- 21 Eki 2015
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Top 10 Open Source Security Testing Tools for Web Applications
The Internet has grown, but so have hacking activities. Every now and then there is some news regarding a website being hacked or a data breach. Technology has come a long way, but so does hacking. Just like the digital world, hacking techniques and tools have also become more sophisticated and also threatening.
Better late than sorry! Its important to keep your website or web applications foolproof against malicious activities. What you need to do is to use some security testing tools to identify and measure the extent of security issues with your web application(s).
The primary function of security testing is to perform functional testing of a web application under observance and find as many security issues as possible that could potentially lead to hacking. All of this is done without the need to access the source code.
Before delving into some of the best open-source security testing tools to test your web application, lets first acquaint ourselves with definition, intent, and need for security testing.
Security Testing
The Definition In order to assure that data within some information system stays secure and not accessible by unapproved users, we use security testing. Successful security testing protects web applications against severe malware and other malicious threats that might lead it to crash or give out unexpected behavior.
Security testing helps in figuring out various loopholes and flaws of a web application in the initial stage. Furthermore, it also helps in testing whether an application has successfully encoded security code or not. Primary areas covered by security testing are:
Authentication
Authorization
Availability
Confidentiality
Integrity
Non-repudiation
The Intent Security testing is used by organizations and professionals throughout the world to ensure their web applications and information systems remain secure. Chief purposes of deploying security testing are:
To help improve the security and shelf-life of a product
To identify as well as fix various security issues in the initial stage of development
To rate the stability in the present state
The Need Why do we need security testing? Well, there are a number of reasons, ranging from analyzing the degree of security to the prevention of unexpected breakdowns in the future. Some of the most important reasons are:
Avert inconsistent performance
Av0id losing customer trust
Av0id losing important information in the form of security leaks
Prevent information theft by unidentified users
Save from unexpected breakdown
Save additional costs required for fixing security issues
There are several free, paid, and open-source tools available to check the vulnerabilities and flaws in your web applications. The best thing about open-source tools, besides being free, is that you can customize them to match your specific requirements.
So, here is the list of 11 open source security testing tools for checking how secure your website or web application is:
Top 10 Open Source Security Testing Tools
10. Arachni
Apt for both penetration testers and admins, Arachni is designed to identify security issues within a web application. The open-source security testing tool is capable of uncovering a number of vulnerabilities, including:
Invalidated redirect
Local and remote file inclusion
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Instantly deployable
Modular, high-performance Ruby framework
Multi-platform support
9. Grabber
The portable Grabber is designed to scan small web applications, including forums and personal websites. The lightweight security testing tool has no GUI interface and is written in Python. Vulnerabilities uncovered by Grabber includes:
Backup files verification
Cross-site scripting
File inclusion
Simple AJAX verification
SQL injection
Key highlights:
Generates a stats analysis file
Simple and portable
Supports JS code analysis
8. Iron Wasp
An open-source, powerful scanning tool, Iron Wasp is able to uncover over 25 types of web application vulnerabilities. Additionally, it can also detect false positives and false negatives. Iron Wasp assists in exposing a wide variety of vulnerabilities, including:
Broken authentication
Cross-site scripting
CSRF
Hidden parameters
Privilege escalation
Key highlights:
Extensible via plugins or modules are written in C#, Python, Ruby, or VB.NET
GUI-based
Report generation in HTML and RTF formats
7. Nogotofail
A network traffic security testing tool from Google, Nogotofail is a lightweight application that is able to detect TLS/SSL vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. Vulnerabilities exposed by Nogotofail are:
MiTM attacks
SSL certificate verification issues
SSL injection
TLS injection
Key highlights:
Easy to use
Lightweight
Readily deployable
Supports setting up as a router, proxy or VPN server
6. SonarQube
