Web application penetration testing is a process of assessing the security of web applications. It involves identifying, analyzing and exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications to gain access to sensitive data.

To facilitate this process, there are many free web application penetration testing tools available for download. These tools can help you quickly identify and fix security flaws in your web applications.

They can also be used to simulate real-world attacks and assess the effectiveness of your security measures. With these tools, you can ensure that your web applications are secure from potential threats and attacks.

1. OWASP ZAP

OWASP ZAP is a free and open-source tool that helps security experts and developers identify vulnerabilities in web applications to prevent cyber-attacks. It is typically used to discover various security flaws in a web project throughout the development and testing phases.

Zed Attack Proxy, thanks to its user-friendly interface, can be used by both novices and specialists. As a result, for expert users, this security testing programme supports the command-line path.

Furthermore, it is the most notable OWASP project. It has been certified as a flagship project. ZAP is developed in Java and can be used to prevent a proxy from manually testing a website. ZAP is free to use and includes a web statement scanner and security vulnerability finder.

Features:

• SQL injection
• Private IP disclosure
• Application error disclosure
• Cookie, not HTTP only flag
• XSS injection

Link: https://www.zaproxy.org/

2. Nikto

Nikto is a web application painting tool that is used to identify vulnerabilities and misconfigurations on web servers. It is an open source web server scanner tool.

Nikto scans web servers for vulnerabilities including harmful files and programs and checks for outdated versions of web server software. It also looks for server setup issues as well as any potential vulnerabilities that may have caused them.

A quick-moving project, Nikto’s vulnerability scanner is regularly updated with the most recent vulnerabilities. As a result, you may monitor your web servers with assurance for any potential problems.

Features:

• Easily updatable CSV-format checks database
• Output reports in plain text or HTML
• Available HTTP versions automatic switching
• Generic as well as specific server software checks
• SSL support (through libnet-ssleay-perl)
• Proxy support (with authentication)
• Cookies support
• Can be used to scan any web server (Apache, Nginx, Lighttpd, Litespeed, etc.)
• Scans against 6,700+ known vulnerabilities and version checks for 1,250+ web servers (and growing)

Link: Nikto

3. Cyver Core 

Cyver Core is a pentest management platform that offers Pentest-as-a-Service through a client-facing cloud portal.

The tool automatically creates vulnerability reports from tool outputs using work process automation. These reports may then be used to automatically create pentest reports from templates.

To more effectively manage the work of pentest teams, you may also develop and customise workflows, vulnerability framework checklists, and assessment data.

You may create, manage, and distribute pentest projects for customers using Kanban-style boards or calendars. Projects are entirely automated, so client information automatically populates in pertinent reports.

Features:

• Pentest report automation  
• Team management 
• Client Portal 
• Jira integration  

Link: Cyver Core 

4. W3af

W3af is one of the Web Application Attack and Audit Frameworks written in Python. This tool allows testers to identify over 200 different types of security issues in online applications.

w3af is an open source web application security scanner which helps developers and penetration testers identify and exploit vulnerabilities in their web applications.

Features:-

• Blind SQL injection
• Cross-site scripting
• Payloads injection
• CSRF
• Insecure DAV configuration

Link: W3af

5. Wapiti

Wapiti is a free open-source project from SourceForge that is one of the best Web Application Pentesting Tools. If you wish to check web apps for security flaws, it does black-box testing.

As a result, it is a command-line application, and most crucially, it is familiar with the commands used by Wapiti. It is simple for the seasoned, but testing is challenging for newbies.

Nonetheless, new users should not be concerned because all Wapiti directions can be found in the official documentation.

Features:

• CRLF injection
• Database injection
• Shellshock or bash bug
• XSS injection
• XXE injection
• File disclosure

Link: Wapiti 

6. Arachni

Arachni is an open-source security protection testing programme designed to identify security concerns on a webpage. It can find a number of vulnerabilities.

It also aids in the examination of web application security. Arachni operates as a meta-analysis on the HTTP acknowledgments received during an audit method. Presenting many insights and advising on how to protect the application.

Features:

• Local and remote file inclusion
• SQL injection
• XSS injection
• Invalidated redirect

Link: Arachni

7. Karkinos

Karkinos is a lightweight and efficient penetration testing tool for encoding and decoding characters, encrypting and decrypting files and information, and performing other security tests.

In general, the Karkinos is a collection of modules that, when integrated, allow you to perform a wide range of tests using a single tool.

As a result, some refer to it as the “Swiss Army Knife” of penetration testing.

Features:

• Encode or decode characters in several standard formats,
• Crack hashes simultaneously using its built-in wordlist of over editable or replaceable 15 million
• breached or common passwords.
• Generate popular hashes such as SHA1, SHA256, SHA512, and MD5.
• Compatible with Linux and Windows.
• Interact and capture reverse shells, and more.

Link: Karkinos

8. Sifter

Sifter is a potent combination of numerous penetration testing tools. It includes OSINT and information collecting tools, as well as vulnerability scanning modules.

The Sifter integrates numerous modules into a single comprehensive penetration testing suite capable of fast scanning for vulnerabilities, doing recon activities, enumerating local and distant hosts, checking firewalls, and more.

Features:

• Sifter consists of 35 different tools and the ability to scan websites, networks, and web applications.
• Uses Attack Surface Management (ASM) to map the attack surface.
• Has an exploitation tool to ethically exploit found vulnerabilities
• Advanced information-gathering capabilities
• The tool works on Ubuntu, Linux, Windows, Parrot, Kali Linux, and others.
• A large number of penetration testing modules hence highly scalable and customizable.

Link: Sifter

Conclusion

We think these are the best open-source and internet-based Web Application Pentesting Tools available. So far, we chose them all because they are simple and user-friendly apps. Thus, here is all the information you need to know about the 8 best open-source Web Application Pentesting Tools.

What you need to do now is test them out to discover which one best meets your requirements. However, if you have tried any other open-source Web Application Pentesting Tools that you believe are the best, please let us know in the comments area below.

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