Open-Source All-in-One Security Hardware Controller

Cyber Controller

Flash · Control · Coordinate  /  by LxveAce

>

About

Cyber Controller is the dashboard I use to run all my security hardware from one place. Flash any firmware to any board, drive it from a desktop or terminal, and coordinate several devices at once. No cloud, works fully offline, runs on Windows / Linux / macOS.

I built it for the kind of hardware I actually own and mess with — ESP32 (classic / S2 / S3 / C-series), the dual-band Realtek RTL8720DN (BW16), Flipper Zero, Raspberry Pi, and ADB devices. It runs 5 flash backends, 14 serial parsers, and 50 firmware profiles. I also did a security pass over it myself and fixed what I found.

v1.8.0 Released
50 Firmwares
14 Protocols
5 Backends
4 UI Modes

Three Pillars

Flash

50 firmware profiles across 5 core backends: esptool for ESP32, the Realtek AmebaD ImageTool for the dual-band BW16 / RTL8720DN, SD image writer for Raspberry Pi, qFlipper for Flipper Zero, and ADB for Android-based hardware — with cc2538-bsl (TI CC2652 sniffers), HackRF SPI-flash (PortaPack Mayhem), and Nordic nRF-DFU paths in progress. Chip auto-detection, per-chip bootloader offsets, and the --flash_size detect step that keeps you from bricking a board on the wrong flash size. Batch-flash a few boards in one go, and back up or restore full firmware.

esptoolAmebaDADBqFlipperSD Writer

Control

14 parsers that actually read each firmware's serial output, so instead of a scrolling wall of text you get live tables of APs, clients, BLE devices, SubGHz and NFC. Right-click a target and the actions you get are the ones that make sense for it. Four ways to run it: the full Qt desktop app, a lighter Tkinter build, a TUI for headless terminals, and a Flask+SocketIO web mode you can pull up from a browser or phone.

PyQt5TkinterTUIWeb Remote

Coordinate

All your connected devices share one target pool, so when one board finds something the others can act on it and I'm not shuttling data around by hand. One board finds an AP, another deauths it, another grabs the handshake. I've had that full chain running on real hardware, not just on paper. Targets get picked up and routed to the right device automatically.

Cross-CommAuto-RouteTarget PoolPipeline

Interactive Demo

A live, in-browser simulation of the real PyQt5 dashboard: connect to fake devices, flash firmware, scan for access points, pick a target, and broadcast actions across every radio. By default it's the full build (every feature on). Use the Demo build picker to preview what each shipped release (v1.0.0 → v1.8.0) actually included, and the tabs, firmware count and features change to match. On the full build, hit on the tab strip to pop a tab out into its own draggable, resizable window (send it to a second monitor on the desktop). No real hardware, and nothing is transmitted.

The full build also adds: Loadout (Settings ▸ Configure — tailor the GUI to just the firmwares/hardware you use, or Full Stack), a clickable Device View reconstruction (Marauder / GhostESP / ESP32-DIV) that sends when a matching device is connected (else previews), and a BlueJammer safe-control panel (lab-only stop/contain — connect the BlueJammer-V2 device to see it). Try Device View ↗ in the Devices tab.

Cyber Controller v1.8.0 FULL BUILD

    100% in-browser simulation — no real devices, and no RF is transmitted. It mirrors the desktop GUI and demonstrates the workflow only; the actual tool is for authorized, lawful use.

    Downloads

    The latest release, straight from GitHub — older versions are one click away.

    Windows may warn you the first time — that’s expected, here’s why.

    The builds aren’t code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may say “Windows protected your PC” and roughly 2 of ~66 antivirus engines — all minor/heuristic ones — flag the Windows portable build while every major engine (Kaspersky, ESET, BitDefender…) passes. That’s the normal false-positive pattern for an unsigned PyInstaller app, not a virus (the Windows installer scans completely clean, and the Linux and macOS builds draw at most a single heuristic flag each). To run it: click More info → Run anyway (and Keep if your browser asks). I don’t hide any of this: every release links its VirusTotal scan + SHA-256 checksums, and it’s open source so you can build it yourself.

