w3af

W3af

w3af is an open source web application security scanner. It helps developers and security researchers identify and exploit vulnerabilities in web apps. w3af is designed to find XSS, SQLi, RCE, and other common web app vulnerabilities.
w3af image
web-application security vulnerability-scanner xss sqli rce

w3af: Open Source Web Application Security Scanner

Discover vulnerabilities in web apps with w3af, an open source scanner that identifies XSS, SQLi, RCE, and other common threats.

What is W3af?

w3af is an open-source web application security scanner used by developers and security professionals to identify vulnerabilities in web applications. It features over 200 plugins that allow it to find all types of web app vulnerabilities including cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, remote code execution (RCE), and more.

Some key features of w3af include:

  • Easy to use graphical user interface and command line interface
  • Identifies over 200 types of web app vulnerabilities
  • Passive and active vulnerability detection
  • Flexible configuration of scan profiles
  • Detailed reporting of found vulnerabilities
  • Ability to exploit found vulnerabilities
  • Extendable via python plugins
  • Free and open source software

w3af is commonly used by web developers to audit their web code for security defects during development. Security engineers also utilize w3af to conduct web application penetration tests. The flexibility provided by its plugin architecture allows users to easily create custom vulnerability checks tailored to their specific web app stack.

Overall, w3af is one of the most fully featured open source web app scanners available. Its active development and user community also help ensure it stays up to date with the latest web attack techniques used by hackers.

W3af Features

Features

  1. Fully automated vulnerability scanner
  2. Over 200 web vulnerabilities detected
  3. Plugin architecture for extensibility
  4. Identifies vulnerabilities like XSS, SQLi, RCE
  5. Flexible configuration of scans
  6. Command line and GUI interfaces
  7. Integrations with CI/CD pipelines
  8. Powerful exploitation framework
  9. Detailed vulnerability reporting
  10. Supports authentication for protected apps
  11. Distributed scanning capabilities

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Highly extensible and customizable

Easy to use interface

Powerful detection capabilities

Detailed reporting

Active development and community support

Cons

Can be resource intensive for large scans

Steep learning curve for advanced features

Prone to false positives if not tuned properly

Limited scalability compared to commercial tools


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