> cat /dev/github | grep security-tools
discovered 30 Mar 2026

thug

Python ★ 1022 via github-topic
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AI Summary: Thug is a low-interaction honeyclient developed in Python that emulates the behavior of a web browser to detect and analyze client-side attacks by allowing malicious content to exploit its simulated environment. Its primary use case is research and detection of vulnerabilities in client applications, akin to a honeypot but focused on the client side. Notable features include its ability to mimic user interactions and support for detailed analysis of malicious payloads in a controlled setting.


README

Thug

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The number of client-side attacks has grown significantly in the past few years shifting focus on poorly protected vulnerable clients. Just as the most known honeypot technologies enable research into server-side attacks, honeyclients allow the study of client-side attacks.

A complement to honeypots, a honeyclient is a tool designed to mimic the behavior of a user-driven network client application, such as a web browser, and be exploited by an attacker’s content.

Thug is a Python low-interaction honeyclient aimed at mimicking the behavior of a web browser in order to detect and emulate malicious contents.

Documentation

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Documentation about Thug installation and usage can be found at http://thug-honeyclient.readthedocs.io/.

Contributions

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Thug is open source and we welcome contributions in all forms!

Thug is free to use for any purpose (even commercial ones). If you use and appreciate Thug, please consider supporting the project with a donation using Paypal.

Testing

To run the full test suite using tox_, run the command:

.. code-block:: bash

tox

Since tox builds and installs dependencies from scratch, using pytest_ for faster testing is recommended:

.. code-block:: bash

pytest --cov thug

License information

Copyright (C) 2011-2026 Angelo Dell’Aera angelo.dellaera@honeynet.org

License: GNU General Public License, version 2

.. |version badge| image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/thug.svg :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/thug/ .. |github badge| image:: https://github.com/buffer/thug/workflows/Build/badge.svg :target: https://github.com/buffer/thug .. |codefactor badge| image:: https://www.codefactor.io/repository/github/buffer/thug/badge :target: https://www.codefactor.io/repository/github/buffer/thug .. |codecov badge| image:: https://codecov.io/gh/buffer/thug/branch/master/graph/badge.svg :target: https://codecov.io/gh/buffer/thug .. |bandit badge| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/security-bandit-yellow.svg :target: https://github.com/PyCQA/bandit .. |docs badge| image:: https://readthedocs.com/projects/thug-honeyclient-thug/badge/?version=latest :target: https://thug-honeyclient-thug.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/?badge=latest .. |donate badge| image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/Donate-PayPal-green.svg :target: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XTDF8AHJ28CXY .. _virtualenv: https://virtualenv.pypa.io/ .. _tox: https://tox.readthedocs.io/ .. _pytest: http://pytest.org/