    Why this happens & how to verify it →
    Fetching the latest release…
    🔍 VirusTotal & malware-scan transparency — why a few engines flag the Windows build (and why it’s a false positive)

    Every release links its own VirusTotal report and ships a SHA256SUMS.txt so you can check the exact file you downloaded. Open the live scan for each v1.8.0 build below — the numbers stay current as engines re-scan (verify the SHA-256 against SHA256SUMS.txt in the release):

    File (v1.8.0)SHA-256 (prefix)Live scan
    windows-x64.exeb9d79d2612b2ea94view report →
    windows-x64-setup.exeb514df842d07a0d7view report →
    linux-x64326b5adc5c89df7cview report →
    linux-arm64926514a40e9dd47fview report →
    macos-arm646d898b7e54ac2154view report →

    Why those specific engines flag it: across every release the only Windows hits come from the same handful of heuristic / machine-learning / reputation engines — never a named malware family, never a mainstream engine:

    • APEX — a pure ML engine; it flags the shape of a PyInstaller bundle (a stub that unpacks a compressed Python runtime), which resembles a packer. High false-positive rate on legit packed apps.
    • Bkav — aggressive heuristic/ML (generic “AIDetect” labels); flags virtually every unsigned PyInstaller exe.
    • Gridinsoft / Zillya / Yandex — heuristic engines that label unsigned, packed binaries as generic PUA/Trojan on sight.
    • Microsoft Defender — occasionally tags a brand-new, unsigned, low-prevalence build by reputation; it clears as downloads accumulate or once the build is code-signed.

    The three root causes are all about distribution, not the program: (1) the PyInstaller unpack-and-run shape, (2) no code-signing certificate yet, and (3) low prevalence of a fresh release. The tell that it’s a false positive: a small minority of heuristic engines with generic labels, while Kaspersky, ESET, BitDefender, Sophos, Symantec, Malwarebytes and the rest pass — and the Linux/macOS builds (same source, same CI) come back completely clean. A real infection looks the opposite: a named family agreed on across many engines and platforms.

    Verify it yourself: open the VirusTotal link on any GitHub release, check the file against SHA256SUMS.txt, or build from source. Full write-up: docs/WINDOWS-SECURITY.md →

    Firmware Library

    50 firmware profiles ship — the most-used are featured below; the Hardware Guides cover the full set with per-firmware buy → build → flash walkthroughs. Every profile includes chip detection, bootloader offsets, flash frequencies, and Dead Man's Switch compatibility.

    ESP32 Firmware

    ESP32 Marauder

    Stable

    WiFi/BLE offensive security suite. Scan, sniff, deauth, PMKID, handshake capture, beacon spam, Evil Portal.

    justcallmekoko ESP32 / S2 / S3 esptool

    GhostESP

    Stable

    WiFi/BLE/GPS multi-tool with wardrive, portal capture, beacon spam, probe sniff, BLE spam, and SD logging.

    Spooky ESP32-S2 / S3 esptool

    Bruce

    Stable

    Multi-purpose offensive firmware. WiFi, BLE, IR, SubGHz, RFID, NFC, BadUSB on ESP32-based boards.

    pr3y ESP32 / S3 / C3 esptool

    ESP32-DIV

    Stable

    WiFi/BLE/2.4GHz pen-test multi-tool. Scan, deauth, BLE spam, PMKID, NRF24, spectrum analysis.

    CiferTech ESP32 / S3 esptool

    HaleHound

    Stable

    Multi-protocol IoT attack station. WiFi, BLE, SubGHz (CC1101), 2.4GHz (NRF24), NFC (PN532).

    HaleHound ESP32 (CYD) esptool

    Meshtastic

    Stable

    LoRa mesh networking. Off-grid encrypted messaging, GPS tracking, telemetry, and repeater nodes.

    Meshtastic ESP32 / S3 / C3 esptool

    BW16 Vampire Deauther

    Stable

    Dual-band 2.4 / 5 GHz WiFi + BLE on the Realtek RTL8720DN (BW16). AT+ serial CLI — scan, deauth, beacon spam. The deck's 5 GHz radio.

