02-17-2023, 06:46 PM
Hey, if you're getting into web app pentesting, I always start with Burp Suite because it just feels like the Swiss Army knife for this stuff. I use it all the time to intercept traffic between your browser and the app, and you can tweak requests on the fly to spot vulnerabilities like SQL injection or XSS. Remember that time I found a broken access control issue just by messing around in the proxy? You set up the browser to route through it, and suddenly you're replaying requests with modified headers or payloads. It's got this repeater tool that lets you hammer away at endpoints until something breaks, and the scanner catches low-hanging fruit without much setup. I love how extensible it is too - you add plugins for specific checks, like detecting insecure deserialization. If you're on a budget, the community edition works fine for most gigs, but I splurged on pro once and it saved me hours on automated scans.
Then there's OWASP ZAP, which I grab when I want something free and open-source that doesn't skimp on power. You fire it up, point it at your target URL, and it crawls the site while actively scanning for OWASP Top 10 issues. I pair it with Burp sometimes for cross-verification - ZAP's HUD mode lets you test right from the browser without switching apps, which keeps things smooth when you're in the middle of a manual poke. The scripting engine in ZAP is killer; I write quick JavaScript add-ons to automate custom attacks, like fuzzing login forms. You won't believe how often it flags out session management flaws that Burp misses on the first pass. Just make sure you configure the active scan rules to avoid false positives - I tweak them based on the app's tech stack, say more focus on API endpoints if it's a RESTful service.
For recon, I never skip Nmap. You run a quick port scan to map out the web server's exposure, then dive into service detection to see if it's running something vulnerable like an old Apache version. I script it with NSE for HTTP enum, which spits out directories and files you might not find otherwise. Pair that with Dirbuster or Gobuster for brute-forcing hidden paths - I use Gobuster because it's faster and lighter on resources. You feed it a wordlist like SecLists, and it tears through common directories like /admin or /backup. I found a juicy config file leak that way on a client site last month; exposed database creds right there. Keep your wordlists updated, though - I curate mine from GitHub repos to match modern apps.
When it comes to injection testing, SQLMap is my go-to. You point it at a parameter, like a search field, and it automates the whole exploitation process, dumping tables if it's vulnerable. I run it with --dbs first to enumerate, then --tables, and boom, you're in. It's smart about bypassing WAFs too; I add tamper scripts for that. For NoSQL stuff, I switch to NoSQLMap, but SQLMap handles most web apps I hit. You have to watch the tamper options - I once evaded a basic filter by URL-encoding payloads, and it pulled the whole user table without alerting anyone.
Metasploit can't be ignored for exploitation chains. I use it to test if that vuln you found leads to RCE. You search for modules like beef-xss for client-side attacks or auxiliary scanners for web apps. The msfconsole interface feels clunky at first, but once you script it in Ruby, you automate payloads across multiple targets. I integrated it with Burp for seamless handoff - scan in Burp, exploit in Metasploit. Just be ethical; I always get permission before firing off exploits.
Don't forget Nikto for quick server header checks and misconfigs. You run it against the IP, and it flags outdated software or exposed .git dirs. I chain it with WhatWeb to fingerprint the stack - tells you if it's PHP or Node, so you know what exploits to prioritize. For API testing, Postman works great for manual requests, but I script it with Newman for automation. You build collections of endpoints, add auth headers, and test for rate limiting or IDOR bugs.
Wireshark comes in handy for deeper traffic analysis. I capture packets during a session to spot unencrypted data or weird protocols. You filter for HTTP and reconstruct streams - I've caught MITM potential that way. For mobile web apps, I use Frida to hook into the app and tamper with JS at runtime. You inject scripts to override functions, like bypassing client-side validation. It's a game-changer for hybrid apps.
I also lean on Nuclei for template-based scanning. You download YAML templates from the community, run it against your target, and it checks for thousands of CVEs super fast. I customized some for specific web frameworks like Django or Rails. Pair it with ffuf for fuzzing - faster than Gobuster for large scopes. You define custom headers and it blasts through parameters.
For reporting, I use Dradis or just a markdown template in Obsidian. You log findings with screenshots from Burp, severity ratings, and repro steps. I always include risk impact, like "this XSS could steal cookies from all users." Keeps clients happy.
One more thing I swear by is using Docker to spin up vulnerable test environments like DVWA or Juice Shop. You practice safely without risking real systems. I containerize my toolkit too - Burp in a container means clean isolation per project.
