Security Testing Tools – Software Testing

Security testing is a type of software testing that identifies system flaws and ensures that the data and resources of the system are protected from intruders. It assures that the software system and application are free of dangers or risks that could result in data loss. Any system’s security testing is aimed at identifying all conceivable flaws and weaknesses that could lead to the loss of data or the organization’s reputation.

Importance of Security Testing Tools:

1. Determining Vulnerabilities: Tools for security testing assist in locating holes and flaws in systems and software. They have the ability to automatically scan code, configurations and network settings to find possible security flaws that an attacker could exploit.
2. Early Security Flaw Detection: It is more economical to find security problems early in the development process and fix them later. By enabling developers to find and fix vulnerabilities early in the development cycle, security testing tools lower the likelihood of security breaches in the actual production environment.
3. Steady Observation: Through the help of continuous monitoring of systems and applications, security testing tools enable organizations to identify potential new vulnerabilities as they arise. This is necessary to keep the infrastructure robust and safe.
4. Risk Reduction: Testing tools help to reduce risk by finding and fixing security flaws in systems. By identifying and addressing high-risk areas first, organizations may lessen the chance of security incidents that could lead to data breaches, monetary losses or reputational harm.

Security Testing Tools:

The following are some of the Security testing tools:

1. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
2. SonarQube
3. Wapiti
4. Netsparker
5. Arachni
6. Iron Wasp
7. Grabber
8. SQLMap
9. Wfuzz
10. W3af

1. Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

ZAP, or Zed Attack Proxy, is a multi-platform, open-source online application security testing tool developed by OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project). During the development and testing phases of a web app, ZAP is used to uncover a variety of security flaws. Zed Attack Proxy can be utilized by both newcomers and experts thanks to its user-friendly interface. Advanced users can utilize the security testing tool with command-line access. It has been designated as a flagship project, in addition to being one of the most well-known OWASP projects. ZAP is a Java application. Apart from being a scanner, ZAP may also be used to intercept a proxy and test a webpage manually. ZAP reveals:

• Application error disclosure
• Cookie not HttpOnly flag
• SQL injection
• Application error disclosure
• XSS injection
• Missing anti-CSRF tokens and security headers
• Private IP disclosure
• Cookie not HttpOnly flag
• Session ID in URL rewrite

Key Features:

• For advanced users, it will support command-line access.
• It has the capability of being used as a scanner.
• It will perform web application scanning automatically.
• It works with a variety of operating systems, including Windows, OS X, and Linux.
• It takes advantage of AJAX spiders, which are both powerful and old.

2. SonarQube

Sonar Source created this open-source security tool. It is used to verify the quality of code and run automated reviews on web applications written in various programming languages such as Java, C#, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Cobol, C/C++, and so on by discovering bugs, code analysis, and security exposures. The Java programming language is used to create the SonarQube utility. It will produce reports on code coverage, code complexity, code repetition, security flaws, and bugs. It provides comprehensive analysis using a variety of tools such as Ant, Maven, Gradle, Jenkins, and others.

Key Features:

• It will use SonarLint plug-ins to interface with a variety of development environments, including Visual Studio, Eclipse, and IntelliJ IDEA.
• External technologies such as GitHub, LDAP, and Active Directory are also supported.
• It can keep track of metric history and provide graphs of evolution.
• It will assist us in identifying the more complicated issues.
• It will ensure the security of the application.

3. Wapiti

Wapiti is a free, open-source project from SourceForge and develop that is one of the leading web application security testing tools. Wapiti uses black-box testing to look for security vulnerabilities in online applications. Because Wapiti is a command-line tool, familiarity with the various commands is required. Wapiti is simple to use for experienced users, but it can be challenging for newbies. But don’t worry; all Wapiti instructions may be found in the official paperwork. Wapiti injects payloads into scripts to see if they are vulnerable. Both GET and POST HTTP attack methods are supported by the open-source security testing tool. Wapiti exposes the following vulnerabilities:

• 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 Features:

• Allows for several types of authentication, such as Kerberos and NTLM.
• It includes a buster module that allows you to brute force directory and file names on the webserver you’re targeting.
• It works in the same way that a fuzzer would.
• Attacks can be carried out using both the GET and POST HTTP protocols.

4. Netsparker

It is used to detect the web application’s vulnerabilities in a unique way, as well as to verify whether the application’s weaknesses are correct or erroneous. It’s a Windows program that’s simple to use. We can undertake automatic vulnerability assessments and address vulnerabilities with the help of this solution, avoiding resource-intensive human methods. Netsparker is an automated online application security scanner that allows you to scan websites, web applications, and web services for security issues while remaining fully customizable. Netsparker is capable of scanning any web application, regardless of the platform or programming language used to build it.

