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OpenVAS VS mitmproxy

Compare OpenVAS VS mitmproxy and see what are their differences

OpenVAS logo OpenVAS

The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a framework of several services and tools...

mitmproxy logo mitmproxy

mitmproxy is an SSL-capable man-in-the-middle proxy for HTTP.
  • OpenVAS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-22
  • mitmproxy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-22

OpenVAS features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenVAS is an open-source vulnerability scanning tool, which means it is free to use and the source code is available for customization.
  • Comprehensive Scanning
    It offers comprehensive vulnerability scanning capabilities, including a wide range of tests for network vulnerabilities, web application security, and compliance checks.
  • Regular Updates
    The tool receives regular updates, ensuring that it keeps up with the latest vulnerabilities and security threats.
  • Community Support
    OpenVAS has a strong community of users and developers who contribute to its development and provide support through forums and other channels.
  • Integration Capabilities
    OpenVAS can be integrated with other security tools and systems, enhancing its utility in a broader security infrastructure.

Possible disadvantages of OpenVAS

  • Complex Setup
    Setting up OpenVAS can be complex and time-consuming, requiring a fair amount of technical expertise.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running OpenVAS can be resource-intensive, potentially requiring significant CPU and memory, especially during large-scale scans.
  • False Positives
    Like many vulnerability scanning tools, OpenVAS can generate false positives, which can result in additional effort to validate findings.
  • User Interface
    The user interface can be less intuitive compared to some commercial vulnerability scanners, potentially increasing the learning curve for new users.
  • Limited Real-Time Capabilities
    OpenVAS is more focused on periodic scanning rather than real-time vulnerability detection and management.

mitmproxy features and specs

  • Open Source
    mitmproxy is free and open source, allowing users to modify and contribute to the project. This ensures transparency and encourages community-driven improvements.
  • Interactive Interface
    It offers a powerful interactive console interface that lets users inspect and modify HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses in real-time.
  • Scripting Support
    mitmproxy supports Python scripting, which enables users to automate and customize their workflows easily.
  • Cross-Platform
    The tool is available for multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Extensive Documentation
    mitmproxy provides comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and community resources, which helps users get started and find solutions to issues quickly.
  • TLS Support
    It has built-in support for TLS/SSL, which allows for the interception and inspection of encrypted traffic.

Possible disadvantages of mitmproxy

  • Learning Curve
    The tool has a steep learning curve, especially for users who are not familiar with networking concepts or Python scripting.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running mitmproxy can be resource-intensive, especially when dealing with high traffic volumes, which might affect system performance.
  • Limited GUI Options
    While mitmproxy offers a powerful console interface, the graphical user interface (GUI) options are somewhat limited compared to other tools.
  • Potential Legal and Ethical Issues
    Intercepting traffic with mitmproxy can raise legal and ethical concerns, especially if used without proper authorization or in violation of privacy laws.
  • Compatibility Issues
    There can be compatibility issues with some applications that implement advanced security measures, leading to difficulties in intercepting and modifying traffic.

Analysis of OpenVAS

Overall verdict

  • OpenVAS is a good choice for those seeking a reliable and free vulnerability management solution. However, users should be prepared for a potentially steep learning curve and the need for manual configuration to tailor the scanner to their specific environment.

Why this product is good

  • OpenVAS is a comprehensive open-source vulnerability scanner that is widely respected within the cybersecurity community. It provides extensive scanning capabilities, a regularly updated database of vulnerabilities, and supports a wide range of network protocols. The tool is versatile and can be integrated with other software for enhanced security operations. It is well-suited for detecting vulnerabilities in the network and identifying security issues that need to be addressed.

Recommended for

    OpenVAS is ideal for small to medium-sized organizations looking for a cost-effective vulnerability scanning solution. It's also suitable for cybersecurity professionals who have the technical expertise to configure and maintain the scanner, as well as enthusiasts or students who are keen on learning more about vulnerability management using open-source tools.

Analysis of mitmproxy

Overall verdict

  • Yes, mitmproxy is generally considered a good tool, especially for developers, testers, and security professionals who need to monitor and manipulate network traffic. Its open-source nature and the community around it ensure continuous improvement and support.

Why this product is good

  • Mitmproxy is a powerful, interactive, open-source HTTP/HTTPS proxy that is well-regarded for its robust feature set, including the ability to inspect, modify, and replay both HTTP and WebSocket traffic. It is particularly appreciated for its command-line interface, scriptability using Python, and detailed traffic inspection capabilities. It is a valuable tool for debugging, testing, and security analysis.

Recommended for

    Mitmproxy is recommended for software developers, QA testers, network administrators, and security researchers who require advanced tools for inspecting and debugging HTTP/HTTPS traffic. It is also beneficial for students and educators in computer science and cybersecurity disciplines who are learning about network protocols.

