Open-source V2X — what is maintained, and what it is for.
The open-source V2X landscape is small, and most of it is maintained by two or three research groups. That is not a criticism — the projects that exist are good, and one of them is the reference implementation of the entire European stack. What follows is what is actually maintained, and what each thing is for.
What is maintained, and what each is for.
| Project | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Vanetza | The reference open-source ETSI C-ITS protocol stack in C++ — GeoNetworking, BTP, DCC, security, ASN.1 facilities for CAM and DENM. Designed for ITS-G5 but also runs over IP multicast and C-V2X. LGPLv3. Actively maintained: latest release v26.06, 23 June 2026, CI across three Ubuntu LTS versions. Start here. | github.com/riebl/vanetza · vanetza.org |
| Artery | OMNeT++ V2X simulation framework for ETSI ITS-G5, built on Vanetza | github.com/riebl/artery |
| Veins | The long-standing OMNeT++ plus SUMO vehicular network simulator | veins.car2x.org |
| ms-van3t / VaN3Twin | Multi-stack ETSI-compliant V2X framework for ns-3, recently rebranded VaN3Twin. Supports 802.11p, LTE-V2X Mode 4 and NR-V2X Mode 2 plus LTE for V2N; messages CAM, DENM, IVIM, CPM, VAM; integrates SUMO, CARLA with OpenCDA, a GPS trace module, NVIDIA Sionna ray tracing, ETSI DCC and co-channel coexistence. GPL-2.0. The most complete open simulation environment for C-V2X. | github.com/ms-van3t-devs/ms-van3t |
| OpenC2X | Experimental ETSI ITS-G5 platform on LEDE/OpenWRT with OCB-mode kernel patches pre-integrated. The practical choice for real 802.11p radios. The bench setup → | — |
| V2X-Hub | USDOT FHWA message handler, translator and aggregator for infrastructure-side deployment. Plugin architecture, active repository. The roadside counterpart to Vanetza. | github.com/usdot-fhwa-OPS/V2X-Hub |
| SUMO | DLR traffic simulator with a dedicated V2X topic page | sumo.dlr.de |
| Eclipse MOSAIC | Multi-domain simulation framework for connected and automated mobility | eclipse.dev/mosaic |
| VASP | Qualcomm's 68-attack V2X spoofing platform, a Veins sub-module. If you are building misbehaviour detection, this is your test corpus. What it found → | github.com/quic/vasp |
| c2c-common | Java library for C-ITS and 1609.2 message and certificate handling | github.com/CGI-SE-Trusted-Services/c2c-common |
| pycrate | Python ASN.1 compiler and runtime, handles the ITS modules | github.com/pycrate-org/pycrate |
| Wireshark | Ships ASN.1-generated dissectors for ITS and ieee1609dot2. COER support in the Wireshark ASN.1 generator is a known limitation — do not assume full 1609.2 decode without checking. | — |
| asn1c, asn1tools | C and Python ASN.1 compilers, commonly used to generate CAM, DENM and 1609.2 codecs | — |
Questions this page answers.
Is there an open-source V2X stack?
Yes. Vanetza is the reference open-source ETSI C-ITS protocol stack in C++, covering GeoNetworking, BTP, congestion control, security and the CAM and DENM facilities. LGPLv3, actively maintained, latest release June 2026. It is the right starting point for a European-stack implementation. On the infrastructure side, USDOT's V2X-Hub is the roadside counterpart.
How do I simulate V2X without hardware?
ms-van3t / VaN3Twin on ns-3 is the most complete option for C-V2X, supporting 802.11p, LTE-V2X Mode 4 and NR-V2X Mode 2 with CAM, DENM, IVIM, CPM and VAM, integrated with SUMO and CARLA. Artery on OMNeT++, built on Vanetza, is the equivalent for ITS-G5. Eclipse MOSAIC covers multi-domain co-simulation.
Can I decode V2X messages in Wireshark?
Partly. Wireshark ships ASN.1-generated dissectors for ITS and ieee1609dot2. COER support in the Wireshark ASN.1 generator is a known limitation, so do not assume a complete IEEE 1609.2 decode without checking against your own captures.