Nikto

Nikto is an open-source web server scanner designed to identify potential vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in web applications and servers. It's a valuable tool for penetration testers to assess the security posture of web applications and identify common issues that could be exploited by attackers. This guide will provide an overview of how to use Nikto effectively for web application scanning in penetration testing.

Prerequisites:

1. Basic understanding of web applications and web servers.

2. Nikto installed on your system (Kali).

How to use

1. Identify Target Web Application:

   • Determine the URL or IP address of the web application you want to scan.

2. Perform Basic Scan:

   • Open your terminal or command prompt.

   • Run Nikto with the target URL or IP address.

   • Example command:

nikto -h <target>

• Replace <target> with the URL or IP address of the target web application.

1. Output Results to File:

   • Save the scan results to a file for further analysis.

   • Example command:

nikto -h <target> -o scan_results.txt

• This command saves the scan results in a text file named scan_results.txt.

1. Enable SSL/TLS Scanning:

   • Use the -ssl flag to enable SSL/TLS scanning for HTTPS websites.

   • Example command:

nikto -h <target> -ssl

• Replace <target> with the URL or IP address of the target web application.

1. Customize Scan Options:

   • Nikto provides various options to customize the scanning process based on specific requirements.

   • Explore additional options such as -plugins, -id, -timeout, and -evasion to tailor the scan according to your needs.

   • Refer to Nikto's documentation for a comprehensive list of available options and their descriptions.