Best Web Security Scanners For Vulnerability Scanning – 2024

Web Security Scanners: The world is moving towards digitalization; from small to large, every business has a website running to showcase its services, and simultaneously, the need for Web Application Security Scanners is increasing.

In addition to providing services, they also keep user data in their databases, including cookies and personal information provided by users during registration.

Additionally, there are several technologies present outside that make a website more efficient and easier to use for a user.

Consequently, there are more opportunities to be vulnerable.

Basically, scanning is the second phase of ethical hacking, coming after reconnaissance.

It aids in locating vulnerabilities present on the target.

Web security scanners are often used to test dynamic web applications; as a result, they are also sometimes called dynamic web application security tools (DAST).

Table of Contents

What is a Website Scanner?

Website scanner tools enable analysts or testers to thoroughly scan a website and identify any vulnerabilities or weak points in the web application

Depending on how the tool is made, the process can be manual or automated.

The website scanner tools crawl through all of the web pages and files in a web app to look for flaws through an in-depth analysis, report them, and, if the scanner can do so, simultaneously fix them.

For cybersecurity researchers, the recon process has been greatly facilitated by the website scanner tools.

What Is the Work of the Web Security Scanners?

Since some vulnerabilities and loopholes are complex and some can be found by connecting multiple vulnerabilities, manual scanning is also a best practice to increase security to the next level.

The Website Scanner tool finds the vulnerabilities on a website and specifies their severity level and CVE IDs if they are available, and it can also assign a CVSS score based on the findings.

This is because automated website scanner tools may be unable to find all types of vulnerabilities and loopholes.

Is it Illegal to Scan a Website for Vulnerabilities?

Yes, it is against the law to scan a website for vulnerabilities if you don’t have the owner’s consent to do so.

It is necessary to obtain the website owner’s consent in order to conduct a scan of their infrastructure and then ethically report the results to them.

The owner’s permission is required because otherwise, you risk getting into legal trouble if the company decides to sue you for scanning and accuses you of stealing intellectual property (IP) rights.  

How Do I Scan My Website for Malware?

The ability to scan for malware is frequently included in Website scanner tools, and it may be based on anomaly-based detection or signature-based detection.

The tool will automatically report the results to the user.

Website scanner tools may be used to scan your website and find any malware that may be there.

However, it depends on the scanner’s design whether it blocks the issue and resolves it or not

How Do We Choose the Best Web Security Scanners?

• Think about how big and complicated your web world is, what kinds of web apps you use, and any specific safety rules that you need to follow.
• Based on your needs, choose between dependency checkers, dynamic application security testing (DAST), static application security testing (SAST), and interactive application security testing (IAST).
• Look for a design that is easy to use and clear ways to report problems.
• Make sure the scanner gives you accurate data with few fake positives and negatives.
• Check to see if the scanner can work with the security and development tools you already have.
• Check to see if the scanner can be changed to work with your online system.
• Make sure the scanner can grow with your website.
• Think about how much it costs and what benefits it has.
• Look for good customer service and lots of information.
• Find out what other people have said about the scanner and how well-known it is in the hacking world.

In this write-up, we will read about the 10 best Web Security Scanners in 2024.

Best Web Security Scanners

• ManageEngine ‌Vulnerability Manager Plus
• Acunetix
• AppScan
• AppTrana Website Security Scan
• Invicti
• Detectify
• Intruder
• APIsec
• Nessus
• Burp Suite
• QualysGuard

