NAME
nikto - Scan web server for known vulnerabilities
SYNOPSIS
/usr/local/bin/nikto [options...]
DESCRIPTION
Examine a web server to find potential problems and security
vulnerabilities, including:
· Server and software misconfigurations
· Default files and programs
· Insecure files and programs
· Outdated servers and programs
Nikto is built on LibWhisker (by RFP) and can run on any platform which
has a PERL environment. It supports SSL, proxies, host authentication,
IDS evasion and more. It can be updated automatically from the
command-line, and supports the optional submission of updated version
data back to the maintainers.
OPTIONS
Below are all of the Nikto command line options and explanations. A
brief version of this text is available by running Nikto with the -h
(-help) option.
-Cgidirs
Scan these CGI directories. Special words "none" or "all" may be
used to scan all CGI directories or none, (respectively). A literal
value for a CGI directory such as "/cgi-test/" may be specified
(must include trailing slash). If this is option is not specified,
all CGI directories listed in config.txt will be tested.
-config
Specify an alternative config file to use instead of the config.txt
located in the install directory.
-dbcheck
Check the scan databases for syntax errors.
-Display
Control the output that Nikto shows. See Chapter 5 for detailed
information on these options. Use the reference number or letter to
specify the type, multiple may be used:
1 - Show redirects
2 - Show cookies received
3 - Show all 200/OK responses
4 - Show URLs which require authentication
D - Debug Output
V - Verbose Output
-evasion
Specify the LibWhisker IDS evasion technique to use (see the
LibWhisker docs for detailed information on these). Use the
reference number to specify the type, multiple may be used:
1 - Random URI encoding (non-UTF8)
2 - Directory self-reference (/./)
3 - Premature URL ending
4 - Prepend long random string
5 - Fake parameter
6 - TAB as request spacer
7 - Change the case of the URL
8 - Use Windows directory separator (\)
-findonly
Only discover the HTTP(S) ports, do not perform a security scan.
This will attempt to connect with HTTP or HTTPS, and report the
Server header.
-Format
Save the output file specified with -o (-output) option in this
format. If not specified, the default will be taken from the file
extension specified in the -output option. Valid formats are:
csv - a comma-seperated list
htm - an HTML report
txt - a text report
xml - an XML report
-host
Host(s) to target. Can be an IP address, hostname or text file of
hosts. A single dash (-) maybe used for stdout. Can also parse nmap
-oG style output
-Help
Display extended help information.
-id
ID and password to use for host Basic host authentication. Format
is "id:password".
-list-plugins
Will list all plugins that Nikto can run against targets and then
will exit without performing a scan. These can be tuned for a
session using the -plugins option.
The output format is:
Plugin name
full name - description
Written by author, Copyright (C) copyright
-mutate
Specify mutation technique. A mutation will cause Nikto to combine
tests or attempt to guess values. These techniques may cause a
tremendous amount of tests to be launched against the target. Use
the reference number to specify the type, multiple may be used:
1 - Test all files with all root directories
2 - Guess for password file names
3 - Enumerate user names via Apache (/~user type requests)
4 - Enumerate user names via cgiwrap (/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~user type
requests)
5 - Attempt to brute force sub-domain names, assume that the host
name is the parent domain
6 - Attempt to guess directory names from the supplied dictionary
file
-mutate-options
Provide extra information for mutates, e.g. a dictionary file
-nolookup
Do not perform name lookups on IP addresses.
-nossl
Do not use SSL to connect to the server.
-no404
Disable 404 (file not found) checking. This will reduce the total
number of requests made to the webserver and may be preferable when
checking a server over a slow link, or an embedded device. This
will generally lead to more false positives being discovered.
-output
Write output to the file specified. The format used will be taken
from the file extension. This can be over-riden by using the
-Format option (e.g. to write text files with a different
extenstion. Existing files will have new information appended.
-plugins
Select which plugins will be run on the specified targets. A comma
separated list should be provided which lists the names of the
plugins. The names can be found by using -list-plugins.
There are two special entries: ALL, which specifies all plugins
shall be run and NONE, which specifies no plugins shall be run. The
default is ALL
-port
TCP port(s) to target. To test more than one port on the same host,
specify the list of ports in the -p (-port) option. Ports can be
specified as a range (i.e., 80-90), or as a comma-delimited list,
(i.e., 80,88,90). If not specified, port 80 is used.
-Pause
Seconds to delay between each test.
-root
Prepend the value specified to the beginning of every request. This
is useful to test applications or web servers which have all of
their files under a certain directory.
-ssl
Only test SSL on the ports specified. Using this option will
dramatically speed up requests to HTTPS ports, since otherwise the
HTTP request will have to timeout first.
-Single
Perform a single request to a target server. Nikto will prompt for
all options which can be specified, and then report the detailed
output. See Chapter 5 for detailed information.
-timeout
Seconds to wait before timing out a request. Default timeout is 10
seconds.
-Tuning
Tuning options will control the test that Nikto will use against a
target. By default, if any options are specified, only those tests
will be performed. If the "x" option is used, it will reverse the
logic and exclude only those tests. Use the reference number or
letter to specify the type, multiple may be used:
0 - File Upload
1 - Interesting File / Seen in logs
2 - Misconfiguration / Default File
3 - Information Disclosure
4 - Injection (XSS/Script/HTML)
5 - Remote File Retrieval - Inside Web Root
6 - Denial of Service
7 - Remote File Retrieval - Server Wide
8 - Command Execution / Remote Shell
9 - SQL Injection
a - Authentication Bypass
b - Software Identification
c - Remote Source Inclusion
x - Reverse Tuning Options (i.e., include all except specified)
The given string will be parsed from left to right, any x
characters will apply to all characters to the right of the
character.
-useproxy
Use the HTTP proxy defined in the configuration file.
-update
Update the plugins and databases directly from cirt.net.
-Version
Display the Nikto software, plugin and database versions.
-vhost
Specify the Host header to be sent to the target.
FILES
nikto.conf
The Nikto configuration file. This sets Nikto´s global options.
Several nikto.conf files may exist and are parsed in the below
order. As each configuration file is loaded is supersedes any
previously set configuration:
· System wide (e.g. /etc/nikto.conf)
· Home directory (e.g. $HOME/nikto.conf)
· Current directory (e.g. ./nikto.conf)
${NIKTO_DIR}/plugins/db*
db files are the databases that nikto uses to check for
vulnerabilities and issues within the web server.
${NIKTO_DIR}/plugins/*.plugin
All nikto´s plugins exist here. Nikto itself is just a wrapper
script to manage CLI and pass through to the plugins.
${NIKTO_DIR}/templates
Contains the templates for nikto´s output formats.
BUGS
The current features are not supported:
· SOCKS Proxies
AUTHORS
Nikto was originally written and maintained by Sullo, CIRT, Inc. It is
currently maintained by David Lodge. See the main documentation for
other contributors.
All code is (C) CIRT, Inc., except LibWhisker which is (C) rfp.labs
(wiretrip.net). Other portions of code may be (C) as specified.
SEE ALSO
Nikto Homepage[1]
NOTES
1. Nikto Homepage
http://www.cirt.net/
01/19/2010