    BW16 RTL8720DN AmebaD

    CYT-NG

    Stable

    Custom Marauder-family firmware with extended features for CYD touchscreen boards.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    Flock-You

    Stable

    Passive, receive-only detector for Flock Safety ALPR (license-plate reader) cameras — it sniffs the WiFi/BLE beacons the cameras emit and flags them so you know what is watching. It transmits nothing. Source-first build, so a formal release can 404.

    Community ESP32-S3 esptool

    OUI-Spy

    Stable

    Passive WiFi device tracking via OUI lookup. Identify device manufacturers from probe requests.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    Sky-Spy

    Stable

    Drone/UAV detection via WiFi probe analysis. Passive detection of common drone control protocols.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    AirTag Scanner

    Stable

    Detect and locate nearby Apple AirTags and other BLE trackers via advertisement scanning.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    MinigotchiV3

    Stable

    Miniature Pwnagotchi companion. BLE deauthentication and WiFi reconnaissance on ESP32 boards.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    NEMO

    Stable

    WiFi/BLE/IR/BadUSB multi-tool for M5Stack and Cardputer. Huge community, active development.

    n0xa ESP32-S3 esptool

    Deauther

    Stable

    Most downloaded ESP hacking firmware. WiFi deauthentication, beacon spam, and probe flooding.

    Spacehuhn ESP8266 / ESP32 esptool

    EvilPortal

    Coming Soon

    Captive portal phishing framework for ESP32. Custom login pages for credential harvesting.

    Community ESP32 esptool

    Wardriver.uk

    Coming Soon

    Dedicated wardriving firmware with GPS logging, WiGLE export, and dual-radio scanning.

    JosephHewitt ESP32 + GPS esptool

    PacketMonitor

    Coming Soon

    Real-time WiFi packet visualization. Channel utilization, frame types, and traffic density.

    Spacehuhn ESP32 esptool

    Hash Monster

    Coming Soon

    Dedicated PMKID and handshake capture station. Export to hashcat/aircrack format.

    G4lile0 ESP32 esptool

    ESP32-NAT-Router

    Coming Soon

    WiFi NAT router and MitM relay. Rogue AP, traffic routing, and network interception.

    martin-ger ESP32 esptool

    Reticulum / RNode

    Coming Soon

    Encrypted mesh networking over LoRa. Off-grid encrypted communications, Meshtastic alternative.

    markqvist ESP32 + LoRa esptool

    LoRa APRS iGate

    Coming Soon

    Amateur radio position tracking gateway. APRS over LoRa for off-grid location monitoring.

    richonguzman ESP32 + LoRa esptool

    Flipper Zero Firmware

    Raspberry Pi & Linux

    Kali ARM

    Stable

    Full Kali Linux for ARM boards. Complete penetration testing distribution with 600+ tools.

    Offensive Security Pi 3/4/5 / Zero 2 SD Image

    Pwnagotchi

    Stable

    AI-powered WiFi audit tool. Autonomous WPA handshake capture with machine learning optimization.

    Community Pi Zero 2 W SD Image

    RaspyJack

    Stable

    Raspberry Pi-based network attack platform. Rogue AP, MITM, credential harvesting, and DNS spoofing.

    Community Pi 3/4/Zero 2 SD Image

    RayHunter

    Stable

    IMSI catcher detection on Orbic mobile devices. Detect cell-site simulators via Qualcomm diag interface.

    EFF Orbic Speed RC400L ADB

    P4wnP1 A.L.O.A.

    Coming Soon

    USB attack platform. HID injection, network MitM, data exfiltration, and covert channel attacks.

    mame82 Pi Zero / Zero 2 W SD Image

    Parrot Security OS

    Coming Soon

    Full pentest and OSINT distribution. Privacy tools, reverse engineering, and forensics focused.

    Parrot Security Pi 3/4/5 SD Image

    NetHunter (Pi)

    Coming Soon

    Kali NetHunter for Raspberry Pi. Mobile penetration testing platform with injection support.

    Offensive Security Pi 3/4/5 SD Image

    NetHunter (Phone)

    Coming Soon

    ADB sideload NetHunter to supported Android phones. Full Kali toolchain on mobile hardware.

