9/9/13 18 Extensions For Turning Firefox Into a Penetration Testing Tool

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Reverse Engineering

18 Extensions For Turning Firefox Into a Penetration

Testing Tool

3

Pavitra Shankdhar July 09, 2013

Firefox is a popular web browser from Mozilla. Popularity of Firefox is not only because it’s a good web

browser, it also supports add-ons to enhance the functionality. Mozilla has a website add-on section that has

thousands of useful add-ons in different categories. Some of these add-ons are useful for penetration testers

and security analysts. These penetration testing add-ons helps in performing different kinds of attacks, and

modify request headers direct from the browser. This way, it reduces the use of a separate tool for most of the

penetration testing related tasks.

In this brief post, we are listing a few popular and interesting Firefox add-ons that are useful for penetration

testers. These add-ons vary from information gathering tools to attacking tools. Use what you think helpful. All

these add-ons are available for free and you can download from the Mozilla add-on website. There are some

premium add-ons like Dominator pro which is also available for purchase from official websites. See the list of

free add-ons below.

Firefox Add-ons for Security Researchers and Penetration Testers

1. FoxyProxy Standard

FoxyProxy is an advanced proxy management add-on for Firefox browser. It improves the built-in proxy

capabilities of Firefox. There are few other similar kind of proxy management add-ons available, but it

offers more features that other add-ons. Based on the URL patterns, it switches internet connection

across one or more proxy servers. When proxy is in use, it also displays an animated icon. In case you

want to see the proxies used by the tool, you can see the logs.

Add FoxyProxy to you browser from this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

US/firefox/addon/foxyproxy-standard/

2. Firebug

Firebug is a nice add-on that integrates a web development tool inside the browser. With this tool, you

can edit and debug HTML, CSS and JavaScript live in any webpage to see the effect of changes. It helps

in analyzing JS files to find XSS vulnerabilities. It’s an really helpful add-on in finding DOM based XSS for

security testing professionals.Add Firebug in your Browser from this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

US/firefox/addon/firebug/

3. Web Developer

Web Developer is another nice add-on that adds various web development tools in the browser. It helps

in web application penetration testing.Add Web Developer in your browser from this link:

https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/web-developer/

4. User Agent Switcher

User Agent Switcher add-on; adds a one click user agent switch to the browser. It adds a menu and tool

bar button in the browser. Whenever you want to switch the user agent, use the browser button. User

Agent add on helps in spoofing the browser while performing some attacks.

Add User Agent Switcher to your browser from this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

US/firefox/addon/user-agent-switcher/

5. Live HTTP Headers

Live HTTP Headers is a really helpful penetration testing add-on for Firefox. It displays live headers of

each http request and response. You can also save header information by clicking on the button in the

lower left corner. I don’t think that there is any kind of need to tell how important this add-on is for the

security testing process.Add Live HTTP Headers to Firefox with this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

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US/firefox/addon/live-http-headers/

6. Tamper Data

Tamper Data is similar to the Live HTTP Header add-on but, has header editing capabilities. With the

tamper data add-on, you can view and modify HTTP/HTTPS headers and post parameters. Thus it helps

in security testing web application by modifying POST parameters. It can be used in performing XSS and

SQL Injection attacks by modifying header data.Add the Tamper data add-on to Firefox browser with this

link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tamper-data/

7. Hackbar

Hackbar is a simple penetration tool for Firefox. It helps in testing simple SQL injection and XSS holes.

You cannot execute standard exploits but you can easily use it to test whether vulnerability exists or not.

You can also manually submit form data with GET or POST requests. It also has encryption and encoding

tools. Most of the times, this tool helps in testing XSS vulnerability with encoded XSS payloads. It also

supports keyboard shortcuts to perform various tasks.I am sure, most of the persons in the security field

already know about this tool. This tool is mostly used in finding POST XSS vulnerabilities because it can

send POST data manually to any page you like. With the ability of manually sending POST form data,

you can easily bypass client side validations of the page. If your payload is being encoded at client side,

you can use an encoding tool to encode your payload and then perform the attack. If the application is

vulnerable to the XSS, I am sure you will find the vulnerability with the help of the Hackbar add-on on

Firefox browser.Add Hackbar add-on to Firefox browser with this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

