Top 10 Open source / Free DAST tools in 2024

DAST tools act as automated security scanners and interact with applications through its interfaces similar to a hacker. As cost and number of cyberattacks increase, businesses are increasingly adopting DAST tools to improve their security posture.

Open source or free DAST software are the lowest cost entry point to DAST software and may be suitable for 

• SMEs
• businesses starting their cybersecurity journey
• Business that are looking for additional DAST tools to complement their cybersecurity posture

If you are part of such a business, explore free DAST tools.

If you already used a free DAST tool and found that it failed to identify vulnerabilities or identified many false positives, check out proprietary DAST software for more enterprise-grade solutions.

Free DAST tools

Sorting: According to number of stars on GitHub.

Sources: The OWASP organization maintains a list of DAST tools, many with free versions (check the “License” column).¹

Inclusion criteria for: 

• Open source projects: 900+ stars on GitHub
• Proprietary software: Must be a free-to-use package provided by a DAST software provider

OpenProject ZAP

Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is an open source DAST tool that includes both automated scanning for vulnerabilities and tools to assist experts in their manual web app pen testing and REST API testing.

As a former OWASP project, ZAP is an actively maintained, community-driven dynamic application security testing tool, offering documentation and a range of add-ons. 

ZAP can act as a transparent proxy, actively intercepting traffic between your browser and web applications for real-time analysis. Alternatively, it can be leveraged for in-depth vulnerability assessments, actively scanning web applications based on a set of predefined rules.

Wapiti

Wapiti scans web traffic for threats (passively) or hunts vulnerabilities (actively) using predefined rules. Wapiti lets users write custom scripts to handle specific vulnerabilities, extending its scanning capabilities. https://linuxsecurity.com/features/complete-guide-to-using-wapiti-web-vulnerability-scanner-to-keep-your-web-applications-websites-secure

Nikto

Nikto is an open-source DAST tool that performs vulnerability scans and tests against web servers for multiple items, including dangerous files/CGIs, outdated server software, misconfigurations and other problems 

Cons:

• Nikto is lacking a graphical user interface and operates solely from the command line.  https://www.trustradius.com/products/nikto/reviews#reviews 

Arachni

Arachni stands out for its modular design, allowing you to extend its functionalities through plugins. Additionally, its advanced crawling capabilities effectively navigate complex web applications, uncovering hidden functionalities that might harbor vulnerabilities. This flexibility caters to diverse testing needs. https://github.com/Arachni/arachni 

Arachni maintains user sessions during scans, mimicking real-world user behavior, allowing session management. This provides a more comprehensive picture of your application’s security flaws to identify vulnerabilities that might only be exposed during authenticated sessions.

Potential drawbacks of Arachni

• Deep scans may require significant system resources; ensure adequate capacity for optimal Arachni performance.

Proprietary tools with free community editions

For more on these tools, see Tenable Nessus alternatives or full list of DAST tools.

Other free application security tools

DAST is one part of the application security landscape. Application security can be bolstered without additional expenses with

• Free static application security testing (SAST) tools

Benefits of open-source DAST tools

They provide a fast and cost-effective way to address the present threat from external actors by offering testing capabilities accessible to organizations of all sizes and budgets:

• Open-source DAST tools have lower upfront costs.
• They can be rapidly deployed since the user can skip the purchase process and start using the tool from day one.
• Some open source tools also require less configuration and therefore can be deployed more quickly compared to commercial tools.
• Though they don’t come with dedicated support, open-source DAST tools benefit from active user communities. These communities provide readily accessible resources (tutorials, documentation) and facilitate knowledge sharing. This fosters a supportive environment for new users to get started quickly and troubleshoot challenges efficiently. 

Recommendations for choosing an open source DAST tool 

You can easily try out these solutions in test runs on your company’s applications and compare alternatives. It is important to measure these for different solutions:

• % of correctly identified vulnerabilities
• % of false positives in all identified vulnerabilities
• Remediation guidance: How useful is the tool in describing how to resolve issues?
• Integrations: Explore integration with other security tools or CI/CD pipelines within your development environment. This automates workflows and strengthens your application’s overall security posture.
• Run time: If you will integrate the DAST solution in your software development pipeline, speed is essential for developer productivity
• Resource management: Deep scanning features can significantly increase the demand on your system’s processing power, memory, and storage. Ensure your system has adequate resources to avoid performance bottlenecks during testing.
• Customization options: Many open-source DAST tools offer a high degree of customization. This allows you to tailor your testing process to your application’s unique needs, focusing on areas most vulnerable to external threats based on complexity.

What is Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)?

DAST tools operate as black-box scanners, identifying vulnerabilities in web applications without access to the application’s internal code or structure. 

Integrating DAST tools with CI/CD pipelines streamlines application security testing throughout the development lifecycle. This proactive approach helps identify and fix vulnerabilities early, saving time and resources by preventing costly rework later. Learn more about dynamic application security testing (DAST).

Reasons for investing in a DAST solution

Whether you use a SaaS solution or opt for on-premises DAST software, the power of these tools lies in their ability to identify issues like authentication problems and misconfigurations, which can often slip through static application security testing (SAST) and manual review of source code. 

Failing to encrypt sensitive data in transit creates a common vulnerability, exposing even large corporations to potential breaches. Organizations face three main attack vectors: 

• compromised credentials
• phishing scams
• vulnerability exploitation

These attack vectors against unencrypted data transmissions leave organizations vulnerable to:

• Financial theft: hackers can intercept sensitive information like credit card numbers or bank account details, leading to direct financial losses.
• Customer privacy violations: Exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) like names, addresses, or social security numbers can trigger regulatory fines and damage customer trust.
• Operational disruptions: Data breaches can disrupt critical operations, causing downtime and lost productivity.

DAST actively tests an application’s ability to protect user sessions, preventing attackers from hijacking them to access sensitive data, by manipulating session tokens or cookies.

It actively verifies strong password policies, account lockout mechanisms, and authorization controls to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive financial information.

More on DAST & AppSec testing

• Top 10 Application Security Tools
• Pentesting tools
• DAST use cases
• DAST vs SAST
• DAST vs IAST

External Links

• 1. "ZAP". Github.
• 2. "Nikto". Github
• 3. "Arachni". Github
• 4. "OpenVAS. Github
• 5. "Wapiti. Github
• 6. “Free for Open Source Application Security Tools”. OWASP. Retrieved March 9, 2024