    Offensive Security Android Phones ADB

    OpenWrt

    Coming Soon

    Portable pentest router. Rogue AP, traffic capture, DNS manipulation, and VLAN segmentation.

    OpenWrt Pi 3/4/Zero 2 SD Image

    Kismet

    Coming Soon

    Dedicated 802.11/BLE/Zigbee passive recon sensor. Wireless network detection and sniffing.

    Kismet Pi 3/4/5 SD Image

    SDR & RF Hardware Coming Soon

    USB & Microcontroller Coming Soon

    Specialty Hardware Coming Soon

    Protocol Parsers

    Every supported firmware talks its own dialect over serial. These 14 parsers read that output directly and turn it into live tables you can actually work with, with auto-detection, right-click target actions, and target sharing between devices.

    Marauder

    AP/client/BLE scan results, PMKID/handshake capture, deauth status, channel info, SD operations

    WiFiBLECapture

    GhostESP

    AP/client/BLE/probe discovery, deauth/beacon/portal events, GPS/wardrive data, SD logging

    WiFiBLEGPS

    Bruce

    WiFi/BLE/IR/SubGHz/RFID/NFC events, multi-protocol scan results, BadUSB status, system events

    WiFiBLEIRSubGHz

    Flipper Zero

    SubGHz captures, RFID/NFC reads, IR signals, BadUSB execution, GPIO data, app output

    SubGHzNFCRFIDIR

    HaleHound

    Multi-protocol scan results across WiFi, BLE, CC1101 (SubGHz), NRF24 (2.4GHz), PN532 (NFC)

    WiFiBLESubGHzNFC

    Meshtastic

    Mesh node discovery, message routing, GPS telemetry, signal quality, channel configuration

    LoRaMeshGPS

    ESP32-DIV

    WiFi AP/client scan, BLE device discovery, 2.4GHz spectrum, NRF24 sniffing, PMKID/handshake capture

    WiFiBLE2.4GHzNRF24

    BW16

    Dual-band 2.4/5 GHz Vampire Deauther on the Realtek RTL8720DN. AT+ serial CLI — parses scan results (SSID, channel, RSSI), deauth and beacon-spam status, and boot/system events

    WiFiDual-Band5 GHzDeauth

    Flock-You

    Passive, receive-only 2.4 GHz sniffer that spots Flock Safety ALPR cameras by their WiFi OUI and probe-request fingerprint. Parses detection events into map targets — it transmits nothing, you just notice what is watching you

    WiFi2.4GHzALPRPassive

    BlueJammer

    Read-only telemetry parser for the BlueJammer-V2 RF-research rig — decodes boot, mode, and nRF status lines into info/status events. No serial command channel; Cyber Controller reads telemetry for lab study only

    2.4GHzTelemetryRead-Only

    Security & Anti-Forensic

    Input Hardening

    CSRF protection on the web remote, per-endpoint rate limiting, and control-character injection guards on every input, so crafted requests and malicious pages can't drive the app.

    Web Auth Hardened

    scrypt password hashing for the web remote interface. AES-256-GCM mandatory encryption for all stored credentials. Session tokens with configurable TTL and automatic expiry.

    Dead Man's Switch

    Anti-forensic firmware integration via the deadmans-switch submodule (successor to Suicide Marauder). ROM SPI bypass brick hardware-validated on ESP32. Guardian firmware-agnostic dead-man gate. Host-side password provisioning — plaintext never touches the device.

    Duress & Panic Wipe

    Configurable duress password triggers immediate flash obliteration. 2-fail auto-wipe with power-cycle-safe attempt counter. GPIO dead-man switch for tamper/open-case detection. Cascade wipe across all connected devices.

    SSRF Hardened

    All firmware download URLs validated against allowlist. Private IP ranges blocked. Redirect chains terminated. Path-traversal protection on all file operations. No arbitrary URL fetching.

    Cross-Platform

    Windows, Linux, macOS. ARM and x64. Full Qt desktop GUI, lightweight Tkinter, headless TUI, and browser-based web remote. Standalone executables with everything bundled.

