If you’re looking for a web application vulnerability scanner, you’ve come to the right place. The Web Application Vulnerability Scanner Evaluation Project, a free, open source project, has been created by Shay Chen to evaluate scanners and compare their capabilities. The project includes realistic test setups and modern Single Page Applications. You can download the test results to see how well the scanners do. But how do you decide which one to use?
4 Web Application Vulnerability Scanners
BeSECURE
BeSECURE is a web application vulnerability scanner with an emphasis on security. Its patented vulnerability detection and mitigation engine prioritizes vulnerabilities according to risk, allowing it to detect and remediate high-risk vulnerabilities more quickly. It also includes a universal translator, which normalizes traffic and understands protocols and development technologies. Its customizable reporting features help you get the full picture of vulnerabilities, including remediation information, and technical reports with CVSS scores.
Beyond Security, the company behind beSECURE, is a PCI-ASV and PCI-certified scanning vendor. Their software provides a scalable, non-intrusive solution that uses minimal bandwidth. You can evaluate beSECURE for 30 days, including a free trial version of their appliance. Beyond Security can be used with every beSECURE installed system, and the software also includes PCI certification. Further, beSECURE’s vulnerability library is updated daily, and every system in the world is automatically updated.
Offers automated security monitoring…
Detectify, on the other hand, offers automated security monitoring with more than two thousand vulnerabilities and tracks assets across the tech stack. It is highly accurate, and integrates seamlessly with the SDLC. Moreover, it is easy to use, and its results are more comprehensive than the standard CVE library. Acunetix also includes malware detection services. In addition, the tool also provides remediation tips for web applications.
Authenticated scanning requires an administrator-level operating system user account. To authenticate the scanner, you should provide it with administrative access to all devices covered. This user account can be configured independently on each device, but it’s important to make sure that the scanner can authenticate with these devices without using clear-text authentication protocols. A scheduled script can automate these tasks and reduce the risk of attackers exploiting the scanner’s user account.
BeSECURE’s unique technology makes it easy to detect and remediate vulnerabilities. It detects XML External Entity Injection, Server Side Request Forgery, Host Header Attacks, Email Header Injection, and Password Reset Poisoning, among others. Its advanced AcuSensor Technology detects vulnerabilities and improves the regular dynamic scan by deploying sensors inside source code. This process combines white-box and black-box testing methods to enhance its detection rate.
Burp Suite
The Burp Suite web application vulnerability scanner is a powerful tool that can detect a variety of types of vulnerabilities in an application. The software allows you to customize its behavior and capture requests. It can also use multiple tools to probe and test the application, and you can pass the requests between them to do additional checks. Here’s how Burp Suite works:
Burp is a powerful and flexible tool set that penetration testers use. The Burp web application vulnerability scanner features substantial drill-down capabilities, allowing you to perform in-depth analysis of specific URLs and applications. Burp works as a proxy server, routing all HTTP/S traffic through the application. Unlike other vulnerability scanners, Burp is highly configurable and easy to use. However, if you don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to manual penetration testing, the Burp web application vulnerability scanner can be a worthwhile investment.
The Burp suite features the Intruder…
The Burp suite features the Intruder, which enables you to brute-force passwords by loading a plain text or numbers payload. Each time you load a payload, Burp will analyze and compare it. It even saves your work, so you can come back to it later. You can also choose from a number of attack variants, and use the Burp Sequencer to analyze each variant.
The Burp suite web application vulnerability scanner can detect vulnerabilities by identifying the content of a page. The Burp dashboard can also perform a live scan. Live scanning allows you to monitor the status of requests being processed by other tools. Live scanning also helps you identify what content to inspect. In addition to the normal scanning, Burp also performs out-of-band interactions, which allows you to identify any potential vulnerabilities that are not covered by the browser.
Using the CSRF generator, you can build a proof-of-concept attack in a simple HTML page and load it into a browser to see if it succeeds. The Burp process also populates the Target site map and Proxy history. The Burp Target Analyzer can then analyze this information to report on the attack surface and the types of URLs being attacked. Additionally, you can configure the font and character set used in the interface.
Nessus
The user interface of the Nessus web application vulnerability scanner is divided into three parts: the settings page, the scans page, and the alerts page. The latter allows you to manage scanning configurations and monitor scanner performance. In addition, you can set the port ranges, create new scans, and define plugin rules. In addition, you can choose to scan multiple targets, which are separated by commas and arranged in CIDR format.
While there are some limitations to using Nessus, it is widely available and is free to use. Users can also view the source code and get suggestions on the most appropriate mitigations. Ultimately, you should be able to make a more informed decision when it comes to choosing a web application vulnerability scanner. You must always remember that a vulnerability scanner does not prevent attacks – you must patch vulnerabilities. You should always use a combination of both tools to ensure complete security.
Nessus is a leading vulnerability management solution…
Despite the free version, the software has many disadvantages. While free versions are better for small businesses, they are not always reliable. Businesses should invest in reliable, supported software. A service provider that owns the software is an excellent option for this purpose. Customers will not use the free software if the developer fails to provide comprehensive support. Likewise, paid versions of the software are more likely to be used in a company environment.
One of the most commonly used vulnerability scanners is Nessus. Nessus Professional helps organizations detect vulnerabilities and configure assets in a way that limits their organization’s attack surface. Nessus also runs on client devices, so it can be highly effective in security departments. It can detect malware and other vulnerabilities that other scanners can’t identify. It can also be used by security experts to conduct penetration tests and malicious attacks.
Nessus is a leading vulnerability management solution. It can help you identify software vulnerabilities, missing patches, malware, and misconfiguration errors. The service is supported by a community of developers, and is available in free and paid versions. It can also prepare companies for PCI-DSS audits. Its free version has limited features. You can also get a 30-day free trial of the software to test its capabilities.
Acunetix
An Acunetix web application vulnerability scanner is a great tool for security practitioners who want to make sure their websites are protected from vulnerabilities. It offers a variety of reports including Affected Items, Executive Summary, and Quick Report. In addition, you can schedule scans to run at specified times, including late night maintenance windows. This way, you’ll know exactly when you’re ready to run a scan.
The Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Scanner tests for hundreds of web application vulnerabilities, including SQL Injection and Cross-site Scripting. SQL Injection is one of the oldest software bugs and allows an attacker to modify database queries and get access to data. Cross-site Scripting allows an attacker to execute malicious scripts on a website’s visitor’s computer. This can result in impersonation and other damaging consequences.
The Acunetix WVS also allows you to test for DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities, which are difficult to detect in a traditional scanning process. In addition to identifying DOM-based XSS, Acunetix offers a detailed stack-trace of the injected payload. Many traditional methods of detecting vulnerabilities fail to detect these second-order vulnerabilities because they require an intermediary service. Acunetix’s built-in AcuMonitor Technology makes automatic detection of second-order vulnerabilities possible.
High-quality web application vulnerability scanner…
If you are looking for a high-quality web application vulnerability scanner, Acunetix is the perfect tool. It helps you manage security risks associated with your online presence. Acunetix is one of the oldest products in its class and is used by many Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders. Acunetix offers comprehensive reporting for the most advanced web application security needs. It also features API connectivity to third-party security controls and third-party software.
Acunetix’s automated scanning feature crawls your website, maps its directories, and launches mock attacks to find any vulnerabilities. After completing the scan, the Acunetix scan report provides details of the crawl, including alerts, out-of-scope links, and requests. Acunetix’s advanced vulnerability detection capabilities enable you to perform full-blown web site penetration testing without a complex IT staff.