A penetration tester attempts to run an automated web-application scanner against a target URL. The tester validates that the web page is accessible from a different device. The tester analyzes the…

The correct answer is D. Modify the scanner user agent. The HTTP request logs show that requests using common browser user agents (e.g., Mozilla/5.0) receive a 200 OK response, while requests from automation tools (e.g., curl, python) receive no response. This suggests that the web application is blocking automated scanners based on…

Submitted by emma.c· Mar 6, 2026Vulnerability Discovery and Analysis

Question

A penetration tester attempts to run an automated web-application scanner against a target URL. The tester validates that the web page is accessible from a different device. The tester analyzes the following HTTP request header logging output:

Which of the following actions should the tester take to get the scans to work properly?

Exhibit

Options

AModify the scanner to slow down the scan.
BChange the source IP with a VPN.
CModify the scanner to only use HTTP GET requests.
DModify the scanner user agent.

How the community answered

(46 responses)

A
7% (3)
B
4% (2)
C
15% (7)
D
74% (34)

Explanation

The HTTP request logs show that requests using common browser user agents (e.g., Mozilla/5.0) receive a 200 OK response, while requests from automation tools (e.g., curl, python) receive no response. This suggests that the web application is blocking automated scanners based on the User-Agent string. To bypass this restriction, the penetration tester should modify the scanner's User-Agent string to mimic a legitimate browser, such as User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; This change will make the scanner appear as a real browser, allowing it to bypass basic bot

Topics

#web application scanning#user agent#evasion techniques#WAF bypass

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