Installing Cobalt Strike

Follow these instructions to install Cobalt Strike.

NOTE:

The Cobalt Strike Distribution Package (steps 1 and 3) contains the OS-specific Cobalt Strike launcher(s), supporting files, and the updater program. It does not contain the Cobalt Strike program itself. Running the Update Program (step 4) downloads the Cobalt Strike product and performs the final installation steps.

  1. Download a Cobalt Strike distribution package for a supported operating system. (an email is provided with a link to the download)

  2. Setup a recommended Java environment. (see Installing OpenJDK for instructions)
  3. Extract, mount or unzip the distribution package. Based on the operating system perform one of the following.

    1. For Linux:

      1. Extract the cobaltstrike-dist-linux.tgz:

        tar zxvf cobaltstrike-dist-linux.tgz

    2. For MacOS X:

      1. Use your preferred zip tool to extract the cobaltstrike-dist-mac.zip file to an install location.

    3. For Windows:

      1. Disable anti-virus before you install Cobalt Strike.

      2. Use your preferred zip tool to extract the cobaltstike-dist-windows.zip file to an install location.

  4. Run the update program to finish the install. Based on the operating system perform one of the following.
    1. For Linux:

      1. Enter the following commands:

        cd /path/to/cobaltstrike

        ./update

    2. For MacOS X:
      1. Navigate to the Cobalt Strike folder.
      2. Double-click Update Cobalt Strike.command.
    3. For Windows:
      1. Navigate to the Cobalt Strike folder.
      2. Double-click update.bat.

Make sure you update both your team server and client software with your license key. Cobalt Strike is generally licensed on a per user basis. The team server does not require a separate license.