnerOSINT — DNS
Visual DNS reconnaissance (subdomains, MX, NS).
Wayback Machine
BeginnerOSINT — Archives
Historical snapshots of websites for change review and leaked path discovery.
urlscan.io
IntermediateOSINT — Web sandbox
Safe remote fetching and analysis of URLs (screenshots, DOM, network).
VirusTotal
BeginnerOSINT — Malware & URLs
Aggregate AV/engine results for files, URLs, domains, and IPs.
Shodan
IntermediateOSINT — Internet-wide
Find internet-exposed services on IPs and org footprints (monitor assets you own).
Linux
Shells, scripting, and common utilities for lab VMs.
Examples: Bash, common utilities
Courses: linux fundamentals · cybersecurity fundamentals
GDB (+ pwndbg)
AdvancedDebugger
Debug binaries to understand memory and program flow.
Python
BeginnerProgramming
The most common language for security automation and tooling.
Bash
BeginnerShell
The default Linux shell, used for automation and administration.
PowerShell
BeginnerShell
Windows automation shell, crucial for admins and defenders.
Git
BeginnerVersion Control
Track code changes; essential for DevSecOps.
Lynis
BeginnerHardening Audit
Audit Linux systems for hardening opportunities.
LinPEAS
IntermediatePrivilege Escalation Audit
Enumerate privilege escalation paths in lab Linux machines.
Forensics
Disk, memory, malware, and DFIR tooling for evidence handling labs.
Examples: Autopsy, Volatility
Courses: digital forensics incident response
Autopsy
IntermediateForensics
GUI digital forensics platform for disk image analysis.
Volatility 3
AdvancedMemory Forensics
Analyze RAM dumps for processes, network connections and malware.
Sysmon
IntermediateEndpoint Telemetry
Detailed Windows event logging for processes, network and files.
Velociraptor
AdvancedDFIR / Endpoint
Endpoint visibility and forensic collection at scale.
Ghidra
AdvancedReverse Engineering
NSA open-source disassembler and decompiler.
YARA
IntermediateMalware Detection
Pattern-matching rules to identify malware families.
MobSF
IntermediateMobile Analysis
Automated static/dynamic mobile app analysis.
TheHive
AdvancedIncident Response
Case management for security incidents.
KAPE
AdvancedDFIR
Collect triage artifacts from Windows quickly.
Plaso (log2timeline)
AdvancedDFIR
Super-timeline generation from disk artifacts.
Timesketch
AdvancedDFIR
Collaborative timeline analysis UI.
Hayabusa
IntermediateDFIR
Fast Windows EVTX hunting and timeline.
Radare2
AdvancedReverse Engineering
CLI reverse engineering framework.
CAPE Sandbox
AdvancedMalware Analysis
Automated malware analysis sandbox.
REMnux
IntermediateMalware Analysis
Linux distro with RE/malware analysis tools.
Binwalk
IntermediateFirmware Analysis
Extract embedded files from firmware images.
FirmAE
AdvancedFirmware Analysis
Large-scale firmware emulation for research.
SOC
SIEM, detection rules, threat intel, and analysis platforms.
Examples: Splunk, QRadar, Sentinel
Courses: soc analyst blue team
SIEM Platforms (Splunk / Elastic / Sentinel)
IntermediateSIEM
Centralize, search and correlate logs to detect threats.
Sigma
IntermediateDetection Rules
Vendor-neutral detection rule format convertible to SIEM queries.
BloodHound
AdvancedAD Attack Path Analysis
Graph AD relationships to find and fix attack paths.
MITRE Caldera
AdvancedAdversary Emulation
Automated adversary emulation mapped to ATT&CK.
MISP
IntermediateThreat Intel Platform
Share and correlate threat intelligence.
OpenCTI
AdvancedThreat Intelligence
Structured CTI platform with STIX/TAXII.
Cortex
AdvancedSOAR / Analysis
Automated analyzers for observables (pairs with TheHive).
IntelOwl
IntermediateThreat Intelligence
Aggregate OSINT/threat intel analyzers.
Cloud
CSPM and cloud CLIs for sandbox accounts you control.
Examples: ScoutSuite, Prowler
Courses: cloud security
AWS CLI & Security Tools
IntermediateCloud CLI
Manage AWS and audit IAM, CloudTrail, GuardDuty and Security Hub.
Azure CLI & Defender for Cloud
IntermediateCloud CLI
Manage Azure and review security posture.
Google Cloud CLI & SCC
IntermediateCloud CLI
Manage GCP resources and review Security Command Center.
Prowler
IntermediateCloud Posture
Open-source cloud security posture assessment.
Gitleaks
BeginnerSecrets Scanning
Scan git repos for leaked secrets.
TruffleHog
IntermediateSecrets Scanning
High-entropy secret detection in git history.
Checkov
IntermediateIaC Security
Static analysis for Terraform/K8s/CloudFormation.
KICS
IntermediateIaC Security
Open-source IaC scanner by Checkmarx.
ScoutSuite
IntermediateCloud Posture
Multi-cloud security auditing.
Containers
Image scanning, Kubernetes hardening, and runtime checks.
Examples: Trivy, kube-bench
Courses: cloud security · devsecops
OpenVAS / Greenbone
IntermediateVulnerability Scanner
Open-source vulnerability scanning.
Nuclei
IntermediateVulnerability Scanner
Template-based scanner for known issues.
Trivy
BeginnerSCA / Container Scanner
Scan images, IaC and dependencies for vulnerabilities.
OWASP Dependency-Check
IntermediateSCA
Identify known vulnerable dependencies.
kube-bench
IntermediateKubernetes
CIS Kubernetes benchmark checks.
kube-hunter
AdvancedKubernetes
Pen-test Kubernetes clusters (authorized only).
Falco
AdvancedRuntime Security
Runtime threat detection for containers/K8s.
Grype
BeginnerSCA / Container Scanner
Vulnerability scanner for images and SBOMs.
Syft
BeginnerSBOM
Generate SBOMs for containers and directories.
AI Security
LLM red-team and evaluation tools — authorized test apps only.
Examples: Garak, promptfoo
Courses: ai security · web application security
More tools
Cryptography, password auditing, virtualization, and other specialty tools.
Courses: cybersecurity fundamentals
Metasploit Framework
AdvancedExploitation Framework
Validate vulnerabilities during authorized engagements and labs.
Sysinternals Suite
IntermediateWindows Utilities
Process Explorer, Autoruns, Procmon and more for Windows analysis.
OpenSSL
IntermediateCryptography
Inspect certificates, generate keys and test TLS.
Hashcat
IntermediatePassword Auditing
GPU password recovery for auditing hashes you are authorized to test.
John the Ripper
IntermediatePassword Auditing
CPU password auditing for lab and authorized hashes.
CyberChef
BeginnerData Analysis
Browser-based encoding, decoding and data transformation.
VirtualBox
BeginnerVirtualization
Run isolated virtual machines for safe labs.
Frida
AdvancedDynamic Instrumentation
Instrument apps at runtime for testing.