Manticore alternatives
Looking for an alternative tool to replace Manticore? During the review of Manticore we looked at other open source tools. Based on their category, tags, and text, these are the ones that have the best match.
Top 3
- pyelftools (ELF parsing toolkit)
- BAP (binary analysis toolkit)
- LIEF (library for analysis of executable formats)
These tools are ranked as the best alternatives to Manticore.
Alternatives (by score)
pyelftools
Introduction
This toolkit is used by other software, or standalone. Its main purpose is to parse binary ELF files and DWARF debugging information. This can be useful during malware analysis or troubleshooting issues with programs.
Project details
pyelftools is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 25 contributors
- + More than 500 GitHub stars
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
BAP (Binary Analysis Platform)
Introduction
The main purpose of BAP is to provide a toolkit for program analysis. This platform comes as a complete package with a set of tools, libraries, and related plugins. There are bindings available for C, Python, and Rust.
Project details
BAP is written in OCaml.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 25 contributors
- + More than 500 GitHub stars
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
LIEF
Introduction
LIEF is short for Library to Instrument Executable Formats.
Project details
LIEF is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
- Reverse engineering
Cutter
Introduction
Cutter is a graphical user interface for radare2, the well-known reverse engineering framework. It focuses on those who are not familiar enough with radare2, or rather have a graphical interface instead of the command-line interface that radare2 provides.
Project details
Cutter is written in C++, Qt.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 50 contributors
- + More than 3000 GitHub stars
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
- Reverse engineering
PEDA
Introduction
PEDA is an extension for GDB (GNU DeBugger) to help with the development of exploit code. It can be used by reverse engineers and pentesters.Project details
PEDA is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 2000 GitHub stars
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Debugging
- Exploit development
- Reverse engineering
PyREBox
Introduction
PyREBox is short for Python scriptable Reverse Engineering Sandbox. It provides dynamic analysis and debugging capabilities of a running QEMU virtual machine. The primary usage is the analysis of running processes to perform reverse engineering. PyREBox can change parts of the running system by changing data in memory or within processor registers.
Project details
PyREBox is written in C++, Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
- Reverse engineering
radare2
Introduction
Radare2 is a popular framework to perform reverse engineering on many different file types. It can be used to analyze malware, firmware, or any other type of binary files. Besides reverse engineering, it can be used for forensics on filesystems and do data carving. Tasks can be scripted and support languages like JavaScript, Go, and Python. Even software exploitation is one of the functions it can be used in.
Project details
radare2 is written in C.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 500 contributors
- + More than 8000 GitHub stars
- + Many releases available
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Digital forensics
- Reverse engineering
- Software exploitation
- Troubleshooting
Binary Analysis Next Generation (BANG)
Introduction
BANG is a framework to unpack files recursively and scan them. The files can be firmware, binaries, or malware. The main goal is to scan all files and perform classification and labeling. This way each file can be further analyzed based on the characteristics.
Project details
Binary Analysis Next Generation is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + The source code of this software is available
- - No releases on GitHub available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
- Malware scanning
r2frida
Introduction
Both Radare2 and Frida have their own area of expertise. This project combines both, to allow a more extensive analysis of files and processes.
Project details
r2frida is written in C, JavaScript.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Application testing
- Binary analysis
- Memory analysis
Frida
Introduction
Frida allows developers and researchers to inject custom scripts into black box processes. This way it can provide a hook into any function, allowing to trace executed instructions. The source code is not needed. Frida even allows direct manipulation and see the results. The tool comes with bindings for different programming languages, allowing to interact with processes. Example of the bindings that Frida provides include Python, Swift, .NET, Qt/Qml, and C API.
Project details
Frida is written in C.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 10 contributors
- + More than 2000 GitHub stars
- + Many releases available
- + Project is mature (5+ years)
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Black-box testing
- Reverse engineering
angr
Introduction
Tools like angr are great for performing in-depth analysis of binaries. This could be the analysis of an unknown binary, like a collected malware sample.
Project details
angr is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + More than 50 contributors
- + More than 1000 GitHub stars
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
elf2json
Introduction
The elf2json converts an ELF binary into JSON output and helping with reverse engineering and malware analysis.Project details
bingrep
Introduction
Searches through binaries and highlights the most important areas with colors.
Supported binary formats:
- ELF 32/64, arm, x86, openrisc
- Mach 32/64, arm, x86
- PE
Project details
PyT (Python Taint)
Introduction
Python Taint (or PyT) is a static code analyzer for Python scripts and applications. It tries to discover vulnerabilities or other possible weaknesses.Project details
PyT is written in Python.
Strengths and weaknesses
- + The source code of this software is available
Typical usage
- Code analysis
Some relevant tool missing as an alternative to Manticore? Please contact us with your suggestion.