w3af alternatives

Looking for an alternative tool to replace w3af? During the review of w3af we looked at other open source tools. Based on their category, tags, and text, these are the ones that have the best match.

Top 3

  1. Yasuo (vulnerability scanner for web applications)
  2. OpenVAS (vulnerability scanner)
  3. Arachni (web application scanner)

These tools are ranked as the best alternatives to w3af.

Alternatives (by score)

64

Yasuo

Introduction

Yasuo is a Ruby script that scans for vulnerable and exploitable third-party web applications. There are many remotely exploitable vulnerabilities for web applications and their front-end components. Yasuo helps to make it easier to scan for the weaknesses like remote code execution (RCE), SQL injections, and file inclusions.

Project details

Yasuo is written in Ruby.

Strengths and weaknesses

  • + The source code of this software is available

    Typical usage

    • Penetration testing
    • Vulnerability scanning
    • Web application analysis

    Yasuo review

    97

    OpenVAS

    Introduction

    OpenVAS is an open source vulnerability scanner that emerged from when Nessus became closed source in October of 2005.

    Project details

    OpenVAS is written in C.

    Strengths and weaknesses

    • + The source code of this software is available
    • + Well-known tool

      Typical usage

      • Penetration testing
      • Security assessment
      • Vulnerability scanning

      OpenVAS review

      74

      Arachni

      Introduction

      Arachni is framework written in Ruby with focus on evaluating the security of web applications. Typical users include security professionals and system administrators.

      The tooling is free and open source. Besides Linux, it also runs on macOS and Microsoft Windows.

      Project details

      Arachni is written in Ruby.

      Strengths and weaknesses

      • + More than 1000 GitHub stars
      • + The source code of this software is available

        Typical usage

        • Penetration testing
        • Security assessment
        • Web application analysis

        Arachni review

        85

        Archery

        Introduction

        Archery is a tool that helps to collect data about vulnerabilities within an environment. Instead of focusing on the actual scanning, it allows managing findings in a web-based interface. This includes options like reporting, searching, and dashboards. It can interact with other tools, including the well-known vulnerability scanners.

        Project details

        Archery is written in Python.

        Strengths and weaknesses

        • + More than 500 GitHub stars
        • + The source code of this software is available

          Typical usage

          • Penetration testing
          • Vulnerability management
          • Vulnerability scanning
          • Vulnerability testing

          Archery review

          60

          Dagda

          Introduction

          The main reasons to use Dagda is the detection of vulnerable or malicious components within your containerized environment.

          Project details

          Dagda is written in Python.

          Strengths and weaknesses

          • + The source code of this software is available

            Typical usage

            • Malware detection
            • Malware scanning
            • Vulnerability management
            • Vulnerability scanning

            Dagda review

            97

            Safety

            Introduction

            When having applications deployed in your environment, not all of those may be installed via a package manager. When your infrastructure grows, it becomes even harder to know which tools are properly patched and which ones are not. For Python applications, this is where Safety comes in that can help scan installed software components via pip. It will also look at any of the dependencies that are installed.

            Project details

            Safety is written in Python.

            Strengths and weaknesses

            • + More than 10 contributors
            • + The source code of this software is available

              Typical usage

              • Penetration testing
              • Security assessment
              • Security monitoring
              • Vulnerability scanning

              Safety review

              64

              VScan

              Introduction

              Vscan is a security tool to perform vulnerability scanning with Nmap. It leverages NSE scripts to provide some flexibility in terms of vulnerability detection and exploitation.

              Project details

              VScan is written in shell script.

              Strengths and weaknesses

              • + The source code of this software is available

                Typical usage

                • Backdoor detection
                • Vulnerability scanning

                VScan review

                100

                Vuls

                Introduction

                Vuls is a vulnerability scanner for Linux and FreeBSD. It is written in Go, agentless, and can use a remote login to find any software vulnerabilities. It has multiple levels of scanning, from a fast scan up to a deep scan with extensive analysis.

                Project details

                Vuls is written in Golang.

                Strengths and weaknesses

                • + More than 50 contributors
                • + More than 5000 GitHub stars
                • + The source code of this software is available

                  Typical usage

                  • System hardening
                  • Vulnerability scanning

                  Vuls review

                  78

                  Intrigue Core

                  Introduction

                  Intrigue Core provides a framework to measure the attack surface of an environment. This includes discovering infrastructure and applications, performing security research, and doing vulnerability discovery.

