100 Best Penetration Testing Apps for Security Teams and Solo Founders
Penetration testing apps can help small teams assess authorized systems more systematically. This first group covers widely used tools for network discovery, web testing, vulnerability assessment, and credential auditing.
Nmap
Nmap discovers hosts, scans ports, identifies services, and supports network security inventory through scripted checks. It reduces uncertainty about exposed network services by mapping reachable systems and their listening ports.
Wireshark
Wireshark captures and analyzes network packets with detailed protocol decoding and filtering tools. It helps investigators diagnose suspicious traffic by making individual network conversations visible and searchable.
Burp Suite
Burp Suite intercepts web traffic and provides tools for testing application requests, responses, and workflows. It helps testers find web application flaws by exposing how browsers and servers exchange data.
Metasploit Framework
Metasploit Framework provides modules for validating known vulnerabilities, conducting post-exploitation tasks, and generating reports. It helps authorized testers confirm whether discovered weaknesses are practically exploitable in controlled engagements.
OWASP ZAP
OWASP ZAP is an open-source web proxy that scans and tests web applications for security issues. It gives small teams a structured way to identify common web risks during development and reviews.
Kali Linux
Kali Linux is a security-focused Linux distribution bundling many tools for authorized testing and analysis. It reduces setup friction by providing a ready-made environment for diverse security assessment workflows.
Nessus
Nessus scans systems and applications for known vulnerabilities, configuration issues, and missing security updates. It helps teams prioritize remediation by identifying vulnerabilities across assets without manually checking every system.
Greenbone OpenVAS
Greenbone OpenVAS performs vulnerability scans using feeds of checks for systems, services, and configurations. It addresses blind spots in infrastructure reviews by regularly checking hosts for known security weaknesses.
Nikto
Nikto scans web servers for dangerous files, outdated software, misconfigurations, and common security problems. It helps testers quickly spot basic web server exposure before deeper manual application assessment begins.
sqlmap
sqlmap automates testing for SQL injection vulnerabilities in web application parameters and database interactions. It reduces repetitive manual injection testing when authorized testers need to validate database input handling.
John the Ripper
John the Ripper audits password hashes by testing candidate passwords against supported hash formats. It helps assess weak password policies by identifying credentials vulnerable to guessing during authorized audits.
Hashcat
Hashcat performs password recovery and hash auditing using GPU acceleration and configurable attack modes. It helps security teams evaluate password resilience when large authorized hash sets require efficient analysis.
THC Hydra
THC Hydra tests authentication services against credential lists across many supported network protocols. It identifies weak login protections by testing whether authorized services resist password-guessing attempts.
Aircrack-ng
Aircrack-ng analyzes Wi-Fi networks, captures wireless traffic, and audits wireless security configurations. It helps assess wireless exposure by revealing weak encryption, insecure settings, or poorly protected access.
Netcat
Netcat creates and reads network connections for troubleshooting, port testing, data transfer, and simple listeners. It simplifies basic connectivity checks when testers need to verify how services respond over network ports.
tcpdump
tcpdump captures network packets from command-line interfaces using filters for hosts, ports, and protocols. It helps troubleshoot inaccessible or unexpected network behavior on servers without graphical analysis tools.
Gobuster
Gobuster discovers hidden web directories, files, DNS subdomains, and virtual hosts through wordlist-based enumeration. It helps uncover forgotten web assets when visible navigation does not reveal the full attack surface.
ffuf
ffuf fuzzes web requests to discover directories, parameters, virtual hosts, and unexpected application responses. It accelerates endpoint discovery when testers must systematically test many possible request variations.
Dirb
Dirb performs dictionary-based web content discovery to identify unlinked directories and files on servers. It addresses hidden-content discovery by checking common paths that applications may not publicly link.
BloodHound
BloodHound maps Active Directory relationships to help analyze privilege paths and identity attack surfaces. It helps defenders understand complex permission chains that can create unintended administrative access routes.
Impacket
Impacket is a Python collection for working with network protocols used in Windows environments. It helps assess Windows network security by enabling protocol-level testing and administrative workflow analysis.
NetExec
NetExec assesses network services and Windows environments through authentication, enumeration, and post-authentication checks. It streamlines authorized internal assessments by consolidating common service enumeration and access validation tasks.
Responder
Responder analyzes name-resolution and authentication behavior within local networks during authorized security assessments. It identifies insecure network authentication assumptions that may expose credentials on internal corporate networks.