Best Web Security Scanner Features

Web Security Scanners	Key Features
1. ManageEngine ‌Vulnerability Manager Plus	1. Vulnerability assessment 2. Notifying of Risks 3. Patch management 4. Security configuration management 5.Setting up security
2. Acunetix	1. Identification and Remediation of Vulnerability 2. Reporting, alerting, and analytics all in one place 3. Security Auditing 4. Taking care of vulnerabilities: 5. Reporting on compliance
3. AppScan	1. Vast scanning modes 2. Highly Scalable for web apps and services 3. Centralized Management 4.Help for a Range of Environments: 5.Integration of DevSecOps
4. AppTrana Website Security Scan	1. Portal security professionals create bespoke rules. 2. Single view dashboard with all the information on assets 3. Continuous monitoring of tasks running on 4.Full Reports 5.Searching for SQL Injection
5. Invicti	1. Ability to integrate scanner within SDLC 2. Automatically produces proof of exploitability 3. Allows customized scans. 4.Testing the security of web applications 5.Coverage in the OWASP Top 10
6. Detectify	1. Expert remediation tips to fix vulnerabilities. 2. Continuous Scanning in 3 different environments. 3. It provides a risk score and point-in-time score. 4.Integration with multiple tools 5.API scanning for security vulnerabilities.
7. Intruder	1. Authenticated web application scanning 2. Multiple integrations: Jira, Slack, Github, Teams, etc. 3. Tons of checks for known vulnerabilities 4.Patterns of Attack 5.Results and Analysis
8. APIsec	1. A huge number of integrations are available 2. Ease of deployment and maintenance 3. Checks for compliance 4.Testing for Authentication 5.Identification of Vulnerabilities
9. Nessus	1. Broad CVE coverage 2. Integration on other platforms using API 3. Live results and offline scans 4.Policy Compliance Checks 5.Searching for malware
10. Burp Suite	1. Ability to intercept and tweak HTTP requests 2. Mapping entire Web App using Spider 3. Fuzzing and brute forcing parameters using intruder 4.Supports custom and enhanced feature extensions. 5.Finds and verifies out-of-band vulnerabilities.
11. QualysGuard	1. Continuous Scanning process 2. Asset discovery and inventory 3. File Integrity Monitoring 4.Web application vulnerability detection and mitigation 5.Produces comprehensive security reporting and analytics.

1. ManageEngine ‌Vulnerability Manager Plus

In addition to prioritizing threats and vulnerabilities, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus also includes patch management for large organizations.

It’s a cross-platform answer to finding and fixing an organization’s network’s vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and other security holes at once.

1. Improve your security posture with extensive threat and vulnerability management for multiple OS, third-party applications, and network devices.

2. Instant detection and mitigation of misconfigurations in your enterprise network.

3. Automate patch management end-to-end for Windows, macOS, and Linux machines.

4. Harden web server settings to stay secure from web-based attacks.

5. Achieve compliance with CIS benchmarks.

6. Eliminate high-risk software and audit active ports

7. Gain holistic insights with interactive dashboards and intuitive reports.

Features

• Makes sure that security standards and government rules are followed.
• Finds devices and apps on different networks and keeps track of them.
• Makes thorough reports and insights that help people make smart decisions.
• Fixes security holes automatically or by setting up tasks to run at certain times.
• Works with other ManageEngine goods and tools from other companies without any problems.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Comprehensive vulnerability scanning	Complexity for large environments
Multi-platform support	Dependency on ManageEngine ecosystem
Centralized management
Patch management integration

ManageEngine ‌Vulnerability Manager Plus-Demo/Trial

2. Acunetix

Acunetix is a popular and effective website scanner.

It’s an automated tool for scanning websites for security flaws like SQL injection, Cross-site Scripting, and others, finding them, and reporting them.

It keeps track of all the websites’ subdomains, sorts the technologies into groups, and marks any out-of-date ones as red alerts.

The final scan report can be downloaded in either PDF or HTML, depending on the user’s preference.

However, APIs allow for reports to be generated in any format.

Acunetix provides a comprehensive statistical overview of your web assets in the form of an engaging dashboard, detailing things like the overall number of targets and scans, the most susceptible targets, and vulnerabilities found.

There’s a cool graph that illustrates monthly trends over the past year for things like bug counts, milestones, and average repair times.

It ranks high among the top tools for scanning websites.

Features

• Makes it easier for team members to work together to fix problems.
• Works with issue trackers and CI/CD tools to make processes more efficient.
• Makes detailed reports with levels of vulnerability severity and possible fixes.
• Helps make sure that standards like OWASP, PCI DSS, and others are met.
• Lets you do partial scans to save time and resources for later reviews.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Completes reports with actionable insights and corrective advice.	Long response time from customer support.
Lots of integrations are possible.	Scans are not satisfactory and miss simple vulnerabilities.
Easy to install and maintain.
User-friendly UI and cost-effective.

Acunetix – Demo/Trial

3. AppScan

AppScan has several modes that allow for various kinds of program analysis, including compositional analysis, interactive testing, static testing, and dynamic testing.

