| name | recon-fingerprint |
| description | Web fingerprinting and WAF detection using wafw00f, whatweb, nuclei, and httpx. Use this skill when user needs to identify web technologies, detect WAF/CDN, analyze server headers, or fingerprint web applications and frameworks. |
Web Fingerprinting & WAF Detection
Authorization Warning
IMPORTANT: Web fingerprinting sends requests to target servers. Always ensure you have:
- Written permission from the target application owner
- Defined scope of authorized testing
- Legal compliance with local regulations
Prerequisites
Required tools that must be installed on your system:
- httpx -
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/httpx/cmd/httpx@latest
- nuclei -
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v2/cmd/nuclei@latest
Optional tools:
- wafw00f -
pip install wafw00f
- whatweb - Package manager installation
- fingerprintx -
go install github.com/praetorian-inc/fingerprintx/cmd/fingerprintx@latest
Quick Start
Most commonly used commands for web fingerprinting:
Basic Technology Detection
whatweb https://target.com
WAF Detection
wafw00f https://target.com
HTTP Header Analysis
curl -I https://target.com
Comprehensive Fingerprinting (Nuclei)
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech
Common Scenarios
Scenario 1: Quick Technology Fingerprinting
When you need to quickly identify the technology stack:
whatweb https://target.com --aggression 1
Parameters:
--aggression 1 - Quick scan (1-4, default 1)-a 3 - More aggressive (more requests)-v - Verbose output
Example:
whatweb https://target.com -a 3
Scenario 2: WAF Detection
When you need to detect WAF/CDN protection:
wafw00f https://target.com
Output shows:
- WAF vendor (Cloudflare, AWS WAF, Imperva, etc.)
- CDN in use
- Firewall rules detected
Check multiple targets:
wafw00f -i targets.txt
Scenario 3: Server Header Analysis
When you need to analyze HTTP headers:
curl -I https://target.com
Detailed headers:
curl -v https://target.com 2>&1 | grep -i "< "
Common headers to check:
Server: nginx/1.18.0
X-Powered-By: PHP/7.4
X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000
Scenario 4: Technology Detection with Nuclei
When you need comprehensive technology fingerprinting:
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech -severity info
Specific technologies:
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "wordpress,joomla,drupal"
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "spring-boot,struts2"
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "react,vue,angular"
Scenario 5: HTTPx Fingerprinting
When you need fast HTTP probing with tech detection:
httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect -status-code -title
Parameters:
-tech-detect - Enable technology detection-status-code - Show HTTP status-title - Extract page title-server - Show server header-websocket - Detect WebSocket-cdn - Detect CDN
Example:
httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect -server -cdn -ssl
Scenario 6: CMS Detection
When you need to identify the CMS:
whatweb https://target.com --aggression 3 | grep -i cms
Nuclei CMS detection:
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags cms
Common CMS indicators:
- WordPress:
/wp-login.php, /wp-admin/, wp-json
- Drupal:
/user/login, Drupal.settings
- Joomla:
/administrator/components, Joomla!