Ettercap
Ettercap analyzes local network traffic and supports testing of man-in-the-middle attack scenarios. It helps teams evaluate local network segmentation and encryption against interception risks.
WPScan
WPScan scans WordPress installations for known vulnerabilities, exposed components, users, and insecure configurations. It helps site owners identify WordPress-specific risks without manually reviewing every plugin and theme.
Masscan
Masscan rapidly scans large IP ranges for open ports using asynchronous packet transmission. It helps testers quickly identify exposed services when conventional port scans would take too long.
RustScan
RustScan discovers open ports quickly and can pass results to Nmap for detailed enumeration. It reduces the delay between broad port discovery and deeper service investigation during engagements.
Amass
Amass performs attack-surface mapping through DNS enumeration, web scraping, and external data sources. It helps uncover overlooked subdomains and related infrastructure that expand a target's public footprint.
theHarvester
theHarvester collects emails, hostnames, subdomains, and public information from search engines and sources. It streamlines early reconnaissance when testers need public target details without manually searching multiple sources.
Recon-ng
Recon-ng is a modular reconnaissance framework for gathering and organizing open-source intelligence about targets. It helps organize reconnaissance workflows when scattered data collection makes findings difficult to track.
Maltego
Maltego visualizes relationships among people, domains, infrastructure, and public data using graph-based transforms. It helps investigators understand complex connections that are hard to spot in spreadsheets or search results.
SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot automates open-source intelligence collection across domains, IP addresses, emails, and usernames. It reduces repetitive research when teams need to correlate publicly available information about an asset.
Shodan
Shodan searches internet-connected devices and services using banners, ports, certificates, and metadata. It helps find externally visible systems without manually scanning every possible internet address.
Censys
Censys indexes internet-facing hosts, certificates, and web services for searchable exposure analysis. It helps security teams investigate public infrastructure and certificate relationships from a centralized dataset.
Searchsploit
Searchsploit searches local copies of Exploit Database entries for known vulnerabilities and proof-of-concepts. It saves time locating relevant public exploit references after identifying a service version.
Exploit Database
Exploit Database catalogs public exploits, shellcodes, and vulnerability references for security research. It helps testers research documented vulnerability techniques without relying on scattered web searches.
Evil-WinRM
Evil-WinRM provides a command-line shell for authorized Windows Remote Management connections. It simplifies remote Windows administration during authorized tests when WinRM access has been obtained.
Mimikatz
Mimikatz extracts Windows authentication material and performs credential-related operations in controlled assessments. It helps assess credential exposure risks after authorized access to a Windows system.
Rubeus
Rubeus is a C# toolset for interacting with and assessing Kerberos authentication in Active Directory. It helps testers examine Kerberos ticket configurations and attack paths during authorized directory assessments.
Kerbrute
Kerbrute enumerates and validates Active Directory usernames and performs Kerberos authentication testing. It helps identify valid domain accounts when testers need efficient, protocol-based username verification.
Certipy
Certipy finds and assesses Active Directory Certificate Services configurations and certificate-related abuse paths. It helps reveal risky certificate template settings that can create hidden privilege escalation opportunities.
enum4linux-ng
enum4linux-ng gathers SMB and Windows domain information from remote systems using common protocols. It reduces manual SMB enumeration when testers need shares, users, policies, and domain details.
smbclient
smbclient accesses SMB file shares and supports listing, downloading, and uploading files. It helps testers inspect accessible network shares when graphical Windows tools are unavailable or impractical.
SMBMap
SMBMap enumerates SMB shares, permissions, and accessible files across Windows network targets. It quickly identifies writable or readable shares that may expose sensitive data or lateral movement paths.
ldapsearch
ldapsearch queries LDAP directories for users, groups, computers, and configuration attributes. It helps retrieve directory information directly when testers need to inspect LDAP-backed identity environments.
feroxbuster
feroxbuster recursively discovers web content, directories, and files through forced browsing. It helps locate unlinked application endpoints that ordinary navigation and crawling may miss.
WhatWeb
WhatWeb identifies website technologies, frameworks, server details, and web application components. It helps testers prioritize relevant checks when a site's underlying technology stack is initially unknown.
Wafw00f
Wafw00f detects web application firewalls by analyzing HTTP responses and known signatures. It helps testers recognize defensive filtering early and plan authorized testing methods accordingly.
testssl.sh
testssl.sh examines TLS and SSL configurations, supported ciphers, certificates, and known weaknesses. It helps uncover transport-security misconfigurations without manually testing numerous protocol and cipher combinations.
sslscan
sslscan tests SSL and TLS services for supported protocols, ciphers, and certificate information. It provides a quick view of weak encryption settings that could affect exposed services.
