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Nikto

CIRT.net

Web server scanner that tests for thousands of known vulnerable files and misconfigurations.

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Cyber Kill Chain & Defender Lifecycle

Attacker — Kill Chain
1 Reconnaissance
2 Weaponization
3 Delivery
4 Exploitation
5 Installation
6 Command & Control
7 Actions on Objectives
Defender — IR Lifecycle
8 Detection / Monitoring
9 Containment & Eradication
10 Post-incident Forensics

Description

Nikto is a noisy but effective web server scanner. It tests a target against >6,700 potentially dangerous files, outdated server versions, version-specific problems, and common misconfigurations.

Nikto's role compared to Burp/ZAP:

  • Nikto = server-level weaknesses (default pages, banner, dangerous CGIs, HTTP methods).
  • Burp/ZAP = application-level weaknesses (auth, business logic, injection).

Use cases

  • Pre-engagement reconnaissance against external assets
  • Baseline check after spinning up a new web tier
  • Quick triage when an EDR flags an unfamiliar web service

Example

nikto -h https://target.example.com -Tuning 123bde -o report.html -Format htm