Command Line Flags
Merlin is composed of the following components:
Merlin Server - The program that receives and handles Agent traffic and operator CLI commands to control the server and Agents
Merlin Agent - The post-exploitation command and control Agent that runs on a compromised host
Merlin CLI - The command line interface that allows operators to interact with the Merlin Server and Agents
Note
This page cover the Merlin Command Line Interface (CLI) program
The CLI uses Google RPC (gRPC) protocol buffers over TLS to communicate with the Merlin Server. All API calls require a password to authenticate to the server.
$ ./merlin-cli -h
Usage of merlin-cli:
-addr string
The address of the Merlin server to connect to (default "127.0.0.1:50051")
-password string
the password to connect to the Merlin server (default "merlin")
-secure
Require server TLS certificate verification
-tlsCA string
TLS Certificate Authority file path
-tlsCert string
TLS certificate file path
-tlsKey string
TLS private key file path
-version
Print the version number and exit
addr
Note
The default address is 127.0.0.1:50051
The addr
flag specifies the address of the Merlin Server to connect to. The connection uses gRPC over TLS.
password
Warning
The default password is merlin
and should always be changed to prevent unauthorized access
The password
flag sets the password needed to authenticate all gRPC requests.
secure
Note
By default, the Merlin Server will generate a self-signed TLS certificate that will not be trusted by the CLI if this flag is enabled.
The secure
flag enables TLS certificate verification. When this flag is set, the CLI will verify the Server’s TLS certificate.
tlsCA
The tlsCA
flag specifies a custom CA certificate file to validate and trust the Server’s certificate.
tlsCert
The tlsCert
flag specifies the certificate file the Merlin CLI will use for mutual TLS authentication with the Merlin Server.
tlsKey
The tlsKey
flag specifies the private key file for the tlsCert
.
version
The version
flag prints the version number of the Merlin Server and exits.
$ ./merlin-cli -version
Merlin Version: 1.0.0, Build: nonRelease