USB Army Knife – A Powerful Red Team Tool for Penetration Testers
The USB Army Knife is a versatile red-teaming tool for penetration testers that emulates a USB Ethernet adapter for traffic capture, enables custom attack interfaces, and functions as covert storage all in one compact device. This multi-functional firmware combines a variety of attack vectors into a single compact device, complete with a color LCD screen. […] The post USB Army Knife – A Powerful Red Team Tool for Penetration Testers appeared first on Cyber Security News.
The USB Army Knife is a versatile red-teaming tool for penetration testers that emulates a USB Ethernet adapter for traffic capture, enables custom attack interfaces, and functions as covert storage all in one compact device.
This multi-functional firmware combines a variety of attack vectors into a single compact device, complete with a color LCD screen. Designed for cybersecurity professionals, it offers an array of features to exploit physical access vulnerabilities, making it an invaluable tool for penetration testers.
What Is the USB Army Knife?
The USB Army Knife is a versatile firmware that transforms compatible devices into powerful Red team tools for penetration testing. It supports USB HID attacks, Wi-Fi keystroke injection, mass storage emulation, network device impersonation, and more.
Additionally, it can deploy a VNC server to capture and view screens via a web interface and includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth offensive capabilities through its integration with the ESP32 Marauder.
Users can control the device remotely over Wi-Fi or even connect it to smartphones using an OTG adapter. This allows seamless operation without modifying the host device, enabling advanced features such as creating rogue access points.
Supported Devices
The USB Army Knife firmware is compatible with several development boards, including:
LilyGo T-Dongle S3 (Recommended): The LilyGo T-Dongle S3 is a USB-shaped ESP32-S3 dev board with a color LCD, button, covert microSD slot, and SPI adapter. It has 16MB flash, WiFi/Bluetooth support, and can perform various attacks. Available with or without a screen (only the screened version tested). It’s incredibly cheap!
Waveshare ESP32-S3 1.47inch: This device is similar to the LilyGo T-Dongle S3 in design, size, and features, using the same ESP32-S3 chipset. It lacks a case, exposing circuitry, but improves on the T-Dongle S3 with a larger, high-quality screen and 8MB of extra RAM.
M5Stack AtomS3U: This ESP32-S3 dev board has two rear interfaces, no screen or SD card, but includes an LED, button, digital mic, and IR LED (unsupported). Files are stored in flash memory. To enter boot mode, hold RESET until the green LED lights up.
ESP32 Udisk: The simplest USB Army Knife device is an ESP32-S2 chip with USB, often sold as “USB Dongle Udisk for P4.” It lacks RAM, screen, SD card, Bluetooth, LEDs, and a proper button but handles HID+WiFi payloads well. Avoid CH343P-based lookalikes—ensure it has a reset button. Flash with Generic-ESP32-S2.
ESP32 Key: Similar to the ESP32 UDisk, this ESP32-S2 board is the cheapest option for running USB Army Knife. To flash, hold the button while plugging it in. Use the Generic-ESP32-S2 configuration.
Waveshare-RP2040-GEEK: The RP2040-GEEK by Waveshare features a USB-A, 1.14-inch LCD, SD card, and external ports (SWD, UART, I2C). It doesn’t use the ESP32 chipset, and USB Ethernet (NCM) and whole disk SD usage are unsupported. ESP32 Maurader won’t work. On Windows, set the device to use a WinUSB driver via Zadig. Hold the button when plugging it in to enter flashing mode.
These devices are available on platforms like AliExpress, Amazon, and eBay.
Key Features
The USB Army Knife boasts an impressive range of capabilities:
- Covert Storage: Masquerades as two different mass storage devices to conceal sensitive data.
- HID Attacks: Executes Rubber Ducky scripts over Wi-Fi for keystroke injection.
- Marauder Integration: Captures and analyzes wireless traffic for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth attacks.
- USB Ethernet PCAP: Functions as a USB network adapter to capture initial network traffic.
- VNC Server Deployment: Allows remote screen viewing through a web interface.
- Evil Access Point (EvilAP): Creates fake Wi-Fi networks to capture sensitive information.
- Self-Destruct Functionality: Resets the device when motion is detected nearby.
- Evil USB CDROM/NIC: Impersonates USB NICs requiring drivers from malicious CDROM devices.
Some devices, like the LilyGo T-Dongle S3, feature screens that can display decoy messages or animations to disguise their true purpose.
Examples:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Covert Storage | Masquerades as two different USB mass storage devices. The first time, it shows the full contents of the micro SD card; subsequent connections show a “benign” drive. |
| Progress Bar | Displays images with a progress bar on the device’s LCD screen, ideal for Hollywood-style attacks or showing deployment progress visually. |
| Ultimate RickRoll | Injects keystrokes to play the famous Rickroll video and uses ESP32 Marauder to broadcast the lyrics over WiFi. |
| USB Ethernet PCAP | Turns the device into a USB network adapter and captures the first few seconds of network traffic in a PCAP file. |
| Deploy the serial agent | Deploys the agent (if not already installed) and sends commands via the serial port, with command output visible in the web interface. |
| Pull the screen | Deploys an agent with a tiny VNC server, allowing the screen to be viewed through the web interface. |
| Simple UI | A basic UI for selecting scripts/images and running them with the hardware button. Demonstrates how to create complex UI interactions simply. |
| Stream Mic audio over WiFi | Streams audio from the M5Stack AtomS3U’s microphone over WiFi. |
| Instantly crash Linux boxes | Deploys a bad filesystem that causes Linux machines to panic when automounted. |
| Evil USB CDROM/NIC | Emulates a USB NIC that requires a driver from a CDROM device, which appears when the NIC is plugged in. |
Command Execution and Scripting
The USB Army Knife provides a powerful command execution feature, enabling users to run various commands on the target machine via HID or on the device itself. This includes running Rubber Ducky scripts, using Marauder, and controlling the display and LED light. A full list of available commands can be found on the GitHub.
Installation and Ease of Use
One standout feature of the USB Army Knife is its user-friendly installation process. The firmware can be flashed directly through a web browser, making it accessible even to those with minimal technical expertise.
The complete installation process is described here.
While the USB Army Knife is designed for ethical hacking and penetration testing, its capabilities highlight the risks posed by malicious USB devices. To mitigate these threats:
- Avoid plugging in unknown USB drives.
- Use up-to-date antivirus software capable of detecting malicious payloads.
- Physically secure USB ports to prevent unauthorized access.
- Educate users about the dangers of bad USB attacks.
The USB Army Knife is revolutionizing penetration testing with its extensive features and ease of use. Whether you’re capturing network traffic, deploying rogue access points, or executing covert attacks, this tool is a must-have for cybersecurity professionals.
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The post USB Army Knife – A Powerful Red Team Tool for Penetration Testers appeared first on Cyber Security News.
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