Free Penetration Testing Tools
Penetration testing tools simulate real attacks against your applications, networks, and cloud so weaknesses surface before someone else finds them. The free tools in this category support internal testing between the formal, scoped tests that customers and auditors ask for.
- 10 free solutions listed
- Free for startups & SMBs
- Curated by certified experts
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Openwall - John the Ripper
Penetration TestingOpenwall - John the Ripper is an Open Source password security auditing and password recovery tool available for many operating systems.
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Burp Suite
Penetration TestingStart your web security testing journey for free. Burp Suite enables its users to accelerate application security testing, no matter what their use case.
sqlmap
Penetration Testingsqlmap is an open source penetration testing tool that automates the process of detecting and exploiting SQL injection flaws and taking over of database servers. It comes with a powerful detection engine, many niche features for the ultimate penetration tester and a broad range of switches lasting from database fingerprinting, over data fetching from the database, to accessing the underlying file system and executing commands on the operating system via out-of-band connections.
Metasploit
Penetration TestingKnowledge is power, especially when it’s shared. A collaboration between the open source community and Rapid7, Metasploit helps security teams do more than just verify vulnerabilities, manage security assessments, and improve security awareness; it empowers and arms defenders to always stay one step (or two) ahead of the game.
NMAP
Penetration TestingNmap or "Network Mapper" is an open source tool for network mapping, asset discovery and security auditing. Using IP packets, Nmap reviews your entire network to determine what devices are on your network, what services are running, and what operating systems are running. Originally created to map and scan large networks, this tool can be used on networks of any size.
OWASP ZAP
Penetration TestingOWASP® Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is the world’s most widely used web app scanner. Free and open source. Actively maintained by a dedicated international team of volunteers. If you are new to security testing, then ZAP has you very much in mind. Check out our ZAP in Ten video series to learn more. ZAP provides range of options for security automation. Check out the automation docs to start automating. ZAP marketplace contains add-ons that have been contributed by the community.
Parrot Linux
Penetration TestingParrot Linux is a platform used for security testing, software development and privacy defense. The platform includes tools for security and forensics analysis, and resources to help you securely build and launch software online.
Kali Linux
Penetration TestingKali Linux is a penetration testing platform. The tool was built for many popular hardware platforms and stays up to date with the newest versions of penetration tests without needing to re-download the software. Kali Linux provides documentation and resources to help users create custom complex images with ease.
Fedora Security Spin
Penetration TestingFedora Security Spin provides a suite of online tools for safe test-environments, security auditing, forensics, and penetration testing. Fedora Security Spin acts as a stable platform for teaching security and running proper security tests.
BlackArch Linux
Penetration TestingBlackArch Linux is a penetration testing platform with many tools to help penetration testers.
What Penetration Testing Tools Do
Penetration testing tools let you attack your own systems the way an adversary would, to find exploitable weaknesses before someone else does. The category spans network scanners, web application testing proxies, exploitation frameworks, password crackers, and reconnaissance tools that show what an attacker can learn about you from the outside.
A formal penetration test by an independent firm is a requirement in most enterprise security questionnaires and several frameworks. The free tools on this page are the same ones professional testers use; running them yourself between formal tests keeps findings from piling up and makes the paid test shorter and cleaner.
How to Choose a Penetration Testing Tool
- Only test systems you own or have written permission to test; several of these tools are illegal to point at anyone else.
- Start with an external attack surface scan to see what is exposed, then a web application proxy for your product.
- Use a vulnerability scanner regularly and save exploitation frameworks for validating specific findings.
- Keep results and remediation records; a questionnaire will ask when you last tested and what you fixed.
Need help with Penetration Testing?
IRM delivers independent penetration tests for web applications, APIs, cloud, and networks.
Penetration Testing ServicesCheck your readiness first
Free, no signup, runs in your browser. Score your gaps and download a remediation roadmap.
Free SOC 2 Gap AssessmentPenetration Testing Tools: Frequently Asked Questions
Can we do our own penetration test?
You can and should run the free tools on this page against your own systems, and doing so raises your baseline. Customers and frameworks, however, usually require an independent test by a qualified third party at least annually, and an internal scan does not substitute for that.
How often should a SaaS company be penetration tested?
Annually as a minimum, plus after major releases or architecture changes. Continuous automated scanning between formal tests is now the expected pattern for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 programs.
What is the difference between a vulnerability scan and a penetration test?
A scan is automated and finds known weaknesses; a penetration test is performed by a person who chains weaknesses together, tests business logic, and demonstrates real impact. Scans are frequent and cheap; tests are periodic and deeper.
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