netcat like tool but instead of using TCP/UDP, this tool uses data field of ICMP Echo Messages to carry bytes to the destination.

Sometimes network firewalls can be configured incorrectly. A network may not allow any TCP/UDP traffic but allow ICMP. In these situations, this tool can be helpful for copying files from one host to another.

You can install this program via cargo:

cargo install --git https://github.com/sseyren/pingcat.git

Before using it, make sure that the binary has sufficient capabilities:

sudo setcap CAP_NET_RAW=ep $HOME/.cargo/bin/pingcat

After this, you can start listening for 10.0.0.1 (from host 10.0.0.2):

pingcat listen 10.0.0.1 -e 12345

Now, from host 10.0.0.1, you can send some bytes to 10.0.0.2:

echo "hello world" | pingcat send 10.0.0.2 -e 12345

After this, you will see that message from other host.