Overview
Malbox is an open-source malware analysis platform that provides security researchers and cybersecurity teams with a powerful, extensible environment for analyzing files and understanding malicious behavior.Why Malbox
Malbox delivers a modern alternative to existing open-source solutions with enhanced extensibility, streamlined workflows, and superior usability.Plugin-based Architecture
Extend Malbox’s analysis capabilities through plugins, allowing you to tailor the platform to your specific workflow and requirements.
User-friendly Ecosystem
From installation to configuration, Malbox reduces complexity while preserving advanced capabilities and customization options.
Machinery Flexibility
Deploy on-premise or in the cloud with support for multiple VM providers. Easily extend support through provider and provisioner interfaces.
Well Documented
Comprehensive, up-to-date documentation helps you understand and work effectively with the platform.
Comparisons
Malbox stands alongside other open-source malware analysis platforms, each with distinct strengths and trade-offs.| Feature | Malbox | Cuckoo Sandbox | CAPE Sandbox | Drakvuf | Thorium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Host and guest-based analysis, can include an agent or be agent-less | Agent-based dynamic analysis using guest agents inside VMs, central controller on host OS | Agent-based dynamic analysis forked from Cuckoo, extended with automated unpacking and config extraction | Agentless, virtualization-based black-box analysis using Xen hypervisor and VM introspection | Distributed, event-driven malware analysis and data generation framework with sandboxed tools and services |
| Plugin System | Versioned plugin SDK, exhaustive API and configuration schemes | Modular components (processing, signatures, reporting) configured via files for extending analysis and reporting | Enhanced modular system adding unpacking, payload and config extractors, plus extra signatures and processors | Plugins and extensions written in C/C++ leveraging LibVMI and Xen introspection hooks for new monitoring logic | Tool- and pipeline-based extensibility via containerized tools and workflows that can be added and shared |
| Providers | Any provider that has been implemented with the provider abstraction interface | Uses external hypervisors such as VMware, VirtualBox, KVM and others via drivers like libvirt/pyVmomi | Inherits Cuckoo’s VM backends (e.g. VMware, VirtualBox, KVM) for guest execution | Primarily runs on Xen; analysis VMs must be Xen guests, with focus on that hypervisor stack | Runs tools and sandboxes as Docker containers orchestrated by Kubernetes clusters |
| Infrastructure as Code | Packer and any provisioner that has been implement with the provisioner abstraction interface | Commonly deployed via scripts and configuration management (e.g. Ansible-based setups exist), but no official IaC framework bundled | Typically installed via manual or scripted setups similar to Cuckoo; no dedicated IaC layer in core project | Provides scripted installation and environment setup for Xen, DRAKVUF and DRAKVUF Sandbox components | Uses Kubernetes manifests and Helm-style deployment patterns for scalable, repeatable infrastructure |
| Performance | Adaptable to any use-case depending on plugin, provider and provisioner settings | Suitable for small to moderate VM pools; scaling achieved by adding more workers and VMs but constrained by single-controller Python design | Similar performance profile to Cuckoo, with added overhead from unpacking and config extraction but optimized for batch sandbox runs | Efficient VM-introspection tracing with low guest footprint; overhead mainly in hypervisor and introspection stack | Designed for high throughput with horizontal scaling, ingesting large volumes of files on Kubernetes and ScyllaDB-like backends |
| Development Status | Active | Archived (inactive) | Actively maintained fork with ongoing rules, extractors and feature updates | Actively developed open-source project with regular updates and research use | Actively developed open-source framework led by CISA and partners |
| Web Interface | SvelteKit-based web UI | Django-based web UI for task submission and report browsing | Django-based UI extended with views for payloads, configs and extra artefacts | Separate “DRAKVUF Sandbox” provides a basic React web UI over an API and task queue | React-based web UI with REST APIs exposing search, tagging and workflow control |
| Configuration Extraction | Plugin dependent | Limited built-in dynamic config extraction; some families supported via signatures and scripts | Automated, detailed configuration and payload extraction pipeline using unpacking, YARA matching and dedicated extractors | Enables config and behaviour recovery via memory dumps, kernel/user-space tracing and VM introspection | Aggregates and stores outputs from integrated tools with tagging and search; config extraction depends on connected tools |
| License | GPL v3 | GPL v3 | GPL v3 | GPL v3 | Apache 2.0 |