OpenVAS videos

How to find Exploits with OpenVAS

More videos:

  • Review - Vulnerability Analysis with OpenVAS | Scanning and Reconnaissance
  • Review - Vulnerability Identification and Remediation Cybrary Lab | Ep. 3 Kali Linux, OpenVAS, + more

mitmproxy videos

No mitmproxy videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenVAS and mitmproxy)
Security
76 76%
24% 24
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Web Application Security
100 100%
0% 0
Proxy
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare OpenVAS and mitmproxy

OpenVAS Reviews

Best Burp Suite Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2023
The primary reason businesses use OpenVas is to perform comprehensive security testing of their IP addresses. This tool performs a port scan of an IP address to find any open services. Once listening services are found, they are tested for known vulnerabilities and misconfiguration using a large database of 53000 NVT checks. The results are compiled into a report that...
Burp suite alternatives
It is an open vulnerability assessment system is a software framework of services and tools offering vulnerability scanning and vulnerability assessment. The aim of OpenVAS protocol ia to be well documented to assist the developers. all products of OpenVAS are free, most components are licensed under the GNU, general public license. Its Plugins are written in NASL (Nessus...
Source: www.educba.com
10 Best Tenable Nessus Alternatives For 2021 [Updated List]
Verdict: OpenVAS is an open-source web application security scanner that will help you accurately detect vulnerabilities. It is easily configurable and can be tuned accordingly if you want to perform large-scale scans. Its use of updated data feeds makes it extremely efficient in detecting almost all types of vulnerabilities.
Best Nessus Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2021
OpenVAS receives updates daily, which broadens the vulnerability detection coverage. It also helps in risk assessment and suggests countermeasures when the vulnerabilities in an application or network is detected.

mitmproxy Reviews

Top 10 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools (2023)
MITMproxy is a free and open-source interactive HTTP(s) proxy. Distinct from others, this tool works based on three major attributes, a command line, a web interface, and a Python API. As a command line, it can be used to test, intercept specific messages, inspect, modify the message before they reach the precise location, replay web traffic such as HTTP/1, HTTP/2, and most...
12 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools
mitmproxy is a popular open-source HTTPS proxy among security researchers. Use it as a CLI, web, or Python API.
Source: geekflare.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, mitmproxy seems to be a lot more popular than OpenVAS. While we know about 87 links to mitmproxy, we've tracked only 6 mentions of OpenVAS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OpenVAS mentions (6)

  • Link CVE to installed applications?
    Otherwise your on the right path checkout the open source Greenbones OpenVAS (this was Nessus before they closed source and became corporate) or Project Discovery Nuclei. Source: about 2 years ago
  • What should I be doing as the sole sysadmin for a company to keep up with security?
    Personally, I was lucky enough to get a license to Nessus for my own scanning, however you can use OpenVAS for some free to scan. Scanners aren't 100% correct no matter where you go but it'll give you some things to look at. OpenVAS. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Wanting to protect my own homelab
    Https://openvas.org/ OpenVAS is free and fairly capable. It might struggle cpu on a pi... Might need quite a bit of ram, but I'm hoping you've got some beefier kit in your stack. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Free nessus equivalent?
    Maybe OpenVAS would fill the bill. It’s been on my list of things to check out. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Internal Vulnerability Scanning
    OpenVAS - https://openvas.org Try it first, its free, just download a prebuilt VM and you're off and running. I found it valuable for my clients. Source: almost 4 years ago
View more

mitmproxy mentions (87)

  • eInk Mode: Making Web Pages Easier to Read
    > if the rendering engine and network fetching were easily separable - and you could insert your own steps into that pipeline, you could do all sorts of neat stuff. Can’t that be done relatively easily with https://mitmproxy.org/? - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • uBlock Origin is no longer available on the Chrome Store
    Https://mitmproxy.org/ Either Python or PowerShell would work for the scripting. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Sniffnet – monitor your Internet traffic
    Years ago, I set up https://mitmproxy.org on a Raspberry Pi and used it to get logs of every site that my kids would visit. I should be clear that monitoring/spying != parenting, but it definitely made me feel a little better to have some idea of what the kids are using the internet for. From a technical perspective, it did exactly what you want. I had logs of full urls (not just domains). So, for example, I could... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • When Postgres index meets Bcrypt
    The bug issue was reproducible in the production setup, the logs/metrics were not so useful with the clues for the cause. So, I cloned the project code to my laptop and launched a Postgres instance via Docker Compose. Additionally, I started mitmproxy to be able to intercept and inspect HTTP requests on my machine, and created a template of the request to the Internal service API with my own SSN in Postman. My... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • How I automated my fitness goals
    So time to over-engineer this simple problem: since my gym uses EGym / Netpulse, it has Member Card NFC check-ins, which can be accessed via a private API that is called within their App. Using mitmproxy allowed me to quickly identify the check-in related endpoints and the auth mechanism. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenVAS and mitmproxy, you can also consider the following products

Nessus - Nessus Professional is a security platform designed for businesses who want to protect the security of themselves, their clients, and their customers.

Charles Proxy - HTTP proxy / HTTP monitor / Reverse Proxy

Burp Suite - Burp Suite is an integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications.

Proxyman.io - Proxyman is a high-performance macOS app, which enables developers to view HTTP/HTTPS requests from apps and domains.

Acunetix - Audit your website security and web applications for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other...

HTTP Toolkit - Beautiful, cross-platform & open-source tools to debug, test & build with HTTP(S). One-click setup for browsers, servers, Android, CLI tools, scripts and more.