Another opportune open source security testing tool is SonarQube. In addition to exposing vulnerabilities, it is used to measure the source code quality of a web application. Despite being written in Java, SonarQube is able to carry out analysis of over 20 programming languages. Furthermore, it gets easily integrated with continuous integration tools to the likes of Jenkins. Issues found by SonarQube are highlighted in either green or red light. While the former represent low-risk vulnerabilities and issues, the latter corresponds to severe ones. For advanced users, access via command prompt is available. An interactive GUI is in place for those relatively new to testing. Some of the vulnerabilities exposed by SonarQube include:
Cross-site scripting
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
HTTP response splitting
Memory corruption
SQL injection
Key highlights:
Detects tricky issues
DevOps integration
Set up analysis of pull requests
Supports quality tracking of both short-lived and long-lived code branches
Offers Quality Gate
Visualize history of a project
5. SQLMap
Allowing automating the process of detecting and utilizing SQL injection vulnerability in a websites database, SQLMap is entirely free to use. The security testing tool comes with a powerful testing engine, capable of supporting 6 types of SQL injection techniques:
Boolean-based blind
Error-based
Out-of-band
Stacked queries
Time-based blind
UNION query
Key highlights:
Automates the process of finding SQL injection vulnerabilities
Can also be used for security testing a website
Robust detection engine
Supports a range of databases, including MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL
4. W3af
One of the most popular web application security testing frameworks that are also developed using Python is W3af. The tool allows testers to find over 200 types of security issues in web applications, including:
Blind SQL injection
Buffer overflow
Cross-site scripting
CSRF
Insecure DAV configurations
Key highlights:
Authentication support
Easy to get started with
Offers intuitive GUI interface
Output can be logged into a console, a file or email
3. Wapiti
One of the leading web application security testing tools, Wapiti is a free of cost, open source project from SourceForge and devloop. In order to check web applications for security vulnerabilities, Wapiti performs black box testing. As it is a command-line application, it is important to have a knowledge of various commands used by Wapiti. Wapiti is easy to use for the seasoned but testing for newcomers. But dont worry, you can find all the Wapiti instructions on the official d0cumentation. For checking whether a script is vulnerable or not, Wapiti injects payloads. The open source security testing tool provides support for both GET and POSTHTTP attack methods. Vulnerabilities exposed by Wapiti are:
Command Execution detection
CRLF injection
Database injection
File disclosure
Shellshock or Bash bug
SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery)
Weak .htaccess configurations that can be bypassed
XSS injection
XXE injection
Key highlights:
Allows authentication via different methods, including Kerberos and NTLM
Comes with a buster module, allowing brute force directories and files names on the targeted web server
Operates like a fuzzer
Supports both GET and POSTHTTP methods for attacks
2. Wfuzz
Developed in Python, Wfuzz is popularly used for brute-forcing web applications. The open-source security testing tool has no GUI interface and is usable only via command line. Vulnerabilities exposed by Wfuzz are:
LDAP injection
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Authentication support
Cookies fuzzing
Multi-threading
Multiple injection points
Support for proxy and SOCK
1. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Developed by OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project), ZAP or Zed Attack Proxy is a multi-platform, open-source web application security testing tool. ZAP is used for finding a number of security vulnerabilities in a web app during the development as well as the testing phase. Thanks to its intuitive GUI, Zed Attach Proxy can be used with equal ease by newbies as that by experts. The security testing tool supports command-line access for advanced users. In addition to being one of the most famous OWASP projects, it is awarded the flagship status. ZAP is written in Java. Other than its use as a scanner, ZAP can also be used to intercept a proxy for manually testing a webpage. ZAP exposes:
Application error disclosure
Cookie not HttpOnly flag
Missing anti-CSRF tokens and security headers
Private IP disclosure
Session ID in URL rewrite
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Automatic scanning
Easy to use
Multi-platform
Rest-based API
Support for authentication
Uses traditional and powerful AJAX spiders
Conclusion
This sums up the list of top 10 open source testing tools for web applications. Which is your favorite security testing tool? All the best for your Ethical Hacking journey!
