Vulnerability Analysis

Systematic identification and verification of security weaknesses based on the OWASP Top 10 and other common vulnerability classes.

Why Vulnerability Analysis Matters

Systematic Coverage: OWASP Top 10 ensures you test for the most critical web vulnerabilities
Industry Standard: Following OWASP methodology provides recognized, defensible results
Risk Prioritization: Categorization helps focus on vulnerabilities with highest business impact
Compliance Alignment: OWASP coverage satisfies many regulatory and compliance requirements

Pro Tip: This phase connects reconnaissance and scanning with exploitation. The goal is to identify and validate vulnerabilities before attempting to exploit them.

Essential Vulnerability Analysis Tools

Burp Suite

Industry-standard web proxy with active and passive scanning

Website

OWASP ZAP

Free open-source web app scanner

Website

Nuclei

Fast template-based vulnerability scanner

GitHub

Nikto

Web server scanner for misconfigurations

GitHub

SQLMap

Automatic SQL injection detection and exploitation

Website

Wapiti

Black-box web application vulnerability scanner

Website

Vulnerability Analysis Process

flowchart TD A[Enumeration Results] --> B[Identify Input Points] B --> C[Map to OWASP Categories] C --> D[Automated Scanning] D --> E[Manual Testing] E --> F[Validate Findings] F --> G[Document and Exploit] style A fill:#00ff00,stroke:#000,color:#000 style G fill:#ff6b6b,stroke:#000,color:#000

Interactive OWASP Top 10 Dashboard

Explore the OWASP Top 10 (2021) categories. Click on each to see testing techniques and common vulnerabilities.

OWASP Top 10 (2021)

Click any category for details, breach examples, and quick test checklists

Official OWASP →
OWASP Top 10 - 2021 Edition10 Categories • 50 Quick Checks

What Vulnerability Am I Looking At?

Not sure what vulnerability you have found? Use this decision tree to identify it based on observed behavior.

Vulnerability Decision Tree

Answer questions to identify the vulnerability

Start→Current

What behavior are you observing?

Select the primary indicator you noticed during testing

Manual Testing Methodology

Systematic testing ensures comprehensive coverage. Test each input type against relevant vulnerability classes.

Testing Checklist by Input Type

URL Parameters

  • SQL injection
  • XSS (reflected)
  • Path traversal
  • IDOR
  • Open redirect
  • SSRF

Form Fields

  • SQL injection
  • XSS (stored/reflected)
  • Command injection
  • File upload bypass
  • CSRF
  • Input validation bypass

Headers

  • Host header injection
  • X-Forwarded-For manipulation
  • User-Agent injection
  • Referer injection

Cookies

  • Session hijacking
  • Cookie manipulation
  • Missing Secure/HttpOnly
  • Predictable session tokens

Automated Scanning Commands

bash 
# Nuclei - comprehensive vulnerability scan
nuclei -u https://example.com -t cves/ -t vulnerabilities/

# Nikto - web server misconfiguration
nikto -h https://example.com -o nikto_report.html -Format htm

# SQLMap - SQL injection detection
sqlmap -u "https://example.com/page?id=1" --batch --level=3

# Wapiti - black-box scanning
wapiti -u https://example.com -o wapiti_report -f html

Next Steps

Once you have identified and validated vulnerabilities, proceed to the Exploitation phase to demonstrate real-world impact, or practice your skills in the Practice Labs.

Related Topics

Enumeration

Directory and parameter discovery

Exploitation

Vulnerability exploitation techniques

Practice Labs

Hands-on CTF exercises

Tools Reference

Complete tools listing