Abstract

This paper compiles a comprehensive review and assessment of a Ruby-based, command-line-based cybersecurity framework that automates the reconnaissance and detection of vulnerabilities (end-to-end) of web and network-based environments. The framework combines the subdomain enumeration, DNS and service discovery, web vulnerability scanning, CMS-specific exploitation checks, content discovery, and reporting into one workflow that is meant to be used by red teams and penetration testers. The primary value of this work lies not in a new detection algorithm, but in a Generation 3 orchestration architecture, which integrates common open-source tools, eliminates glue code, and also standardizes data flow and data output. The system architecture, threat model, and performance characteristics are analyzed in the paper and compared and contrasted with commercial scanners. Case studies on experimental basis, a deliberately vulnerable application and a collection of 100 mixed websites, depict that, given the above circumstances, the structure is capable of performing comprehensive reconnaissance and scanning within a matter of a few minutes without causing significant resource usage. Limitations, ethical considerations and future research direction are the last parts of the paper due to the need to integrate authenticated scanning and threat intelligence feeds.