Excluding file types from a scan

Acunetix 360 ignores some URLs that do not need to be tested, using a list of excluded file types or extensions.

By default, Acunetix 360 ignores common file types such as image files (.jpg, .png, etc.) and video files (.mp4, .avi, etc.) as they are not typically a source of web application vulnerabilities. You can modify this list of excluded file types from the Extensions tab when configuring a Scan Policy.

Excluding binary files

Acunetix 360 can also detect binary files but, by default, does not test them. These files are outside the scope of scanning a web application for vulnerabilities. In fact, the Acunetix 360 scanners have a built-in mechanism to check if HTTP responses are binary responses; if they are, they will be excluded from tests.

If you have several binary files on your website, add their extension to this Extensions list, so that when Acunetix 360 identify them, it does not have to make the binary check. The advantage is that this shortens the scan duration.

Crawl and Attack Options

This table lists and describes the crawl options in Acunetix 360.

Crawl Option

Description

Do not Crawl

Acunetix 360 does not crawl file links and adds them to the Out of Scope with Extension Blacklisted reason.

Crawl

File links will be crawled.

Crawl Only Parameter

File links will be crawled if they have any Query String parameters. Otherwise they will be added to the Out of Scope with Extension Blacklisted reason.

This table lists and explains the attack options in Acunetix 360.

Attack Option

Description

Do not Attack

File links will be ignored.

Attack Parameters

File links will be analyzed if they have a parameter.

For example:

Attack Parameters and Query String

File links will be analyzed if they have a parameter or Query String.

For example:

How to Exclude File Types From a Scan in Acunetix 360
  1. From the main menu, click Policies, then Scan Policies.
  2. Do one of the following (see Overview of Scan Policies):
  • Next to an existing policy, click Clone
  • From the main menu, click Policies, then New Scan Policy
  1. In New Scan Policy window, click the Extensions tab.

  1. You can create a new exclusion or edit an existing one. Either:
  • Select an existing item by clicking into its EXTENSION field.
  • Click New to create a new, blank Extensions row.
  • Enter the extension you want to exclude in the EXTENSION field
  1. From the CRAWL dropdown, select an option (see Crawl and Attack Options).
  2. From the ATTACK dropdown, select an option (see Crawl and Attack Options).
  3. Click Save.

 

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