What Is Acunetix and How Does It Detect Web Application Vulnerabilities?

Who Needs Acunetix?

Anyone who runs a website that talks to users. E-commerce shops in Pune, fintech startups in Hinjawadi, government portals, or internal HR tools. If your app has a login box, a search bar, or a file upload, Acunetix will find holes you never knew existed.

Inside the Acunetix Engine

Think of Acunetix as three robots in a trench coat:

• Crawler: Maps every page like Google.
• Attacker: Tries real exploits safely.
• Teacher: Explains the bug and gives fix code.

1. Deep Crawling with AcuSpider

Normal scanners see only what a 1990s browser saw. AcuSpider renders React, Angular, and Vue exactly like Chrome. It clicks buttons, fills forms, and waits for lazy-loaded content.

• Supports ES6 modules and WebAssembly.
• Records every AJAX call and WebSocket frame.
• Follows JSON responses that build hidden menus.

2. Smart Scanning Phases

Acunetix never brute-forces blindly. It works in layers:

• Phase 1: Passive scan while crawling, no traffic spike.
• Phase 2: Light probes to confirm tech stack.
• Phase 3: Deep attack simulations on confirmed inputs.

3. 7,000+ Vulnerability Checks

Every night the lab in Malta adds new checks. Today you get:

• SQL injection (blind, error-based, time-based).
• XSS: reflected, stored, DOM-based.
• Path traversal, LFI, RFI.
• SSRF, XXE, deserialization.
• Broken auth, IDOR, rate-limit bypass.
• OWASP Top 10 + API Top 10 + CVE database.

4. JavaScript Beauty with AcuScript

AcuScript executes your JS in a sandbox and watches what changes. It discovers endpoints hidden behind 20 lines of minified code.

• Detects GraphQL introspection queries.
• Finds forgotten debug flags in SPA bundles.
• Spots client-side prototype pollution.

5. API Testing Superpowers

Import Postman collections or OpenAPI files. Acunetix mutates parameters automatically.

• Fuzzes JWT claims and GraphQL variables.
• Checks for BOLA (Broken Object Level Authorization).
• Validates rate-limit headers in real time.

6. Login & Session Magic

Teach Acunetix your login flow once:

• Records macros for MFA, OAuth, SAML.
• Replays cookies so protected pages get scanned.
• Detects when session fixation or logout fails.

7. Reports Even Managers Love

One click gives you three PDFs:

• Executive summary: 2 pages, color charts.
• Developer report: exact curl command to reproduce.
• Compliance pack: PCI, HIPAA, GDPR tick-boxes.

8. CI/CD Pipeline Friends

Drop one line in GitHub Actions:

acunetix scan --target https://staging.myapp.com --profile Full

• Fail build on High or Critical issues.
• Post comments directly on pull requests.
• Works with Jenkins, GitLab, Azure DevOps.

9. Cloud, On-Prem, or Hybrid

Choose your flavor:

• Acunetix Cloud: zero servers, scan from Malta.
• On-Prem VM: keep data inside Pune DC.
• Hybrid: schedule scans from your Kubernetes cluster.

Quick Comparison Table

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Conclusion

Acunetix turns “We got hacked” into “We prevented 42 hacks this sprint.” It crawls like a user, attacks like a hacker, and reports like a consultant. Install it today, scan your staging site tonight, and sleep better tomorrow. Your users in Pune (and the teenager in Brazil) will thank you.