                  Intrigue also allows enriching available data and perform OSINT research (open source intelligence). The related scans include DNS subdomain brute-forcing, email harvesting, IP geolocation, port scanning, and using public search engines like Censys, Shodan, and Bing.

                  Project details

                  Intrigue Core is written in Ruby.

                  Strengths and weaknesses

                  • + More than 500 GitHub stars
                  • + The source code of this software is available

                    Typical usage

                    • OSINT research
                    • Asset discovery
                    • Attack surface measurement
                    • Intelligence gathering
                    • Penetration testing
                    • Security assessment

                    Intrigue Core review

                    60

                    Bash Scanner

                    Introduction

                    Bash Scanner is a security tool that does a quick scan to see if there are vulnerable packages. It uses an external service to validate.

                    Project details

                    Bash Scanner is written in shell script.

                    Strengths and weaknesses

                    • + Used language is shell script
                    • + The source code of this software is available

                      Typical usage

                      • Security assessment
                      • Security monitoring

                      Bash Scanner review

                      78

                      vulscan

                      Introduction

                      Vulscan is a vulnerability scanner which uses the well-known Nmap tool. By enhancing it with offline data from VulDB, it allows for detecting vulnerabilities. The database itself based on information from multiple sources.

                      Project details

                      vulscan is written in Lua.

                      Strengths and weaknesses

                      • + The source code of this software is available
                      • - No releases on GitHub available

                      Typical usage

                      • Penetration testing
                      • Security assessment
                      • Vulnerability scanning
                      • Vulnerability testing

                      vulscan review

                      64

                      SQLMate

                      Introduction

                      SQLMate is a tool to perform security assessments and vulnerability of web applications. It can discover admin panels of websites, which might be a way to break into a web application. It also has the option for dorking, which means it can find possible vulnerable targets to a particular attack.

                      Project details

                      SQLMate is written in Python.

                      Strengths and weaknesses

                      • + The source code of this software is available
                      • - No releases on GitHub available

                      Typical usage

                      • Penetration testing
                      • Web application analysis

                      SQLMate review

                      60

                      vulnix

                      Introduction

                      Tools like vulnix help with the detection of known weaknesses in packages by leveraging external resources. It can be used as an additional security layer on top of software patch management.

                      Project details

                      vulnix is written in Python.

                      Strengths and weaknesses

                      • + The source code of this software is available

                        Typical usage

                        • Vulnerability scanning

                        vulnix review

                        100

                        Lynis

                        Introduction

                        Lynis is an open-source security auditing tool that is available since 2007 and created by Michael Boelen. Its primary goal is to evaluate the security defenses of systems running Linux or other flavors of Unix. It provides suggestions to install, configure, or correct any security measures.

                        Project details

                        Lynis is written in shell script.

                        Strengths and weaknesses

                        • + The source code is easy to read and understand
                        • + More than 100 contributors
                        • + More than 8000 GitHub stars
                        • + Tool is easy to use
                        • + Available as package (simplified installation)
                        • + Commercial support available
                        • + Used language is shell script
                        • + Very low number of dependencies
                        • + Project is mature (10+ years)
                        • + The source code of this software is available

                          Typical usage

                          • IT audit
                          • Penetration testing
                          • Security assessment
                          • System hardening
                          • Vulnerability scanning

                          Lynis review

                          74

                          Wapiti

                          Introduction

                          Wapiti is typically used to audit web applications.

                          Project details

                          Wapiti is written in Python.

                          Strengths and weaknesses

                          • + Project is mature (10+ years)
                          • + The source code of this software is available
                          • + Well-known tool

                            Typical usage

                            • Application fuzzing
                            • Vulnerability scanning
                            • Web application analysis

                            Wapiti review

                            60

                            arch-audit

                            Introduction

                            Arch-audit is a small utility that scans the system for known vulnerabilities on Arch Linux. It can be used by users of the Linux distribution to know when to update and what packages have weaknesses. With Arch Linux being a rolling distribution, this may improve the interval or timing of software patching.

                            Project details

                            arch-audit is written in Rust.

                            Strengths and weaknesses

                            • + The source code of this software is available

                              Typical usage

                              • Software management
                              • Vulnerability scanning

                              arch-audit review

                              64

                              CMSeeK

                              Introduction

                              CMSeeK is a security scanner for content management systems (CMS). It can perform a wide range of functions starting from the detection of the CMS, up to vulnerability scanning. The tool claims to support over 100 different CMS tools, with extensive support for the commonly used ones like Drupal, Joomla, and WordPress.

