🔐Testing Websites Using OWASP Top 10 with Kali Linux Tools

Kali Linux is the go-to operating system for penetration testers and ethical hackers, offering a wide array of security tools right out of the box. If you're a security professional or a developer looking to test the robustness of your web application, combining Kali Linux with the OWASP Top 10 provides a powerful framework for identifying and mitigating critical web vulnerabilities.

In this blog, we’ll walk through how to test each of the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities using Kali Linux and its most effective tools.

🔐 What is the OWASP Top 10?

The OWASP Top 10 is a standard awareness document for developers and web application security professionals. It represents the most critical security risks to web applications.

2021 OWASP Top 10 Categories:

1. A01: Broken Access Control
2. A02: Cryptographic Failures
3. A03: Injection
4. A04: Insecure Design
5. A05: Security Misconfiguration
6. A06: Vulnerable and Outdated Components
7. A07: Identification and Authentication Failures
8. A08: Software and Data Integrity Failures
9. A09: Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
10. A10: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

🛠 Prerequisites

• Kali Linux installed (on bare metal, VM, or WSL)
• Target website or application (ensure you have permission to test)
• Optional: Burp Suite Pro, browser extensions (like FoxyProxy)

🔍 1. A01: Broken Access Control

🔧 Tools:

• Burp Suite
• OWASP ZAP
• Postman (for APIs)

✅ How to Test:

• Use Burp Suite's Proxy to intercept requests from a logged-in user and replay them with different user roles or session cookies.
• Try accessing admin pages or modifying user IDs in API calls (Insecure Direct Object Reference).

🔐 2. A02: Cryptographic Failures

🔧 Tools:

• testssl.sh
• SSLScan
• Nikto

✅ How to Test:

• Use testssl.sh or sslscan to analyze the web server’s TLS configuration:

testssl.sh https://example.com


• Look for weak ciphers, expired certificates, or support for SSLv2/SSLv3.
• Use Burp Suite to inspect session cookies — are they secure, HTTPOnly, and encrypted?

🧬 3. A03: Injection

🔧 Tools:

• SQLMap
• Burp Suite
• OWASP ZAP

✅ How to Test:

• Use sqlmap to automate SQL Injection discovery:

sqlmap -u "https://example.com/products?id=2" --batch


• In Burp, try injecting payloads like ' OR 1=1-- into form fields or parameters and observe response differences.

🧱 4. A04: Insecure Design

🔧 Tools:

• Manual assessment
• Threat modeling (via tools like Threat Dragon)

✅ How to Test:

• Review business logic (e.g., can users bypass steps in a checkout?)
• Try manipulating requests to skip authentication or payment

Insecure Design is more about architectural flaws than coding issues. Requires human analysis and test case modeling.

⚙️ 5. A05: Security Misconfiguration

🔧 Tools:

• Nikto
• Nmap
• Dirb / Dirbuster
• WhatWeb

✅ How to Test:

• Use nikto for web server misconfiguration checks:

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nikto -h http://example.com


• Scan for open ports or exposed admin interfaces using nmap:

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nmap -sV example.com


• Use Dirb to brute force hidden directories:

dirb http://example.com /usr/share/dirb/wordlists/common.txt


📦 6. A06: Vulnerable and Outdated Components

🔧 Tools:

• WhatWeb
• Wappalyzer (browser extension)
• Nuclei (for CVE scanning)

✅ How to Test:

• Use whatweb to fingerprint technologies:

whatweb https://example.com


• Cross-reference versions with known CVEs
• Use Nuclei to run targeted vulnerability templates

nuclei -u https://example.com -t cves/


👤 7. A07: Identification and Authentication Failures

🔧 Tools:

• Hydra
• Burp Suite Intruder
• Wfuzz

✅ How to Test:

• Test for weak credentials using Hydra:

hydra -l admin -P /usr/share/wordlists/rockyou.txt example.com http-post-form "/login:username=^USER^&password=^PASS^:F=Incorrect"


• Use Burp's Intruder to brute force login fields or check for missing account lockouts

🧬 8. A08: Software and Data Integrity Failures

🔧 Tools:

• Dependency-Check
• Burp Suite
• Manual Checks

✅ How to Test:

• Test for unsigned/unauthenticated components (e.g., CDNs, software plugins)
• Manually inspect update processes – are they tamper-proof?

Focus on CI/CD pipeline, package management, and dependency integrity.

📄 9. A09: Security Logging and Monitoring Failures

🔧 Tools:

• Manual testing
• Log file analysis
• Burp / OWASP ZAP

✅ How to Test:

• Trigger unusual activity (e.g., failed logins, XSS payloads) and check logs for traceability
• Use tools like Splunk or ELK Stack (if you have access) to review alerting mechanisms

🌐 10. A10: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

🔧 Tools:

• Burp Suite
• Interactsh (from ProjectDiscovery)
• OWASP ZAP

✅ How to Test:

• Use Burp to submit payloads targeting internal resources:

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http://127.0.0.1:80/
http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data/


• Monitor interact.sh or your own DNS callback server for outbound requests

✅ Wrapping Up

Kali Linux, paired with the OWASP Top 10, provides a robust toolkit for identifying and mitigating web vulnerabilities. Here's a quick summary:

OWASP RiskPrimary Kali Tool(s)A01 - Broken Access ControlBurp SuiteA02 - Cryptographic Failurestestssl.sh, SSLScanA03 - InjectionSQLMap, BurpA04 - Insecure DesignManual, Threat DragonA05 - MisconfigurationNikto, Dirb, NmapA06 - Outdated ComponentsWhatWeb, NucleiA07 - Auth FailuresHydra, WfuzzA08 - Data IntegrityManual, Dependency CheckA09 - Logging FailuresManualA10 - SSRFBurp, Interactsh

⚠️ Legal Notice

Always have explicit, written permission before testing any website or application. Unauthorized testing is illegal and unethical.

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