dnscat2

dnscat2 comes in two parts: the client and the server.

The client is designed to be run on a compromised machine. It's written in C and has the minimum possible dependencies. It should run just about anywhere (if you find a system where it doesn't compile or run, please file a ticket, particularly if you can help me get access to said system).

When you run the client, you typically specify a domain name. All requests will be sent to the local DNS server, which are then redirected to the authoritative DNS server for that domain (which you, presumably, have control of).

If you don't have an authoritative DNS server, you can also use direct connections on UDP/53 (or whatever you choose). They'll be faster, and still look like DNS traffic to the casual viewer, but it's much more obvious in a packet log (all domains are prefixed with "dnscat.", unless you hack the source). This mode will frequently be blocked by firewalls.

The server is designed to be run on an authoritative DNS server. It's in ruby, and depends on several different gems. When you run it, much like the client, you specify which domain(s) it should listen for in addition to listening for messages sent directly to it on UDP/53. When it receives traffic for one of those domains, it attempts to establish a logical connection. If it receives other traffic, it ignores it by default, but can also forward it upstream.