                              The scans performed by CMSeeK include version detection. It can also do enumeration of users, plugins, and themes. This might be useful to see what users or components are available. The tool includes admin page discovery, file discovery, and directory listing. Anything that might be useful to a penetration test or security assessment, might be displayed.

                              Project details

                              CMSeeK is written in Python.

                              Strengths and weaknesses

                              • + The source code of this software is available
                              • - Full name of author is unknown

                              Typical usage

                              • Penetration testing
                              • Software exploitation
                              • Software identification
                              • Vulnerability scanning

                              CMSeeK review

                              78

                              JoomScan

                              Introduction

                              JoomScan could be used to test your Joomla installation or during security assessments. As it has a primary focus on Joomla, it may provide better results than generic vulnerability scanners.

                              Project details

                              JoomScan is written in Perl.

                              Strengths and weaknesses

                              • + The source code of this software is available

                                Typical usage

                                • Vulnerability scanning
                                • Vulnerability testing

                                JoomScan review

                                78

                                Nmap

                                Introduction

                                Nmap is short for "Network Mapper". It is a free and open source utility for network discovery and security auditing. It was release in September of 1997 by Gordon Lyon, commonly known under his pseudonym "Fyodor".

                                Project details

                                Nmap is written in C, C++, Lua, Python.

                                Strengths and weaknesses

                                • + Project is mature (10+ years)
                                • + The source code of this software is available
                                • + Well-known author
                                • + Well-known tool
                                • - Software usage is restricted (e.g. commercially)

                                Typical usage

                                • Network scanning
                                • Vulnerability scanning

                                Nmap review

                                64

                                Tulpar

                                Introduction

                                Tulpar is a vulnerability scanner that can be used to test new or existing web applications. In the former case, it could be helpful to test a new project before it is deployed into production. This could be done by the developer or a security professional. If some web application is already in production, then it might be a good tool to perform regular testing on known vulnerabilities. In this case, it is typically a pentester or security specialist that does the testing.

                                Project details

                                Tulpar is written in Python.

                                Strengths and weaknesses

                                • + The source code of this software is available
                                • - Minimal or no documentation available

                                Typical usage

                                • Application security
                                • Application testing
                                • Web application analysis

                                Tulpar review

                                64

                                Vane

                                Introduction

                                Vane is a forked project of the now non-free popular WordPress vulnerability scanner WPScan.

                                Project details

                                Vane is written in Ruby.

                                Strengths and weaknesses

                                • + More than 25 contributors
                                • + The source code of this software is available

                                  Typical usage

                                  • Application security
                                  • Web application analysis

                                  Vane review

                                  60

                                  Whitewidow

                                  Introduction

                                  Whitewidow is a security tool to perform automated SQL vulnerability scans. It can be used during penetration tests or for security assessments.

                                  Project details

                                  Whitewidow is written in Ruby.

                                  Strengths and weaknesses

                                  • + More than 500 GitHub stars
                                  • + The source code of this software is available

                                    Typical usage

                                    • Application security
                                    • Penetration testing
                                    • Vulnerability scanning

                                    Whitewidow review

                                    60

                                    BDA (Big Data Audit)

                                    Introduction

                                    BDA is a vulnerability scanner for big data tools like Hadoop and Spark. It searches for configuration weaknesses and reports them. Hadoop and Spark are one of the few applications that encounter a lot of data. So by securing these applications, a big leap can be made as it covers a lot of data.

                                    Project details

                                    BDA is written in Python.

                                    Strengths and weaknesses

                                    • + The source code of this software is available

                                      Typical usage

                                      • Application testing
                                      • Vulnerability scanning
                                      • Vulnerability testing

                                      BDA review

                                      64

                                      JexBoss

                                      Introduction

                                      JexBoss is a security tool to verify and exploit vulnerabilities in JBoss applications. It can be used for security assignments and pentests.

                                      Project details

                                      JexBoss is written in Python.

                                      Strengths and weaknesses

                                      • + The source code of this software is available
                                      • - No releases on GitHub available

                                      Typical usage

                                      • Application security
                                      • Application testing
                                      • Penetration testing
                                      • Vulnerability scanning

                                      JexBoss review

                                      68

                                      flunym0us

                                      Introduction

                                      Flunym0us is a security scanner for WordPress and Moodle installations. The tool tests the security of the installation by performing enumeration attempts.

                                      Project details

                                      flunym0us is written in Python.

                                      Strengths and weaknesses

                                      • + The source code of this software is available

                                        Typical usage

                                        • Vulnerability scanning
                                        • Web application analysis

                                        flunym0us review

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