    Ecosystem

    Cyber Controller is the main thing I work on, but it grew out of a bunch of smaller tools I built before it. They're all open source, and each one still works on its own.

    Ecosystem projects — name, version, and description
    Name Version Notes
    Headless Marauder GUI v1.3.4 The original all-in-one Marauder controller and multi-firmware flasher. 4 UIs, standalone exe builds. github.com/LxveAce/headless-marauder-gui
    Dead Man's Switch Active Universal anti-forensic dead-man gate. Multi-board successor to Suicide Marauder. github.com/LxveAce/deadmans-switch
    Suicide Marauder v1.0.1 The original anti-forensic firmware. ROM SPI bypass brick, Guardian gate, boot password. HW-validated. github.com/LxveAce/Suicide-Marauder
    Hardware Guides Docs In-depth, per-firmware walkthroughs for every supported device — purchasing, building, flashing, integrating into Cyber Controller, and troubleshooting — each with a downloadable PDF. 29 guides. github.com/LxveAce/cyber-controller-guides
    Universal Flasher v1.4.0 Focused standalone flasher (no controller/logger/wardriving). Multi-firmware ESP32 flashing plus Software-OS flashing (Kali/Tails/Arch to USB) via --list-os / --flash-os, auto-updating catalog + offline. Batch flash, backup/restore, plugin system. github.com/LxveAce/universal-flasher
    Universal Flasher & UI v0.1.0 Flash + serial control + cross-device coordination prototype. Absorbed into Cyber Controller. github.com/LxveAce/universal-flasher-ui
    esp32marauder.com Website ESP32 security tools hub. Build guides, downloads, and project documentation. esp32marauder.com

    Roadmap

    What's now shipping in cyber-controller v1.8.0 (and universal-flasher v1.4.0).

    Captured-Handshake Log Shipped v1.7.2

    Every WPA handshake and PMKID a connected board captures now lands in a live Captured handshakes list in the Crack Lab — SSID, BSSID, channel, client MAC, EAPOL vs PMKID, RSSI, source device and the on-device .pcap/.hc22000 path. Double-click to load one straight into the cracker; a solved key writes back and the row turns green. Export the whole log to CSV or JSON (every attacker-influenced field neutralised against CSV injection). Firing a targeted Deauth AP arms a short window and logs a first-class “handshake captured — deauth confirmed” line when a matching capture lands. Backend correlation only — Cyber Controller issues firmware CLI commands and never authors radio frames.

    Multi-Device Wardriving Shipped v1.6.0

    Drive several boards at once from one shared GPS into a single merged WiGLE CSV, with per-board AP counts and a running total. Each board is sent its own firmware's native scan command (Marauder, GhostESP, Flock-You, and so on), and every capture routes through the shared device manager — so a board already open in the Devices tab is shared, not double-opened (which on Windows would fail with Access Denied).

    Live Flock Driving Map Shipped v1.6.0

    The Flock Map tab records a live drive: located ALPR cameras drop onto the map as they're found, each checkpointed to disk for crash-safety. The recorder keeps running while the tab is hidden — only the repaint pauses — and the map catches up when you return to it.

    Wireless Relay + Node Firmware Shipped v1.6.0

    Real ESP32 firmware for the two wireless roles: a crypto-free USB↔ESP-NOW relay and an AES-256-GCM sensor node, with a byte-exact wire protocol and anti-replay. The node's on-device crypto is contract-tested against the host. Shipped as source you compile and flash yourself.

    Smart Installation & Version-Aware Startup Shipped v1.4.0

    Cyber Controller now recognizes a previous install on launch and reconciles it automatically. An upgrade carries your settings and encrypted vault forward silently; a downgrade (running an older build over a newer config — the “paths collide / overwrite” case) prompts you to Keep & Continue or Back up & Start Fresh — and your old config is always moved aside, never deleted, so it stays restorable. A .installed_version marker is written so future launches classify correctly; fully silent for headless/CLI use.