It can keep tabs on a number of different security testing tools, which is useful for keeping tabs on risks and enforcing policies.

To lower the dangers in an easy and effective way, AppScan delivers feasible remedies.

It can do security analysis and give recommendations for corrective action without ever leaving the current deployment environment.

The incorporation of AppScan’s source mode early in the SDLC can avert the emergence of costly vulnerabilities later in development.

You may meet regulatory requirements and industry standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, OWASP Top 10, SANS 25, and more with the help of AppScan.

Features

• Finds holes in web apps that are running.
• Looks at source code to find possible security holes.
• Offers testing in real time while the program is running.
• Has a lot of different security holes, like SQL attack, XSS, and more.
• Works with CI/CD workflows and development tools to make testing easy.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Based on IBM’s security expertise, providing strong user support and resources.	Only 1000 scans are allowed with the license, then need to delete manually.
Highly secure and capable tool.	Support is too bad.
Better visualization of reports.
Customizable testing policies

AppScan – Demo/Trial

4. AppTrana Website Security Scan

When it comes to protecting your business from online threats, AppTrana is among the best web security scanners you can use.

This website scanner can be used manually or automatically via scripts.

This website scanner tool will show you the latest trends and any banned attacks.

It protects against the OWASP Top 10 threats in real time and provides 24/7 security support.

The portal updates the state of protection for all cases that come within WAF notice.

AppTrana’s custom DDOS rules provide comprehensive defense against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks of any size.

Standard, Enterprise, Cloud, and Source are the four tiers available inside AppScan, a premium tool.

AppTrana is subscription-based software with a free 14-day trial.

Features

• Finds and warns about possible bugs or code that doesn’t look right.
• Looks for possible flaws in SSL/TLS configurations.
• Offers ongoing tracking to find new security holes or changes to the website’s defenses.
• Makes detailed reports with information that can be used to fix problems.
• Makes sure that scanning has little effect on how well the website works.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Automates web application vulnerability scans.	More customization options are needed.
Gives a summary of blocked attacks in a daily report.	Added latency to the response time of the website.
Great support and institutive dashboard.
24×7 monitoring of the website
Immediate firewall update.

AppTrana – Demo/Trial

5. Invicti

Invicti is a website scanner tool that uses its own proof-based scanning technology to accurately identify and evaluate vulnerabilities while firmly displaying results that are most certainly not false positives.

Invicti can be utilized as a website scanning tool in your DevSecOps or SecDevOps environment by interacting with CI/CD platforms.

Dynamic application security testing (DAST) is performed with this tool, which can be hosted in the cloud or installed locally.

The commercial and open-source web servers supported by Invicti are the Internet Information Services (IIS) on Microsoft Windows and the Apache and Ngnix web servers on Linux.

When issues arise during dashboard setting, scanning, or report analysis, users can submit tickets through the accompanying ticketing software.

Although Invicti is a premium service, a free trial is available.

It’s a top-tier tool for checking the safety of websites.

Features

• Does automatic web vulnerability scans to find web applications with security problems.
• Advanced scanning technology is used to find a wide range of security holes, such as SQL attack, XSS, CSRF, and more.
• Advanced scanning methods cut down on false positives, which means fewer alerts that aren’t needed.
• It lets you check for security holes in RESTful APIs and web services.
• Offers proof-based scanning and live vulnerability validation to make sure what was found is correct.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Automatically searches for vulnerabilities without manual involvement.	High price than other competitive tools.
Works for both legacy and modern applications.	Does not integrate with many systems.
Continuous Scan.
Generates proof of exploit to confirm the vulnerability.

Inivcti – Demo/Trial

6. Detectify

Detectify is yet another one of the top Web Security Scanners on the market since it employs a completely automated external attack surface management strategy to map the whole attack surface and discover any important vulnerabilities.

When it detects a security hole, this tool alerts the user immediately.

Launch the scan and gather the findings after the assets have been initialized and the scan profiles and configurations have been defined.

Detectify allows you to scan assets in three different environments: development, staging, and production.

Detectify updates its scanner to take into account any new vulnerabilities discovered by researchers all over the world.

In addition, API interaction is enabled, which allows scans to be started and scheduled directly from the build system.

