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The CS-Situational-Awareness-BOF repository on GitHub provides a collection of Beacon Object Files (BOFs) designed for situational awareness during penetration testing and red team operations. These BOFs allow operators to execute lightweight post-exploitation commands directly in memory, avoiding detection by traditional security tools.
🔗 GitHub URL: https://github.com/trustedsec/CS-Situational-Awareness-BOF
You Should Know:
1. What Are Beacon Object Files (BOFs)?
BOFs are small, compiled C programs that execute within the Beacon payload of Cobalt Strike or similar C2 frameworks. They run in memory, reducing disk artifacts and evading AV/EDR detection.
2. Key Situational Awareness Commands
Here are some essential commands from the repository:
Process Enumeration
beacon> execute-assembly /path/to/Seatbelt.exe Process
(For listing running processes in a Windows environment.)
Network Information
beacon> netstat -ano
(Displays active connections and listening ports.)
User & Privilege Checks
beacon> whoami /priv
(Checks current user privileges for potential escalation.)
File System Exploration
beacon> ls C:\
(Lists directories on the target system.)
3. Compiling and Loading BOFs
To use custom BOFs:
1. Compile the C code using MinGW:
x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc -o example.o -c example.c
2. Load into Cobalt Strike:
beacon> inline-execute /path/to/example.o
4. Defensive Countermeasures (Blue Team)
- Monitor unusual memory execution (BOFs leave minimal logs).
- Use ETW (Event Tracing for Windows) to detect in-memory attacks.
- Deploy AMSI and script-block logging to catch suspicious behavior.
5. Linux Equivalent Commands
For Linux-based situational awareness:
ps aux List running processes netstat -tuln Check open ports id Current user privileges find / -type f -perm -4000 2>/dev/null Find SUID files
What Undercode Say
Situational awareness is critical in both offensive and defensive security. The CS-Situational-Awareness-BOF project enhances stealth operations by minimizing forensic footprints. Always verify commands in a lab environment before real-world use.
For defenders, memory monitoring and behavioral analysis are key to detecting BOF-based attacks.
Expected Output:
- A list of running processes (Windows/Linux).
- Network connections (active and listening).
- User privileges and potential escalation paths.
- File system reconnaissance without disk writes.
🔗 Reference: https://github.com/trustedsec/CS-Situational-Awareness-BOF
References:
Reported By: Florian Hansemann – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