Key Features:

• It will scan all forms of legacy as well as new online applications such as Web 2.0, HTML5, and SPA (single page apps).
• It will provide a variety of out-of-the-box reports for both developers and management for various objectives.
• With the help of our templates, we can create unique reports.
• To safeguard our application, we can use this tool in conjunction with CI/CD platforms like Bamboo, Jenkins, or TeamCity.

5. Arachni

Arachni is a web application security scanner that is suitable for both penetration testers and administrators. This open-source security testing program may detect a variety of flaws, including the following:

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

Key Features:

• Immediately deployable
• Ruby framework that is modular and high-performing
• Support for several platforms

6. Iron Wasp

Iron Wasp is a strong open-source scanning tool that can detect over 25 different types of web application flaws. It can also distinguish between false positives and false negatives. Iron Wasp aids in the discovery of a wide range of flaws, including:

• Broken authentication
• Cross-site scripting
• CSRF
• Hidden parameters
• Privilege escalation

Key Features:

• C#, Python, Ruby, or VB.NET are used to extend the system via plugins or modules.
• HTML and RTF formats are used to create reports.

7. Grabber

The Grabber is a simple web application scanner that can be used to search forums and personal websites. The Python-based lightweight security testing tool has no graphical user interface. Grabber discovered the following vulnerabilities:

• Backup files verification
• Cross-site scripting
• File inclusion
• Hidden parameters
• Privilege escalation
• Simple AJAX verification
• SQL injection

Key Features:

• Produces a statistics analysis file.
• Simple and easy to transport
• Supports the examination of JS code.

8. SQLMap

SQLmap is an open-source tool for detecting and exploiting SQL injection problems in penetration testing. SQLmap is a tool that automates the detection and use of SQL injection. SQL Injection attacks have the ability to gain control of SQL databases. They can harm any website or online program that uses a SQL database, including MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and a variety of others. Customer information, personal data, trade secrets, financial data, and other sensitive data are frequently stored in these systems. It’s critical to be able to detect SQL flaws and defend against them. SQLmap can assist in the discovery of these flaws. SQLMap is a free tool that automates the process of finding and exploiting SQL injection vulnerabilities in a website’s database. The security testing tool has a robust testing engine that can support six different SQL injection techniques:

• Boolean-based blind
• Error-based
• Out-of-band
• Stacked queries
• Time-based blind
• UNION query

Key Features

• This tool automates the process of locating SQL injection flaws.
• It can also be used to test a website’s security.
• A powerful detecting engine
• MySQL, Oracle, and PostgreSQL are among the databases supported.

9. Wfuzz

Wfuzz is a tool for brute-forcing Web applications. It can be used to find non-linked directories, servlets, scripts, and other resources, as well as brute-force, GET and POST parameters for checking various types of injections (SQL, XSS, LDAP, and so on), brute-force Forms parameters (User/Password), and fuzzing. Wfuzz is a popular tool for brute-forcing web applications that were created in Python. The open-source security testing tool has no GUI interface and is usable only via the command line. Vulnerabilities exposed by Wfuzz are:

• LDAP injection
• SQL injection
• XSS injection

Key Features:

• Numerous injection sites with multiple dictionaries, HTML output, recursion (when performing directory brute force attacks), colored outputs with formatting, and so on are some of the capabilities of this application.
• Other features include brute-forcing posts, headers, authentication data, fuzzing cookies, time delays between requests, and support for SOCK/authentication/proxy.
• Wfuzz also allows you to combine payloads with iterators, perform HEAD scans, use brute force HTTP methods (POST), use several proxy servers (each request goes through a separate proxy), and hide results using return codes, word numbers, line numbers, and responses or regex.

10. W3af

The open-source w3af (web application attack and audit framework) web application security scanner. The project offers a Web application vulnerability scanner and exploitation tool. It gives information about security flaws that can be used in penetration testing projects. A graphical user interface and a command-line interface are also available on the scanner.

The framework has been dubbed “Metasploit for the web,” but it’s much more than that, as it also uses black-box scanning techniques to find web application vulnerabilities! The w3af core and plugins are developed entirely in Python. More than 130 plugins are included in the project, which detects and exploits SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), remote file inclusion, and other vulnerabilities.

Key Features:

• Support for authentication
• It’s simple to get started with and has a user-friendly interface.
• The output can be saved to a terminal, a file, or sent through email.

Conclusion:

In the modern world of information technology and software development, the usage of security testing tools is crucial. These tools are invaluable resources for bolstering the security posture of networks, systems, and applications. Security testing tools will remain essential in preserving the reliability and integrity of digital ecosystems as technology develops.