Cyber attacks aren’t just getting more frequent—they’re getting smarter. Cybersecurity professionals need more than firewalls and antivirus software to stay ahead: they need to think like the attacker.
That’s where offensive security (OffSec) tools come in. These powerful platforms simulate real-world threats, expose vulnerabilities, and stress-test even the most fortified systems.
Probe AI for weak points, monitor network traffic, and protect your cloud environment with the right OffSec tools. In this guide, you’ll learn about some of the most highly rated offensive security tools in 2025, from cutting-edge platforms like Mindgard to solutions like Metasploit and Wireshark.
Mindgard is an offensive security tool designed for all stages of the AI lifecycle. There’s no need to conduct manual red teaming: Mindgard’s continuous automatic red teaming (CART) keeps you secure at all times.
With this tool, you can identify and remediate vulnerabilities in AI platforms or large language models (LLMs) that you might otherwise miss.
Mindgard also integrates seamlessly into existing CI/CD pipelines, offering actionable insights and compliance-ready reporting aligned with frameworks and standards like MITRE and OWASP.
PortSwigger’s Burp Suite is a popular offensive security tool for web applications. As the name suggests, Burp is a collection of tools to facilitate the testing process, from initial mapping to exploiting vulnerabilities. Some of its most popular features include:
Kali Linux is a Debian-based Linux distribution specifically crafted for pentesting, ethical hacking, and security auditing.
Maintained by Offensive Security, Kali comes pre-installed with hundreds of offensive security tools for various cyber security tasks. It can handle everything from vulnerability scanning and password cracking to network sniffing and digital forensics.
Cobalt Strike is one of the best offensive security tools for adversary simulation and red teaming. Developed by Fortra, it provides security professionals with tools to assess and enhance organizational defenses through realistic attack simulations.
The core agent of Cobalt Strike, Beacon, supports command execution, keylogging, file transfer, privilege escalation, and lateral movement. It also facilitates covert communication over multiple protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, and SMB.
Looking for an open-source tool? Look no further than Metasploit. This offensive security tool is an open-source pentesting framework developed by Rapid7.
Security professionals use Metasploit to identify, exploit, and validate vulnerabilities long before real attackers can use them to plan an actual exploit.
Tenable Nessus is a widely recognized vulnerability assessment tool designed to help security professionals identify and remediate organizational weaknesses.
Nessus has extensive detection capabilities for catching misconfigurations, default passwords, and missing patches. With over 450 pre-configured templates, Nessus simplifies the process of assessing various systems and applications.
Scan your web applications, websites, and APIs with Acunetix. This highly rated suite of tools streamlines security assessments for all of your digital assets. Acunetix uses AcuMonitor, an out-of-band vulnerability detection service, to identify vulnerabilities that you might miss during in-band testing.
Wireshark is a widely used, open-source network protocol analyzer that allows you to capture and inspect data traveling through a network in real time. This offensive security tool is instrumental in diagnosing network issues, analyzing communication protocols, and detecting potential security threats.
Plus, Wireshark operates on all popular operating systems, making it a flexible choice for businesses of all sizes.
SQLMap is also open-source, but it’s a pentesting tool that automates SQL injection vulnerabilities in web applications. Put your detection and exploitation on autopilot with this offensive security tool to create tailored attack strategies.
Do you operate in a multi-cloud environment? Try Scout Suite, an open-source auditing tool from NCC Group.
Scout Suite gathers configuration data and presents it in a comprehensive, user-friendly HTML report, highlighting potential security risks and misconfigurations.
SecureAuth is a different type of offensive security tool that specializes in identity and access management. While primarily known for its defensive security products, SecureAuth also offers offensive tools like Core Impact.
Core Impact simplifies pentesting across networks, endpoints, and web applications. It offers automation capabilities for tasks such as Kerberos Golden Ticket and Silver Ticket attacks, simplifying complex pentesting processes.
Aircrack-ng is a powerful suite of tools designed for auditing wireless networks. It focuses on assessing the security of Wi-Fi by capturing data packets and using them to recover WEP and WPA-PSK keys.
Each tool operates independently but is built to work together in a streamlined workflow for penetration testers and security professionals.
The Social-Engineer Toolkit is an open-source Python-based framework developed by TrustedSec for conducting social engineering attacks during penetration testing.
SET provides a range of attack vectors that simulate real-world scenarios to assess human vulnerabilities within an organization's security posture.
Atomic Red Team is an open-source library of detection tests mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
Developed by Red Canary, it enables security teams to simulate adversary techniques and validate their detection capabilities across Windows, macOS, Linux, and cloud environments.
The Browser Exploitation Framework is a penetration testing tool that targets web browsers. It enables security professionals to assess the security posture of a target environment by using client-side attack vectors.
Unlike other security frameworks, BeEF focuses on leveraging browser vulnerabilities to examine exploitability within the context of the web browser.
Selecting the right offensive security solutions depends on your specific goals, technical environment, and security maturity. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Start by identifying what you need to test. Are you probing AI systems for adversarial vulnerabilities? Mindgard excels in AI red teaming.
Need to test web apps? Tools like Burp Suite or Acutenix are purpose-built for web application security.
Broader network or endpoint simulation? Cobalt Strike or Metasploit may be more suitable.
Open-source tools like Metasploit and SQLMap offer deep customization but may require more hands-on expertise. For teams newer to offensive security, commercial tools with guided workflows—like Core Impact (SecureAuth) or Nessus—can streamline the process.
Some tools are optimized for specific environments:
Modern offensive security tools increasingly support CI/CD pipelines and automated testing. If scalability and speed matter, look for solutions like Mindgard that integrate directly into your development and deployment workflows.
For example, Mindgard has a Burp extension and a Burp Intruder Websockets extension. By integrating Mindgard’s AI vulnerability detection with Burp Suite’s interception and automation capabilities, security professionals can uncover complex threats—like prompt injection or unauthorized API access—faster and with greater accuracy.
Choose tools that generate actionable insights and reports aligned with industry best practices and frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK, OWASP, or NIST. These help not just with security posture but also with regulatory audits and executive communication.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, the tools we use to simulate and defend against them must evolve just as rapidly. Remember to choose the best offensive security tools for your use case.
Automated scanning and remediation might be enough, or you may need a more advanced option like AI red teaming.
Get the edge you need to stay ahead in 2025 and beyond. Uncover hidden vulnerabilities before attackers do with Mindgard’s Offensive Security solution. Book your Mindgard demo now to test the resilience of your AI systems.
Offensive security tools simulate attacks on systems, networks, and applications to identify vulnerabilities before real attackers can exploit them. These tools are commonly used in penetration testing and red teaming.
Defensive security tools detect, prevent, and respond to threats, such as firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems.
Yes, but only in authorized environments. Using these tools without permission is illegal and unethical. Your team should only deploy them in controlled, consent-based settings such as corporate penetration tests, security research, or training labs.
Always ensure you have proper authorization and follow local cyber security laws and industry regulations.
The frequency depends on your organization’s size, risk level, and compliance requirements. Quarterly or biannual tests are common, but continuous testing becoming a best practice—especially when using automated tools like Mindgard.
Regardless of how often you currently test, you should always conduct testing immediately after significant updates or infrastructure changes.