Nuclei
Nuclei runs template-based checks to identify known exposures, misconfigurations, and technology-specific security issues. It reduces repetitive validation work by applying community or custom templates across many authorized targets.
httpx
httpx probes web services and reports live hosts, HTTP responses, titles, technologies, and metadata. It helps testers prioritize responsive web assets instead of manually opening every discovered hostname.
Subfinder
Subfinder passively discovers subdomains by querying multiple public OSINT and asset-discovery data sources. It addresses incomplete external asset inventories by collecting subdomain candidates before active validation begins.
DNSRecon
DNSRecon performs DNS reconnaissance, including record enumeration, zone-transfer tests, and reverse lookups. It helps uncover overlooked DNS configuration details that can expose hosts or reveal infrastructure relationships.
Fierce
Fierce performs DNS reconnaissance to find subdomains, associated addresses, and nearby network ranges. It reduces manual domain investigation by organizing likely targets from DNS information into actionable findings.
Scapy
Scapy is a Python packet-manipulation tool for crafting, sending, capturing, and analyzing network traffic. It helps testers create custom protocol tests when standard scanners cannot reproduce unusual network behavior.
Socat
Socat creates bidirectional data channels between sockets, files, terminals, and other communication endpoints. It solves connectivity and port-forwarding problems by bridging services across constrained network environments.
Sliver
Sliver is an open-source command-and-control framework for managing authorized post-exploitation operations. It centralizes agent management and operator coordination during controlled assessments involving multiple compromised hosts.
Cobalt Strike
Cobalt Strike is a commercial adversary-emulation platform supporting command-and-control and post-exploitation workflows. It helps red teams coordinate realistic attack simulations through a shared operational interface.
Covenant
Covenant is a.NET command-and-control framework for managing agents and post-exploitation tasks. It helps Windows-focused testers organize remote task execution without manually handling each session.
Mythic
Mythic is a plugin-oriented command-and-control platform supporting multiple agents and communication profiles. It reduces tooling fragmentation by providing one interface for varied authorized post-exploitation agents.
Pwncat-cs
Pwncat-cs manages reverse and bind shells with enumeration, persistence, and privilege-escalation modules. It makes unstable shell sessions easier to operate by adding structured commands and host context.
Chisel
Chisel creates TCP and UDP tunnels transported through HTTP connections using a client-server model. It helps testers reach internal services when direct network paths are unavailable or restricted.
Ligolo-ng
Ligolo-ng provides reverse tunneling and pivoting capabilities for routing traffic through compromised systems. It solves internal-network access challenges by routing assessment traffic through an authorized foothold.
ProxyChains-NG
ProxyChains-NG redirects TCP connections through one or more SOCKS or HTTP proxy servers. It enables existing command-line tools to reach segmented networks without native proxy support.
LaZagne
LaZagne retrieves credentials stored by many common applications on Windows, Linux, and macOS. It helps testers assess credential exposure without manually inspecting every application's local storage.
Seatbelt
Seatbelt performs security-focused host enumeration on Windows, collecting configuration and privilege-related information. It reduces time spent checking Windows settings individually during local privilege-escalation assessments.
PEASS-ng
PEASS-ng is a collection of scripts for enumerating Linux and Windows privilege-escalation opportunities. It organizes extensive local checks so testers can identify risky configurations more systematically.
LinPEAS
LinPEAS enumerates Linux configuration details, permissions, services, credentials, and potential escalation paths. It helps identify Linux misconfigurations quickly when manual host review would be time-consuming.
WinPEAS
WinPEAS enumerates Windows configuration details, permissions, services, credentials, and escalation opportunities. It streamlines Windows host review by highlighting configurations that deserve deeper security validation.
Linux Exploit Suggester
Linux Exploit Suggester reviews Linux system information and suggests potentially relevant local kernel exploits. It narrows exploit research by relating detected kernel versions to publicly known privilege-escalation issues.
Windows Exploit Suggester
Windows Exploit Suggester compares Windows patch information against known Microsoft security bulletins. It helps testers identify missing patches without manually comparing each installed update to advisories.
pspy
pspy monitors Linux process activity and scheduled executions without requiring root privileges. It reveals short-lived processes and cron jobs that ordinary process listings may miss.
LinEnum
LinEnum gathers Linux system information relevant to privilege escalation, including permissions and services. It reduces overlooked local findings by collecting common escalation indicators in one report.
