Which statement describes Nikto's scanning focus?

Which statement describes Nikto's scanning focus?

• A. It monitors live traffic to detect anomalies.
• B. It scans for dangerous files/CGIs, outdated server software, and other security issues.
• C. It maps the network topology.
• D. It performs password brute-forcing on SSH.

Answer: (B)

Nikto is a web server vulnerability scanner. Its purpose is to identify security issues on web servers by scanning for dangerous files and CGI scripts, misconfigurations, and outdated server software. It checks common web directories, looks for default or easily exploitable files, tests for insecure configurations, and flags outdated software versions that could be exploited. That focus on web server weaknesses is why the statement describing scanning for dangerous files/CGIs, outdated server software, and other security issues is the best match. It isn’t about watching live traffic (that’s more like an intrusion detection approach), mapping network topology, or brute-forcing SSH passwords, which are functions of other tools.

Nikto is a web server vulnerability scanner. Its purpose is to identify security issues on web servers by scanning for dangerous files and CGI scripts, misconfigurations, and outdated server software. It checks common web directories, looks for default or easily exploitable files, tests for insecure configurations, and flags outdated software versions that could be exploited. That focus on web server weaknesses is why the statement describing scanning for dangerous files/CGIs, outdated server software, and other security issues is the best match. It isn’t about watching live traffic (that’s more like an intrusion detection approach), mapping network topology, or brute-forcing SSH passwords, which are functions of other tools.