Web application vulnerability assessment software helps organizations identify security weaknesses before attackers can exploit them. Unlike traditional vulnerability management tools that focus on servers, operating systems, and network infrastructure, web application vulnerability assessment is designed to test the applications and APIs that users interact with every day.
This distinction matters because web applications have become one of the most common attack targets. Modern applications rely on dynamic content, JavaScript frameworks, APIs, third-party components, and complex authentication workflows that require specialized testing techniques. Conventional infrastructure scanners cannot accurately assess these application-layer risks.
Automated vulnerability assessment uses dynamic application security testing (DAST) to evaluate running applications from the outside in, identifying vulnerabilities that are exposed in real-world conditions. By continuously assessing websites, web applications, and APIs, security teams can uncover exploitable weaknesses, prioritize remediation, and reduce risk without relying solely on manual testing.
Acunetix is a web application vulnerability assessment solution that automates security testing across modern web applications and APIs, helping organizations identify vulnerabilities early and streamline remediation.
Comprehensive web application vulnerability assessment with Acunetix
Modern web applications require more than simple crawling and signature matching. Acunetix combines advanced crawling, testing, and automation technologies to assess complex applications while minimizing manual effort.
Acunetix helps organizations perform comprehensive vulnerability assessments through:
- DeepScan technology to crawl and test HTML5 applications, JavaScript-heavy websites, and single-page applications
- AcuSensor technology to provide additional visibility into server-side code during security testing
- AcuMonitor technology to identify out-of-band vulnerabilities that require asynchronous verification
- Login Sequence Recorder to automate testing of authenticated areas and multi-step login processes
- Automated testing for web APIs alongside traditional web applications to help cover more of the modern application attack surface
Using these technologies, Acunetix identifies a broad range of web application vulnerabilities, including:
- SQL injection, including blind SQL injection
- Cross-site scripting (XSS), including blind XSS
- XML External Entity (XXE) injection
- Server-side request forgery (SSRF)
- Security issues affecting popular content management systems and their plugins, themes, and extensions
- Many additional vulnerabilities covered by the OWASP Top 10 and other widely recognized application security standards
By testing running applications in realistic conditions, Acunetix provides organizations with a practical view of their web application security posture while reducing the manual effort required for routine vulnerability assessments.
Turn vulnerability assessment into remediation
Finding vulnerabilities is only the first step. An effective vulnerability assessment platform should also help security and development teams prioritize findings and resolve issues efficiently.
Acunetix provides features that simplify remediation and support ongoing vulnerability management, including:
- Detailed reports with remediation guidance and supporting technical information
- Line-of-code information, where available, to help developers locate and resolve vulnerabilities more quickly
- Integrations with popular development and issue tracking platforms, including Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Bugzilla, Mantis, and Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS)
- Comparison testing to verify that vulnerabilities have been successfully remediated after fixes are deployed
By combining automated web application vulnerability assessment with actionable reporting and workflow integrations, Acunetix helps organizations incorporate security testing into regular development and operational processes while continuously improving application security.
See how Acunetix can help your team automate web application vulnerability assessment, identify security weaknesses across websites and APIs, and streamline remediation with actionable results. Request a demo to see how automated security testing can fit into your application security workflow.
Frequently asked questions about vulnerability assessment software
Vulnerability assessment software identifies security weaknesses that could be exploited by attackers. Different types of vulnerability assessment tools focus on different environments, including networks, endpoints, cloud infrastructure, web applications, and APIs. Web application vulnerability assessment software is specifically designed to test running web applications and identify application-layer vulnerabilities.
Web application vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying security weaknesses in websites, web applications, and APIs using automated and manual testing techniques. Dynamic application security testing (DAST) is commonly used to assess running applications from an external perspective, helping organizations find vulnerabilities that are accessible in production-like environments.
A vulnerability assessment systematically identifies known security weaknesses across applications or infrastructure. Penetration testing goes a step further by simulating attacks to determine how vulnerabilities can be chained together and what impact they may have. Many organizations use automated vulnerability assessments continuously and supplement them with periodic penetration tests.
Automated vulnerability assessment enables organizations to scan applications regularly without the time and cost associated with entirely manual testing. Regular automated scans help identify newly introduced vulnerabilities, support secure development practices, and provide continuous visibility into application security risks.
Acunetix detects a wide range of web application vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), XML External Entity (XXE) injection, server-side request forgery (SSRF), authentication issues, security misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities affecting popular web platforms and components.
Yes. Acunetix supports automated security testing for both traditional web applications and web APIs, helping organizations assess more of their modern application attack surface from a single vulnerability assessment solution.