RouterSploit vs Scalpel vs Bully vs John the Ripper: Which Firmware Analysis Tool tool is Best in 2025?

RouterSploit is a powerful open-source framework pre-installed in Kali Linux (version 3.4.7), tailored for penetration testers and cybersecurity professionals. This embedded device exploitation tool for penetration testing targets routers, IoT devices, and cameras, making it a leading router vulnerability scanner for ethical hacking. With a 2.22 MB footprint and modules for exploits, credential brute-forcing, and scanning, RouterSploit simplifies security assessments of devices from brands like D-Link and Netgear.

Scalpel is an open-source, high-performance file carving utility pre-installed on Kali Linux at /usr/bin/scalpel, designed for recovering deleted or hidden files from disk images and raw block devices. Developed by Golden G. Richard III as an enhanced rewrite of Foremost 0.69, Scalpel leverages header and footer signatures to extract files, bypassing file system metadata. Supporting formats like JPEG, PDF, MP3, and DOC, it’s a critical tool for digital forensic investigators, incident responders, and ethical hackers conducting cyber forensic investigations and file recovery. Scalpel’s multithreading, GPU acceleration, and regular expression support make it exceptionally fast and versatile.

Bully is a robust open-source wireless network auditing tool for ethical hacking, seamlessly integrated into Kali Linux (version 2024.06.R1). As a Wi-Fi Protected Setup brute-force tool for cybersecurity, it targets WPS vulnerabilities to recover WPA/WPA2 passphrases, making it a top wireless password recovery tool for penetration testing. Written in C with a 1.4 MB size, Bully offers improved performance over Reaver, supporting Pixie-Dust attacks for rapid PIN cracking.

John the Ripper is a premier open-source password cracker pre-installed in Kali Linux (version 1.9.0), tailored for security administrators and penetration testers. This password-cracking tool for cybersecurity audits targets weak credentials using wordlists, brute-force, and rule-based attacks, making it a leading password security testing tool for ethical hacking. With a 77.63 MB footprint and support for hashes like SHA512crypt and MD5, John empowers users to strengthen system security through efficient password audits.