Detectify is a premium website scanning service, however you can book a demo and test it out for 14 days at no cost.

Features

• Makes detailed reports with a list of weaknesses in order of importance and instructions on how to fix them.
• Finds and keeps track of a list of web assets to provide full coverage.
• Gives advice and instructions on how to fix known flaws.
• Provides the ability to check APIs for security holes.
• Users can share application source code to be analyzed in more detail and find security holes.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Detects web application malware and suspicious activity.	Documentation is not well-maintained.
Integration of notifications.	UI is confusing and needs to be improved.
Detailed remediations for the findings.
Beginner-friendly insightful reports.

Detectify – Demo/Trial

7. Intruder

Intruder is a cloud-based web security scanner designed to help businesses of all sizes identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats. It offers a range of scanning capabilities, including vulnerability assessments for web applications, networks, and systems.

Intruder is known for its ease of use, comprehensive coverage of security weaknesses, and its ability to integrate with other tools and systems.

This scanner aims to provide a proactive approach to security, helping users identify potential vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.

You can scan your website with the Intruder to see if it has any of the known vulnerabilities listed in the OWASP Top 10, SANS Top 25, or Common Web Exploitation.

To improve the efficiency of the security workflow, Intruder can be integrated into the CI/CD process using its application programming interface.

With Intruder’s continuous vulnerability monitoring system, you are safe from the latest threats and have time to prepare for any potential disasters.

It is also feasible to utilize Intruder to execute a thorough security scan on all of your endpoint devices, servers, clouds, websites, and other computing resources.

The scanning capabilities and subsequent thorough remedial instructions are Intruder’s main selling feature.

There is a 30-day free trial available for this expensive scanner, however the intruder.

Features

• Users can make and change payloads that are used to test for flaws.
• Runs automated attacks with parameters that can be changed to do full testing of vulnerabilities.
• Makes complex attack situations possible by changing and repeating payloads based on responses.
• Supports brute force attacks and fuzzing to find holes in the system.
• Offers in-depth examination of server replies to find possible security holes.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Allows customized vulnerability testing payloads.	The license renewal process takes a long time.
Real-time scans of the latest signatures.	The initial setup cost is expensive.
Good alert management system.
Super-fast support and resolutions.

Intruder – Demo/Trial

8. APIsec

Automated API security testing is made possible by APISEC, assisting the Shift-left approach in locating and fixing vulnerabilities in the SDLC prior to release.

It’s a popular program that can automatically scan APIs.

It’s a program that helps programmers create AI-powered automated testing.

Your API’s size or complexity is irrelevant; it will find vulnerabilities (including logical business errors) before an attacker can exploit them.

Before entering into production, the tool discovers and flags key issues without slowing down the process or introducing any technological debt.

Teams, Jenkins, Amazon Web Services, Gitlab, Docker, Bamboo, etc. are just a few of the many possible integrations.

Automatically generated bespoke security attack vectors expose all RBAC, ABAC, application DoS, and injection vulnerabilities that hackers could use.

Unlike manual inspection, which is limited to looking for attacks like SQL injection, this tool performs a full analysis of all endpoints and generates a detailed report.

It’s the greatest Website Scanner for on-the-go analysis of online apps.

Features

• Performs thorough security checks and vulnerability scans on APIs.
• Keeps an eye on API traffic for strange behavior, possible threats, and illegal access.
• Sets up strong authentication and permission systems to manage API access.
• Makes sure that data sent through APIs is secured and safe from possible breaches.
• It helps make sure that APIs follow rules and industry standards like OAuth and OpenID Connect.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Scalable solutions for API architectures and technologies	The customization of product is not up to mark.
Continuous and automated DevSecOps support.	Less detailed documentation.
Complete coverage on reports.
Efficient ticketing system for issues.

APIsec – Demo/Trial

9. Nessus

Nessus is one of the greatest and most widely used vulnerability scanning tools in the business world, supporting more than 72,000 CVEs and 177,000 plugins.

This network contains a vulnerability scanner compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX servers.

Nessus is cross-platform and can be installed on the Raspberry Pi.

It allows you to set up scan policies, scan templates, audit files, reports, and plugins, among other things.

Nessus doesn’t stop attacks from happening; it just checks your systems for vulnerabilities.

It is the system administrator’s obligation to build a security solution to seal these flaws.