- TYPO3:
/typo3conf
Scenario 7: JavaScript Framework Detection
When you need to identify frontend frameworks:
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "react\|vue\|angular\|jquery"
Check specific framework files:
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "react"
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "vue\.js\|vue-"
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "angular\|ng-app"
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "jquery"
Scenario 8: Server Version Detection
When you need to identify server software and version:
nmap -sV -p 443,80 target.com
HTTP server banner:
curl -I https://target.com | grep -i server
Use httpx for server detection:
httpx -u https://target.com -server -response-time
Scenario 9: CDN Detection
When you need to identify CDN providers:
httpx -u https://target.com -cdn
Check HTTP headers for CDN:
curl -I https://target.com | grep -i "cf-ray\|x-amz\|x-akamai\|x-fastly"
Common CDN headers:
- Cloudflare:
cf-ray, cf-cache-status
- AWS CloudFront:
x-amz-cf-id
- Akamai:
x-akamai-transformed
- Fastly:
x-served-by, fastly-ssl
- CloudFront:
via, x-amz-cf-pop
Scenario 10: SSL/TLS Fingerprinting
When you need to analyze SSL configuration:
nmap --script ssl-cert,ssl-enum-ciphers -p 443 target.com
SSL info with curl:
curl -vI https://target.com 2>&1 | grep -i ssl
Using testssl.sh:
testssl.sh https://target.com
Tool Selection Guide
| Scenario | Recommended Tool | Command |
|---|
| Quick tech detect | whatweb | whatweb https://target.com |
| WAF detection | wafw00f | wafw00f https://target.com |
| Header analysis | curl | curl -I https://target.com |
| Comprehensive | nuclei | nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech |
| Fast probing | httpx | httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect |
| CMS detection | nuclei | nuclei -u https://target.com -tags cms |
| CDN detection | httpx | httpx -u https://target.com -cdn |
Tool Comparison:
| Tool | Speed | Coverage | Best For |
|---|
| whatweb | Fast | Good | Quick tech stack |
| wafw00f | Fast | WAF only | WAF detection |
| nuclei | Medium | Excellent | Comprehensive |
| httpx | Very Fast | Basic | Fast probing |
| nmap | Slow | Deep | SSL/Server details |
Technology Fingerprints
Web Servers
| Server | Header Pattern | Common Versions |
|---|
| nginx | Server: nginx | 1.18.x, 1.20.x, 1.22.x |
| Apache | Server: Apache | 2.4.x, 2.2.x |
| IIS | Server: Microsoft-IIS | 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 10.0 |
| Cloudflare Server | Server: cloudflare | - |
Backend Frameworks
| Framework | Indicators |
|---|
| PHP | X-Powered-By: PHP, .php URLs |
| Python | Server: WSGIServer, Python headers |
| Ruby | X-Powered-By: Phusion Passenger |
| Node.js | X-Powered-By: Express |
| Java | X-Powered-By: JSP, .jspx, .do |
| .NET | X-AspNet-Version, .aspx |
| Go | Server: Go-http-server |
Frontend Frameworks
| Framework | File/Pattern |
|---|
| React | react.js, react-dom, _react, __REACT__ |
| Vue.js | vue.js, vue-router, v-if, v-for |
| Angular | ng-app, angular.js, zone.js |
| jQuery | jquery.js, $(, .ajax() |
WAF Signatures
| WAF | Detection Method |
|---|
| Cloudflare | cf-ray, cf-cache-status headers |
| AWS WAF | x-amz-cf-id headers |
| Imperva | X-Iinfo, X-CDN headers |
| Akamai | akamai-origin headers |
| F5 ASM | BIGipServer cookies |
| ModSecurity | Mod_Security headers |
| Barracuda | barra_counter_session cookies |
Tips and Best Practices
- Start passive - Use headers and page content first
- Check multiple sources - Combine tool outputs for accuracy
- Verify versions - Technology detection is not always precise
- Note evasion - Some sites hide their technology stack
- WAF first - Always check for WAF before active scanning
- CDN consideration - CDN may hide actual server info
- Save results - Record fingerprints for correlation
Resources
Scripts
scripts/extract_headers.py - Extract and analyze HTTP headersscripts/tech_matcher.py - Match technologies from responsesscripts/waf_detector.py - Detect WAF from headers/cookies
References
references/whatweb_guide.md - WhatWeb reference guidereferences/wafw00f_guide.md - WAF detection guidereferences/httpx_guide.md - HTTPx referencereferences/fingerprinting_techniques.md - Advanced fingerprinting methods
Scenario: Persistent Storage of Fingerprinting Results
When you need to persist web fingerprinting results to the database:
python .claude/skills/recon-fingerprint/scripts/fingerprint_storage.py \
--host-ip 192.168.1.100 \
--url "https://example.com" \
--technology "Apache 2.4.41" \
--category "web-server" \
--version "2.4.41" \
--subsystem "Web Application"
Parameters:
--host-ip - Target host IP (required)--url - Target URL (required)--technology - Discovered technology (required)--category - Technology category: web-server, cms, framework, etc. (optional)--version - Technology version (optional)--confidence - Confidence level (optional)--subsystem - Subsystem name (optional)
Database location: ./data/results.db
Related skills: results-storage - Query data, generate reports
Assets
assets/waf-signatures.txt - Known WAF signaturesassets/tech-headers.txt - Technology header patternsassets/cms-fingerprints.txt - CMS detection patterns
