Documenting My Learning Process: The Trials and Tribulations of Burp Suite
Burp Suite is a set of web application security testing tools developed by PortSwigger used to identify vulnerabilities. Initially, I encountered difficulties with the Burp Browser functionality. The issue persisted despite trying it on multiple platforms such as Ubuntu, Mac, and Windows, and even downloading an updated Java version. I sought assistance from a peer but we still could not figure it out after performing a Browser Health Check. I decided to step away from Burp Suite and returned the next day. Eventually, I realized I had accidentally enabled the “Intercept” feature. Turning off intercept resolved the issue - one click was the source of my frustration. This experience served as a microcosm of my broader cybersecurity learning journey, where troubleshooting is an inherent part of the process. While challenges can be frustrating, problem-solving is more rewarding and worthwhile.
How To Crawl a Website With Burp Suite Community Edition
Crawling a website with Burp Suite involves systematically exploring its pages and functionality to map its structure, identify potential vulnerabilities, and enhance its security posture. This helps uncover hidden or forgotten pages, detects security flaws, and provides insights into the overall security landscape of the web application, enabling proactive measures to mitigate risks and protect against potential attacks.
1.) Launch Burp Suite Community Edition.
2.) Configure your web browser to use Burp Suite as a proxy, directing the traffic through Burp Suite. You can modify the proxy settings in your browser to point to the desired address. The default configuration is usually set to localhost (127.0.0.1) and port 8080.
3.) Set up the target scope: In Burp Suite, navigate to the “Target” tab and select the “Scope” sub-tab. Add the target website URL or define the scope based on specific criteria, such as domain or file extension. This helps specify the range of pages to be included in the crawl.
4.) Use the Proxy tool for manual crawling: In the “Proxy” tab of Burp Suite, you can manually browse the target website by visiting different pages and interacting with the site’s functionalities. Open the Browser and as you navigate through the website, Burp Suite will capture the requests and responses.
Note: When you are connected to the proxy and have the Proxy Intercept switched on, your browser will not load whenever you make a request. This was my mistake and therefore was unable to make any web requests through my browser. If your browser is not loading, try checking your proxy!
5.) Analyze the captured traffic: In the “Proxy” tab, you can review the captured traffic, including the URLs, requests, and responses. This allows you to observe the structure of the website and identify additional URLs to include in the site map.
6.) Site map allows you to map out the apps you target in a tree structure. The pages you visit will populate automatically. You can create a site map manually by browsing through the website.
7.) Export the site map if desired: If you wish to export the site map for further analysis or documentation, you can manually save the site map information in a preferred format, such as a text document or spreadsheet, or use a Site Map Extractor tool.