The Internet has grown, but so have hacking activities. Every now and then there is some news regarding a website being hacked or a data breach. Technology has come a long way, but so does hacking. Just like the digital world, hacking techniques and tools have also become more sophisticated and also threatening.
Better late than sorry! Its important to keep your website or web applications foolproof against malicious activities. What you need to do is to use some security testing tools to identify and measure the extent of security issues with your web application(s).
The primary function of security testing is to perform functional testing of a web application under observance and find as many security issues as possible that could potentially lead to hacking. All of this is done without the need to access the source code.
Before delving into some of the best open-source security testing tools to test your web application, lets first acquaint ourselves with definition, intent, and need for security testing.
Security Testing
The Definition In order to assure that data within some information system stays secure and not accessible by unapproved users, we use security testing. Successful security testing protects web applications against severe malware and other malicious threats that might lead it to crash or give out unexpected behavior.
Security testing helps in figuring out various loopholes and flaws of a web application in the initial stage. Furthermore, it also helps in testing whether an application has successfully encoded security code or not. Primary areas covered by security testing are:
Authentication
Authorization
Availability
Confidentiality
Integrity
Non-repudiation
The Intent Security testing is used by organizations and professionals throughout the world to ensure their web applications and information systems remain secure. Chief purposes of deploying security testing are:
To help improve the security and shelf-life of a product
To identify as well as fix various security issues in the initial stage of development
To rate the stability in the present state
The Need Why do we need security testing? Well, there are a number of reasons, ranging from analyzing the degree of security to the prevention of unexpected breakdowns in the future. Some of the most important reasons are:
Avert inconsistent performance
Av0id losing customer trust
Av0id losing important information in the form of security leaks
Prevent information theft by unidentified users
Save from unexpected breakdown
Save additional costs required for fixing security issues
There are several free, paid, and open-source tools available to check the vulnerabilities and flaws in your web applications. The best thing about open-source tools, besides being free, is that you can customize them to match your specific requirements.
So, here is the list of 11 open source security testing tools for checking how secure your website or web application is:
Top 10 Open Source Security Testing Tools
10. Arachni
Apt for both penetration testers and admins, Arachni is designed to identify security issues within a web application. The open-source security testing tool is capable of uncovering a number of vulnerabilities, including:
Invalidated redirect
Local and remote file inclusion
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Instantly deployable
Modular, high-performance Ruby framework
Multi-platform support
9. Grabber
The portable Grabber is designed to scan small web applications, including forums and personal websites. The lightweight security testing tool has no GUI interface and is written in Python. Vulnerabilities uncovered by Grabber includes:
Backup files verification
Cross-site scripting
File inclusion
Simple AJAX verification
SQL injection
Key highlights:
Generates a stats analysis file
Simple and portable
Supports JS code analysis
8. Iron Wasp
An open-source, powerful scanning tool, Iron Wasp is able to uncover over 25 types of web application vulnerabilities. Additionally, it can also detect false positives and false negatives. Iron Wasp assists in exposing a wide variety of vulnerabilities, including:
Broken authentication
Cross-site scripting
CSRF
Hidden parameters
Privilege escalation
Key highlights:
Extensible via plugins or modules are written in C#, Python, Ruby, or VB.NET
GUI-based
Report generation in HTML and RTF formats
7. Nogotofail
A network traffic security testing tool from Google, Nogotofail is a lightweight application that is able to detect TLS/SSL vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. Vulnerabilities exposed by Nogotofail are:
MiTM attacks
SSL certificate verification issues
SSL injection
TLS injection
Key highlights:
Easy to use
Lightweight
Readily deployable
Supports setting up as a router, proxy or VPN server
6. SonarQube