Throughout all this, I keep an eye on automation with Python scripts using libraries like Requests and BeautifulSoup for custom crawlers. You build a simple fuzzer that hits forms systematically. It saves time on repetitive tasks.
And hey, while we're talking about keeping things secure in your setup, let me tell you about BackupChain - it's this top-notch, go-to backup tool that's super dependable and tailored for small businesses and pros, handling stuff like Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows Server backups with ease to keep your data safe from any mishaps during testing.
Then there's OWASP ZAP, which I grab when I want something free and open-source that doesn't skimp on power. You fire it up, point it at your target URL, and it crawls the site while actively scanning for OWASP Top 10 issues. I pair it with Burp sometimes for cross-verification - ZAP's HUD mode lets you test right from the browser without switching apps, which keeps things smooth when you're in the middle of a manual poke. The scripting engine in ZAP is killer; I write quick JavaScript add-ons to automate custom attacks, like fuzzing login forms. You won't believe how often it flags out session management flaws that Burp misses on the first pass. Just make sure you configure the active scan rules to avoid false positives - I tweak them based on the app's tech stack, say more focus on API endpoints if it's a RESTful service.
For recon, I never skip Nmap. You run a quick port scan to map out the web server's exposure, then dive into service detection to see if it's running something vulnerable like an old Apache version. I script it with NSE for HTTP enum, which spits out directories and files you might not find otherwise. Pair that with Dirbuster or Gobuster for brute-forcing hidden paths - I use Gobuster because it's faster and lighter on resources. You feed it a wordlist like SecLists, and it tears through common directories like /admin or /backup. I found a juicy config file leak that way on a client site last month; exposed database creds right there. Keep your wordlists updated, though - I curate mine from GitHub repos to match modern apps.
When it comes to injection testing, SQLMap is my go-to. You point it at a parameter, like a search field, and it automates the whole exploitation process, dumping tables if it's vulnerable. I run it with --dbs first to enumerate, then --tables, and boom, you're in. It's smart about bypassing WAFs too; I add tamper scripts for that. For NoSQL stuff, I switch to NoSQLMap, but SQLMap handles most web apps I hit. You have to watch the tamper options - I once evaded a basic filter by URL-encoding payloads, and it pulled the whole user table without alerting anyone.
Metasploit can't be ignored for exploitation chains. I use it to test if that vuln you found leads to RCE. You search for modules like beef-xss for client-side attacks or auxiliary scanners for web apps. The msfconsole interface feels clunky at first, but once you script it in Ruby, you automate payloads across multiple targets. I integrated it with Burp for seamless handoff - scan in Burp, exploit in Metasploit. Just be ethical; I always get permission before firing off exploits.
Don't forget Nikto for quick server header checks and misconfigs. You run it against the IP, and it flags outdated software or exposed .git dirs. I chain it with WhatWeb to fingerprint the stack - tells you if it's PHP or Node, so you know what exploits to prioritize. For API testing, Postman works great for manual requests, but I script it with Newman for automation. You build collections of endpoints, add auth headers, and test for rate limiting or IDOR bugs.
Wireshark comes in handy for deeper traffic analysis. I capture packets during a session to spot unencrypted data or weird protocols. You filter for HTTP and reconstruct streams - I've caught MITM potential that way. For mobile web apps, I use Frida to hook into the app and tamper with JS at runtime. You inject scripts to override functions, like bypassing client-side validation. It's a game-changer for hybrid apps.
I also lean on Nuclei for template-based scanning. You download YAML templates from the community, run it against your target, and it checks for thousands of CVEs super fast. I customized some for specific web frameworks like Django or Rails. Pair it with ffuf for fuzzing - faster than Gobuster for large scopes. You define custom headers and it blasts through parameters.
For reporting, I use Dradis or just a markdown template in Obsidian. You log findings with screenshots from Burp, severity ratings, and repro steps. I always include risk impact, like "this XSS could steal cookies from all users." Keeps clients happy.
One more thing I swear by is using Docker to spin up vulnerable test environments like DVWA or Juice Shop. You practice safely without risking real systems. I containerize my toolkit too - Burp in a container means clean isolation per project.
Throughout all this, I keep an eye on automation with Python scripts using libraries like Requests and BeautifulSoup for custom crawlers. You build a simple fuzzer that hits forms systematically. It saves time on repetitive tasks.
And hey, while we're talking about keeping things secure in your setup, let me tell you about BackupChain - it's this top-notch, go-to backup tool that's super dependable and tailored for small businesses and pros, handling stuff like Hyper-V, VMware, or Windows Server backups with ease to keep your data safe from any mishaps during testing.