US/firefox/addon/hackbar/

8. Websecurify

Websecurify is a nice penetration testing tool that is also available as add-on for Firefox. We have

already covered WebSecurify in detail in previous article. WebSecurify can detect most common

vulnerabilities in web applications. This tool can easily detect XSS, SQL injection and other web

application vulnerability. Unlike other listed tools, it is a complete penetration testing tool in itself

available as a browser add-on. It gives most of the features available in standalone tool.Add WebSecurify

to Firefox browser with this link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/websecurify/

9. Add N Edit Cookies

“Add N Edit Cookies” is a cookie editing add-on that allows you to add and edit cookies data in your

browser. With this tool, you can easily add session data manually in cookies. This tool is performed in

session hijacking attack when you have the active cookies of the user. Edit your cookies to add the data

and hijack the account.To download Add N Edit Cookies to Your Firefox browser:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/add-n-edit-cookies-13793/

10. XSS Me

Cross Site Scripting is the most found web application vulnerability. For detecting XSS vulnerabilities in

web applications, this add-on can be a useful tool. XSS-Me is used to find reflected XSS vulnerabilities

from a browser. It scans all forms of the page, and then performs an attack on the selected pages with

pre-defined XSS payloads. After the scan is complete, it lists all the pages that renders a payload on the

page, and may be vulnerable to XSS attack. Now, you can manually test the web page to find whether

the vulnerability exists or not.Add XSS Me

to your Firefox browser: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/xss-me/

11. SQL Inject Me

SQL Inject Me is another nice Firefox add-on used to find SQL injection vulnerabilities in web

applications. This tool does not exploit the vulnerability but display that it exists. SQL injection is one of

the most harmful web application vulnerabilities, it can allow attackers to view, modify, edit, add or

delete records in a database.The tool sends escape strings through form fields, and tries to search

database error messages. If it finds a database error message, it marks the page as vulnerable. QA testers

can use this tool for SQL injection testing.Add SQL Inject Me

add-on to your browser: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/sql-inject-me/

12. FlagFox

FlagFox is another interesting add-on. Once installed in the browser, it displays the country’s flag to tell

the location of the web server. It also comes with other tools like whois, WOT scorecard and ping.Add

FlagFox in your browser: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/flagfox/

13. CryptoFox

CryptoFox is an encryption or decryption tool for Mozilla Firefox. It supports most of the available

encryption algorithm. So, you can easily encrypt or decrypt data with supported encryption algorithm.

This add-on comes with dictionary attack support, to crack MD5 cracking passwords. Although, it hasn’t

have good reviews, it works satisfactorily.Add CryptoFox add-on to your browser:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cryptofox/

14. Access Me

Access Me, is another add-on for security testing professionals. This add-on is developed by the

company that works on XSS Me and SQL Inject Me. Access Me is the can Exploit-Me tool used for testing

access vulnerabilities in web applications. This tool works by sending several versions of page requests.

A request using the HTTP HEAD verb and a request using a made up SECCOM verb will be sent. A

combination of session and HEAD/SECCOM will also be sent.Add Access Me to Firefox from this link:

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https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/access-me/

15. SecurityFocus Vulnerabil ities search plugin

SecurityFocus Vulnerabilities search plugin, is not a security tool but a search plugin that lets users

search for vulnerabilities from the Security Focus database.Add this to Firefox from the link:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/securityfocus-vulnerabilities-/

16. Packet Storm search plugin

This is another search plugin that lets users search for tools and exploits from packetstormsecurity.org.

The website offers free up-to-date security tools, exploits and advisories.Add this to Firefox from the

link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/packet-storm-search-plugin/

17. Offsec Exploit-db Search

This is another plugin similar to the last two above. It also lets users search for vulnerabilities and

exploits listed in exploit-db.com. This website is always up-to-date with latest exploits and vulnerability

details.Add this to Firefox from the link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/offsec-exploit-

db-search/

18. Snort IDS Rule Search

Snort IDS Rule Search is another search add-on for Firefox. It lets users search for Snort IDS rules on the

snort.org website. Snort is the most widely deployed IDS/IPS technology worldwide. It’s an open source

network Intrusion prevention and detection system with more than 400,000 users.Add Snort IDS Rule

Search to Firefox here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/snort-ids-rule-search/

These are few add-ons that you can use while web application penetration testing. Although, you cannot finish

complete penetration testing work with these tools, but these browser tools are useful for most of the tasks and

reduce the use of separate tools.