Another opportune open source security testing tool is SonarQube. In addition to exposing vulnerabilities, it is used to measure the source code quality of a web application. Despite being written in Java, SonarQube is able to carry out analysis of over 20 programming languages. Furthermore, it gets easily integrated with continuous integration tools to the likes of Jenkins. Issues found by SonarQube are highlighted in either green or red light. While the former represent low-risk vulnerabilities and issues, the latter corresponds to severe ones. For advanced users, access via command prompt is available. An interactive GUI is in place for those relatively new to testing. Some of the vulnerabilities exposed by SonarQube include:
Cross-site scripting
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
HTTP response splitting
Memory corruption
SQL injection
Key highlights:
Detects tricky issues
DevOps integration
Set up analysis of pull requests
Supports quality tracking of both short-lived and long-lived code branches
Offers Quality Gate
Visualize history of a project
5. SQLMap
Allowing automating the process of detecting and utilizing SQL injection vulnerability in a websites database, SQLMap is entirely free to use. The security testing tool comes with a powerful testing engine, capable of supporting 6 types of SQL injection techniques:
Boolean-based blind
Error-based
Out-of-band
Stacked queries
Time-based blind
UNION query
Key highlights:
Automates the process of finding SQL injection vulnerabilities
Can also be used for security testing a website
Robust detection engine
Supports a range of databases, including MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL
4. W3af
One of the most popular web application security testing frameworks that are also developed using Python is W3af. The tool allows testers to find over 200 types of security issues in web applications, including:
Blind SQL injection
Buffer overflow
Cross-site scripting
CSRF
Insecure DAV configurations
Key highlights:
Authentication support
Easy to get started with
Offers intuitive GUI interface
Output can be logged into a console, a file or email
3. Wapiti
One of the leading web application security testing tools, Wapiti is a free of cost, open source project from SourceForge and devloop. In order to check web applications for security vulnerabilities, Wapiti performs black box testing. As it is a command-line application, it is important to have a knowledge of various commands used by Wapiti. Wapiti is easy to use for the seasoned but testing for newcomers. But dont worry, you can find all the Wapiti instructions on the official d0cumentation. For checking whether a script is vulnerable or not, Wapiti injects payloads. The open source security testing tool provides support for both GET and POSTHTTP attack methods. Vulnerabilities exposed by Wapiti are:
Command Execution detection
CRLF injection
Database injection
File disclosure
Shellshock or Bash bug
SSRF (Server Side Request Forgery)
Weak .htaccess configurations that can be bypassed
XSS injection
XXE injection
Key highlights:
Allows authentication via different methods, including Kerberos and NTLM
Comes with a buster module, allowing brute force directories and files names on the targeted web server
Operates like a fuzzer
Supports both GET and POSTHTTP methods for attacks
2. Wfuzz
Developed in Python, Wfuzz is popularly used for brute-forcing web applications. The open-source security testing tool has no GUI interface and is usable only via command line. Vulnerabilities exposed by Wfuzz are:
LDAP injection
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Authentication support
Cookies fuzzing
Multi-threading
Multiple injection points
Support for proxy and SOCK
1. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Developed by OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project), ZAP or Zed Attack Proxy is a multi-platform, open-source web application security testing tool. ZAP is used for finding a number of security vulnerabilities in a web app during the development as well as the testing phase. Thanks to its intuitive GUI, Zed Attach Proxy can be used with equal ease by newbies as that by experts. The security testing tool supports command-line access for advanced users. In addition to being one of the most famous OWASP projects, it is awarded the flagship status. ZAP is written in Java. Other than its use as a scanner, ZAP can also be used to intercept a proxy for manually testing a webpage. ZAP exposes:
Application error disclosure
Cookie not HttpOnly flag
Missing anti-CSRF tokens and security headers
Private IP disclosure
Session ID in URL rewrite
SQL injection
XSS injection
Key highlights:
Automatic scanning
Easy to use
Multi-platform
Rest-based API
Support for authentication
Uses traditional and powerful AJAX spiders
Conclusion
This sums up the list of top 10 open source testing tools for web applications. Which is your favorite security testing tool? All the best for your Ethical Hacking journey!
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