    Animated Startup & Four-Interface Launcher Shipped v1.3.3

    Launching the packaged app now shows an animated loading screen within a second or two (logo, progress sweep, status text) that cross-fades into the dashboard — no more staring at nothing while the one-file build self-extracts. Motion follows the project's motion-design tokens and honors reduced-motion. Double-click with no --ui flag and the Select Interface launcher offers all four front-ends — Full GUI (PyQt5) · Lightweight (Tkinter) · Terminal UI (Textual) · Web Remote — with Web Remote now opening your browser automatically.

    Security Hardening & Secure Container Shipped v1.3.0

    An opt-in secure container encrypts app saves at rest (AES-256-GCM) and keeps them sealed and unreadable while the access gate is locked — ciphertext-only, tamper fails closed. The gate adds brute-force lockout (persistent, exponential backoff), an opt-in duress self-wipe, and boot/startup-bypass resistance (no pre-auth reset; enforced before any UI loads). Honest threat model documented in SECURITY.md.

    Dual-Depth Simple / Pro Interface Shipped v1.3.0

    A streamlined Simple view shows just the essentials per tab for newcomers, while Pro (the default) keeps every control with zero penalty. Switch any time via View › Interface Mode, the status-bar badge, or Ctrl+M — the choice persists. Safety and authorization prompts always show in both modes. Plus 4 new firmware profiles: T-REX, MCLite (MeshCore), ESP32 Bit Pirate, and Hydra32.

    Unified Flashing — One App, Two Tabs Shipped v1.2.1

    One flasher with two clearly separated tabs. The Firmware tab handles hardware — ESP32 Marauder, GhostESP, Bruce and the rest of the library, plus Raspberry Pi SD images. The Software tab handles PC/USB operating systems. Same workflow, no second tool to learn. Also in universal-flasher v1.4.0 via --list-os / --flash-os, alongside its ESP32 firmware flasher.

    Software OS Flashing to USB Shipped v1.2.1

    The Software tab writes verified operating systems — Kali Linux, Tails OS, Arch and more — to a USB stick. The latest version is auto-resolved (with an offline bundled fallback), every image is integrity-verified with SHA-256 and OpenPGP before any write, and the target is confirmed to be a removable, non-system disk first. Also available in universal-flasher v1.4.0 (Kali/Tails/Arch to USB).

    Auto-Updating Catalog & Offline Use Shipped v1.2.1

    A self-updating firmware and OS catalog keeps versions current without manual edits — a weekly CI job keeps the bundled OS catalog current in both cyber-controller and universal-flasher v1.4.0 — and the app self-updates too. Fully offline-capable: a cached catalog plus already-downloaded images flash with no internet connection at all — built for the field.

    Wardriving — GPS-Tagged Logging Shipped v1.2.1

    A dedicated Wardriving tab: GPS-tagged capture of Wi-Fi access points and stations exported to WiGLE CSV, wired into the shared target pool. Strictly for lawful, owner-authorized assessment of networks you are permitted to test — consistent with the dashboard's responsible-use posture.

    Cyberdeck Main GUI Shipped v1.2.1

    The primary front-end for cyberdeck builds — one all-in-one controller, flasher, logger and pentest dashboard driving every connected board from a single screen, across the Qt desktop, lightweight, TUI and web-remote modes.

    In-App Tooltips & How-To Tab Shipped v1.2.1

    Helpful tooltips on every control so each option explains itself, plus a dedicated How-To tab walking through flashing, OS-to-USB, and field setup step by step — lowering the bar for newcomers without slowing experts down.

    Physical-Key Access Gate Shipped v1.2.1

    Set it up right in the app — Settings → Access Gate lets you set an admin password, provision a USB stick as a physical key, and choose the policy (password-only, key-only, or both) from the GUI, backed by a salted-scrypt + encrypted vault. The keyed USB and/or password are then required before the app unlocks, covering the web remote as well as the desktop. Designed fail-closed; intended to deter casual access, not a funded forensic adversary.

    Frozen-Build Hardening Shipped v1.2.1

    Bundled-asset loads route through a single resource resolver so the packaged executable degrades gracefully instead of failing on a missing asset — the prior Windows one-click .exe startup crash is fixed and verified. Installer and code-signing work continues to reduce platform friction.

    Contact

    Open to collaboration, consulting, and interesting conversations.