Hackbar, SQL Inject Me, XSS Me and WebSecurify are the browser tools that are widely used for finding

vulnerabilities in web applications. Other tools are used for specific work which helps in getting information

while penetration testing.

How to install these add-ons in the Firefox browser

Installation of these add-ons in the Firefox browser is really simple. I added links of each Add-on to make

installation easier. Just follow the link, and you will land on the add-on page. Find the big “download” button to

start downloading. In the next page, you will find terms and conditions. Just below that, you will see the “accept

and install” button. Then it will open a pop-up and installation begins in 3 seconds. After installation is

complete, you will need to restart the browser. Everything is just a click away. I am not describing the process

with screenshots because I assume that you already know how to install add-ons in Mozilla Firefox.

Want to learn more?? The InfoSec Institute Reverse Engineering course teachesyou everything from reverse engineering malware to discovering vulnerabilities in

binaries. These skills are required in order to properly secure an organization from

today's ever evolving threats. In this 5 day hands-on course, you will gainthe necessary binary analysis skills to discover the true nature of any

Windows binary. You will learn how to recognize the high level languageconstructs (such as branching statements, looping functions and network socket

code) critical to performing a thorough and professional reverse engineering

analysis of a binary. Some features of this course include:

CREA Certification

5 days of Intensive Hands-On Labs

Hostile Code & Malware analysis, including: Worms, Viruses, Trojans,

Rootkits and Bots

Binary obfuscation schemes, used by: Hackers, Trojan writers and copy

protection algorithms

Learn the methodologies, tools, and manual reversing techniques used realworld situations in our reversing lab.

VIEW RCE COURSE

Conclusion

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Firefox is not only a nice browser, but also a friend of penetration testers and security researchers. With the

given Add-ons, you can enhance the functionality of Firefox in the way that is useful for the penetration testing

process. Some of these tools help in gathering information about a website and its servers. A few other tools

help in intercepting and modifying header information, to perform attacks via headers. In case you are trying to

perform session hijacking, you can use an add-on to edit the cookies with the cookie data stolen from a user’s

browser. SQL Inject ME, XSS Me and Websecurify are semi-automated tools to scan the page, and find the

vulnerabilities that may be on the website. These 3 tools are dedicated security tools with a good success rate.

We have covered WebSecurify in earlier posts. You can read more about the tool to know how it actually works.

Hackbar is the best tool when you want to test a form against Post XSS. Hackbar helps you to manually submit a

form to send POST data. If the app has client side validation in form, and has few limits in length and input, you

can use Hackbar to submit form data manually and see the effect. It also has encoding tools to encode your XSS

payloads, without using any separate tool. Most of the people involved in the security testing field use this tool.

Few tools are just search add-ons that can help you to search exploits and advisories from popular databases.

You can use these add-ons to find the appropriate exploit to perform an attack on the web application, to check

whether the app is affected with this known exploit or not.

I am sure you will like few of these add-ons and will use them in your security testing process.

I personally use Hackbar, SQL Inject Me, XSS me, WebSecurify, Add N Edit Cookies, Live HTTP Headers, Tamper

data, FoxyProxy standard and Firebug.

Which add-on you would like to use? Share your views via comments.

Incoming search terms:

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About the Author

Pavitra Shandkhdhar is an engineering graduate and a security researcher. His area of interest is

web penetration testing. He likes to find vulnerabilities in websites and playing computer

games in his free time. He is currently a researcher with InfoSec Institute.

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3 Comments

Yashwant July 9, 2013 at 1:09 pm - Reply

simple we can say that use OWASP mantra browser..

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Aman Hardikar July 10, 2013 at 2:12 pm - Reply

I have a list of my favorite at

http://www.amanhardikar.com/mindmaps/BrowserPlugins.html

owasp mantra, hconstf and sandcat are prepakaged browsers that you can also use.

Kaostricks August 31, 2013 at 7:39 am - Reply

I must say that you must consider this list as well

http://www.thegeekyglobe.com/28-best-firefox-add-ons.html

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