FAQ: Why does Acunetix WVS detect pages that don’t exist on my website?

Some websites are designed to use custom 404 error pages instead of a web browser’s standard error page because they can be branded and made to contain links to other important pages. If your website uses custom 404 error pages which generate different error codes, Acunetix WVS can misinterpret them as being real site pages if it has not been configured to recognize them automatically.

WVS will try to guess the custom error page automatically but it cannot always be successful. The following instructions illustrate how to configure WVS if it does not automatically detect the custom error page:

1. In the Tools Explorer, navigate to the Configuration > Settings node.
2. Select the ‘Custom 404 Pages’ node under the ‘Scanner Settings’ node.
3. Click on the ‘Add pattern’ button.
4. Enter the URL of your website and click on the ‘Autodetect’ button.
5. Highlight a unique sentence that identifies this page and click on the ‘Test pattern’ button.
6. Click ‘Add’ to save the configuration into the list.
7. Click ‘Apply’ to save your settings.

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THE AUTHOR

Acunetix

Acunetix developers and tech agents regularly contribute to the blog. All the Acunetix developers come with years of experience in the web security sphere.