PowerUp
PowerUp is a PowerShell toolkit for finding and exploiting common Windows privilege-escalation weaknesses. It helps assess Windows privilege boundaries by automating checks for vulnerable service configurations.
BeEF
BeEF uses browser-based hooks to assess security risks associated with exposed web browsers. It helps testers demonstrate browser attack surface risks that server-focused assessments can overlook.
Social-Engineer Toolkit
Social-Engineer Toolkit provides modules for authorized social-engineering simulations, including phishing and credential-harvesting scenarios. It helps teams test human-facing security controls without building simulation infrastructure from scratch.
Commix
Commix automates detection and exploitation testing for command injection vulnerabilities in web applications. It reduces the manual effort required to validate suspected command injection parameters.
XSStrike
XSStrike scans for cross-site scripting weaknesses using parameter analysis and crafted payloads. It helps testers identify complex XSS cases that basic reflected-input checks may miss.
Dalfox
Dalfox finds potential cross-site scripting vulnerabilities through parameter mining, payload testing, and filtering analysis. It speeds up XSS testing across many URLs and parameters during web assessments.
Wapiti
Wapiti crawls web applications and tests discovered inputs for common security vulnerabilities. It helps testers systematically cover application endpoints that are tedious to inspect manually.
Skipfish
Skipfish performs automated web application security reconnaissance using a high-speed HTTP crawler. It helps uncover unusual site paths and potentially risky web behaviors early.
Vega
Vega is a web security scanner and intercepting proxy for testing web applications. It gives testers a graphical workflow for inspecting requests and identifying common web flaws.
Arachni
Arachni is a web application security scanner designed to crawl and audit websites. It helps automate baseline vulnerability checks across applications with many interconnected pages.
sqlninja
sqlninja tests Microsoft SQL Server injection vulnerabilities and supports controlled post-exploitation assessment tasks. It helps testers validate SQL Server-specific injection risks beyond simple database error detection.
NoSQLMap
NoSQLMap automates testing for injection weaknesses affecting NoSQL databases and related web interfaces. It helps assess NoSQL input handling when conventional SQL injection tools are unsuitable.
PadBuster
PadBuster tests web applications for padding oracle vulnerabilities in encrypted HTTP cookies. It helps reveal cryptographic implementation mistakes that can expose protected session data.
tplmap
tplmap detects and tests server-side template injection vulnerabilities in web application inputs. It reduces guesswork when evaluating whether template engines process untrusted user-supplied content.
Arjun
Arjun discovers hidden HTTP parameters accepted by web applications and API endpoints. It helps testers find undocumented inputs that may expand the available attack surface.
ParamSpider
ParamSpider collects URLs containing parameters from public archives for web security testing. It helps researchers assemble parameterized endpoint lists without manually searching historical web data.
Aquatone
Aquatone captures screenshots and gathers visual information from lists of web hosts. It helps testers rapidly review large sets of discovered web services for interesting targets.
EyeWitness
EyeWitness takes screenshots of web services and records basic information about their responses. It helps prioritize numerous discovered hosts by making their exposed interfaces easier to review.
Naabu
Naabu performs fast port scanning to identify reachable network services on target hosts. It helps testers map exposed services quickly before conducting deeper enumeration and validation.
dnsx
dnsx resolves domains and performs DNS queries for reconnaissance and asset discovery workflows. It helps verify candidate subdomains and DNS records without repetitive individual lookups.
Katana
Katana crawls websites to discover links, forms, scripts, endpoints, and other accessible resources. It helps expose application routes that might not appear in a simple manual review.
waybackurls
waybackurls retrieves known URLs for domains from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. It helps testers locate historical paths and parameters that current site navigation does not reveal.
CRLFuzz
CRLFuzz tests URLs and parameters for carriage return and line feed injection issues. It helps identify response-splitting risks that can be difficult to spot through routine browsing.
Ghauri
Ghauri automates detection and exploitation testing for SQL injection vulnerabilities in web requests. It helps validate suspected SQL injection points while reducing repetitive payload experimentation.
Smbexec
Smbexec executes commands on Windows systems through SMB in authorized network assessments. It helps testers evaluate remote administration exposure when SMB credentials are available legitimately.
CrackMapExec
CrackMapExec is a network assessment tool for enumerating and validating Windows and Active Directory environments. It helps assess credential reach and configuration exposure across many Windows hosts efficiently.
These tools serve different stages of an authorized assessment, from asset discovery to vulnerability validation. Use them only on systems you own or have explicit permission to test.