It ranks high among the top malware detectors on the web.

Nessus was first created to inspect networks for vulnerabilities.

Nessus eventually expanded to include checks for potential web security flaws.

On the downside, Nessus’s web vulnerability scanning lacks some key functionalities.

Nessus has two user interfaces: Expert and professional.

There is a 7-day free trial for the Expert option, but both need payment afterward.

Features

• Finds holes in the security of systems, networks, and apps.
• It uses a huge library of tools to find a lot of different security holes.
• Checks systems against security rules and compliance standards that have already been set.
• Automates scans and creates thorough reports with a list of steps to take to fix problems in order of importance.
• Works with other security systems and tools to make tasks easier.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Determines and tracks network devices and systems.	Hard to manage and download asset information.
Great list of pre-defined templates and plugins.	Plugins are not customizable.
Regularly updates the latest CVE’s.
UI is user-friendly.

Nessus – Demo/Trial

10. Burp Suite

Researchers, bug hunters, and security experts in the field of online application security all agree

Burp Suite is the best tool for scanning websites.

As far as vulnerability scanning and penetration testing go, it ranks among the top tools available.

Burp Suite includes various tools that may be used for automatic dynamic scanning or manual testing methods.

Commonly employed tools from the Burp Suite include the spider, repeater, sequencer, proxy, decoder, and extender.

Before Burp Suite can intercept communications, the browser must be configured to use the proxy.

It can be used for a preliminary scan, analysis of the web application’s logic, and identification and exploitation of security flaws.

Community (free), Professional, Enterprise, and Dastardly are the different Burp Suite editions available.

Features

• An automated tool performs active screening to find security issues.
• Allows automatic attacks to find and take advantage of security holes with payloads that can be changed.
• Allows testing by hand and changing individual requests to look for security holes.
• Checks how random and strong session tokens or other key factors are.
• It comes with a full API that lets you connect it to other tools and apps.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Lots of features are available for testing vulnerabilities.	Log separation is not available for manual scans and is automated.
Easy to install and set up.	UI can be improved a bit.
Fewer false positives.
Integration with many powerful extensions.

Burp Suite – Demo Trial

11. QualysGuard

Qualys facilitates the reporting and study of web application security risks.

Network analysis (passive scanning), cloud agents, and virtual scanners are all rolled into one convenient program.

Qualys integrates with services like Azure and Splunk and will soon support Jenkins and other integration tools. Qualys is a popular and effective web security scanner.

QualysGuard has adopted a deep scanning mechanism to ensure that all applications within your network perimeter are scanned.

This website scanner utilizes behavioral analysis to detect infestations, malware, and zero-day threats.

A centralized dashboard displays scan activities, infected pages, and malware infection patterns, allowing users to immediately act from its interface.

Qualys’s dynamic reporting tools provide you a bird’s-eye perspective of your web app’s security while also allowing you to dive down into the nitty-gritty.

Qualys is a premium service that comes in a few flavors.

Qualys is a paid tool with different modes.

Features

• Checks networks, systems, and apps for vulnerabilities.
• Automatically locates and tracks local IT assets.
• Tests systems against PCI DSS and HIPAA security requirements.
• Continuously tests and inspects for new weaknesses or environmental changes.
• Adding cloud infrastructure and apps to compliance and vulnerability management.

What is Good ?	What Could Be Better ?
Enhances cloud infrastructure and application vulnerability and compliance management.	Extremely poor documentation.
Qualys constantly updates its features.	Inadequate technical support.
You can schedule future scans.
Cloud-based tools are thus accessible from anywhere.

Qualys – Demo/Trial

Faq

What is a website vulnerability?

Vulnerability is a type of weakness that opens a particular surface for attack.

Errors in a website’s configuration, poor code validation, etc. may be the cause of an attack.

What are the common vulnerabilities of a website?

Some common website vulnerabilities are SQL injection, broken authentication, business logic flaws, cryptographic failures, command injection, etc.

OWASP Top 10 mentions the top 10 common vulnerabilities found in a website over a period of time.

What are the basic security issues?

Unpatched bugs that have previously been discovered cause significant security issues.

In many situations, using pirated software invites malware, which ultimately compromises the infrastructure.

Other Top 10 Articles to Follow