Unicornscan: Not Polished, Just Powerful
Unicornscan isn’t flashy. It doesn’t have a web UI, there’s no slick config wizard, and good luck finding official support. But for network pros who need to map out huge spaces quickly — or quietly — this odd little scanner still has a role to play.
It was built for speed. Real speed. The kind you need when scanning entire subnets or bouncing probes off distant nodes and want answers now — not in an hour. It works by firing off packets asynchronously, without waiting for replies one by one. That’s part of what makes it so fast — and, honestly, so weird to use the first time.
No, it’s not modern. But that’s also why it hasn’t broken.
What It Does Best
Sweep through /16 blocks without triggering basic alarms
Run UDP scans that would crawl with other tools
Pull banners and get quick service fingerprints
Pre-seed more detailed scans with Nmap or Nessus
Test firewalls and IDS setups with custom packet profiles
Main Features (Without the Fluff)
| Feature | How It Helps |
| Async scanning | Sends probes non-stop — no waiting, no round-trip delay |
| Raw socket control | Lets you craft “weird” packets for specific test cases |
| TCP, UDP, ICMP | Useful across protocols, including less common ones like SCTP |
| Banner grabbing | Can sniff basic service info if ports respond |
| Output options | Dumps XML, text, or binary — whatever your workflow needs |
| Quiet scanning | Skips standard signatures — helps avoid detection |
There’s no built-in report generator. But there is flexibility. You can parse outputs into whatever tooling you like.
Getting It Running
It’s mostly a Linux thing. It needs raw sockets, so you’ll be using sudo or tweaking capabilities.
On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt install unicornscan
From Source (if needed):
git clone https://github.com/jus392/Unicornscan
cd Unicornscan && make && sudo make install
Check for dependencies like libpcap if the build complains.
Real-World Usage
Quick TCP port scan on a single IP:
sudo unicornscan -Iv 10.0.0.5:1-1024
Full subnet UDP probe:
sudo unicornscan -mU 10.0.0.0/24:a
Log output to a file:
sudo unicornscan 192.168.1.1 > scan.txt
And then you can pass those results into your next stage — maybe feeding into a vulnerability scanner or using it to spot exposed services that slipped through the cracks.
Caveats (Let’s Be Honest)
Output isn’t always clean — some post-processing helps
It won’t tell you everything — no OS fingerprinting like Nmap does
Project isn’t actively maintained, but it still compiles fine on most distros
Can trigger firewall rules if not used carefully
Docs are outdated — learning curve’s a bit DIY
That said, for experienced users, it often does what needs doing without getting in the way.
Bottom Line
Unicornscan is one of those tools you either stop using after a week — or never delete again. It doesn’t pretend to solve all your problems. But if you’ve got networks to map and time is tight, it pulls its weight.
No frills, no hand-holding — just raw scanning power for those who know what they’re after.
