Hero image: Evil-M5Project repository (GitHub) — source
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and research purposes only. The Evil-M5Project is an open-source toolkit that demonstrates wireless-security concepts on M5Stack hardware. Use it only on systems you own or with explicit permission.
The Evil-M5Project is one of those creations that perfectly embodies the playful yet serious edge of the security research community. At its heart, it is simply a firmware package that runs on the compact ESP32-based devices produced by M5Stack, such as the Core2, the Cardputer, the AtomS3 and the Core S3. Yet once installed, these little blocks of silicon and plastic become far more than hobbyist toys: they transform into portable laboratories for exploring and understanding the invisible world of Wi-Fi.
What makes Evil-M5 stand out in a landscape that already includes tools like ESP32 Marauder is its polish. Instead of leaving users to wrestle with serial terminals and bare boards, Evil-M5 embraces the M5Stack’s small screens, touch input, SD card storage and neat industrial design. The interface greets you with icons and menus rather than cryptic prompts, and the experience feels approachable instead of intimidating. Suddenly the wireless chatter all around us—the SSIDs, the probe requests, the handshakes and signals that usually remain hidden—becomes tangible on a device that slips into a pocket. That accessibility is the project’s magic: it removes friction. Instead of lugging a laptop, adapters, and cables, you’re holding a self-contained instrument that can show you how networks breathe in real time.
Setup: follow the docs and mind the details
Setting it up requires little more than patience and the discipline to follow the project’s documentation closely. You begin by cloning the GitHub repository, where each device has its own sketch file ready to be flashed. In Arduino IDE you add ESP32 support, sticking with stable 2.x versions rather than bleeding-edge alphas, and install the libraries the project specifies, such as M5Unified for hardware abstraction and ArduinoJson for data handling. A microSD card prepared in FAT32 hosts themes, startup images, and web assets; on reboot, the device loads from this card to render a slick menu system. When working with the Cardputer variant, you must also mind the hardware details: set flash size to 8 MB and choose the “8M with SPIFFS” partition scheme or the upload will fail. Once the firmware is loaded and the card is in place, the M5 boots into Evil-M5’s main interface—a smooth menu that hides a wealth of features.
What it can do (the useful bits)
From here, the possibilities open up. Passive scans list nearby networks, signal strengths, and channels in a way that visualizes interference and overlap. Probe-request sniffing shows how client devices search for remembered networks, exposing how much metadata our phones and laptops broadcast without us noticing. Captive-portal modules can launch convincing login pages on test rigs, allowing demonstrations of phishing risks in a controlled, non-threatening way. More advanced modules simulate rogue access points, capture handshakes for later analysis, and even log entire wardriving sessions with GPS coordinates attached, exportable in formats friendly to Wi-Fi mapping tools. Beyond Wi-Fi, the project sprinkles in whimsical extras like BadUSB keyboard emulation and “Wall of Flipper” detection, where the device alerts you if a Flipper Zero is active nearby. All of these features live behind menus navigable with a fingertip, turning once-arcane tricks into accessible exercises. Because the project is open source, forks abound: some add dashboards with real-time graphs, others build privacy toggles that redact MAC addresses before logs are saved, and still others theme the interface with custom branding. The community treats it as a canvas, and the hardware’s convenience invites experimentation.
Why it matters
What elevates Evil-M5 from novelty to significance is the way it lowers the barrier to understanding. Wireless security has always struggled with perception: to outsiders it seems abstract, hidden behind jargon and expensive tools. By condensing a useful subset of those tools into a device the size of a matchbox, Evil-M5 makes exploration playful, affordable, and direct. A student can watch networks materialize on screen and instantly grasp what “scanning” means. A researcher can carry it in a bag and use it as a quick reconnaissance aid before spinning up heavier equipment. A hobbyist can wander their own home, logging SSID strength and overlap, and see the living texture of the RF environment.
None of these scenarios requires a training session or a costly kit—just curiosity and a willingness to tinker. The project is updated frequently, its wiki reads like a living notebook, and its user base is active enough that troubleshooting rarely feels lonely. Yes, quirks remain: SD cards can be temperamental, firmware expects particular versions of ESP32 board support, and not every module is stable across every device. But these are minor hurdles in exchange for what you get: a self-contained lab that demystifies how Wi-Fi functions. The real power of Evil-M5 is not in its more aggressive modules but in its ability to foster comprehension. It turns the abstract into something you can see and hold, which is the first step toward real security awareness. And that is why a small, affordable device running open-source firmware has become one of the most interesting developments in the intersection of embedded hardware and cybersecurity in recent years.
Image credit: Evil-M5Project GitHub repository (linked above).
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