Top 7 AWS Pentesting Tools For Your Cloud Security Arsenal

Updated: February 5th, 2025
8 mins read
AWS Pentesting tools feature

For CTOs and CXOs steering cloud-first organizations, one of the biggest security challenges lies in keeping up with the pace of innovation. As product teams continuously ship features, spin up new AWS services, and embrace DevOps workflows, security testing often lags behind. 

It’s not the lack of pentesting tools that creates this gap—but finding tools that seamlessly integrate with your workflows, detect nuanced CVEs, and scale alongside your rapid growth. Moreover, choosing the wrong pentesting tool can exacerbate these issues, leading to missed vulnerabilities, operational bottlenecks, or compliance risks if AWS’s strict pentesting boundaries are inadvertently crossed. 

Curated by experts, this article will cut through the noise to help you identify the top 7 AWS pentesting tools that not only protect your infrastructure but also fit seamlessly into your operational and product pipelines,

Top 7 AWS Pentesting Tools

  1. Astra Pentest
  2. ScoutSuite
  3. Prowler
  4. AWS Inspector
  5. AWS Config
  6. CloudSploit
  7. Pacu
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Why Astra is the best in Cloud Pentesting?

  • We’re the only company that combines artificial intelligence & manual pentest to create a one-of-a-kind pentest platform.
  • Runs 180+ test cases based on industrial standards.
  • Integrates with your CI/CD tools to help you establish DevSecOps.
  • A dynamic vulnerability management dashboard to manage, monitor, assign, and update vulnerabilities.
  • Award publicly verifiable pentest certificates  which you can share with your users.
  • Helps you stay compliant with SOC2, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, etc.
  • Trusted by the brands you trust like Agora, Spicejet, Muthoot, Dream11, etc.
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Boundaries To AWS Pentesting

Pre-Approval Requirements

AWS has strict guidelines for penetration testing on any of the AWS services and resources. It requires customers to submit requests for testing certain services provided by AWS. Conducting testing that involves attacks like DDoS or IP Spoofing requires approval from the AWS team according to AWS’ Acceptable Use Policy, and non-compliance could even lead to account termination.

Penetration testing is allowed on limited AWS services like:

  • Amazon EC2 Instances
  • Amazon RDS
  • Amazon CloudFront
  • Amazon API Gateways
  • AWS Lambda
  • Amazon Elastic Beanstalk environments

Scope Limitations

AWS operates on a shared responsibility model, which means some services like hypervisors, VPCs, or resources outside of your account fall outside the scope of permissible testing. Clearly defining the scope of penetration testing beforehand is important so as to stay compliant and avoid unauthorized testing of restricted environments.

Avoid Service Disruptions

Since AWS environments are multi-tenant, an invasive penetration test could impact not just on your resources but also those of other AWS customers. Certain tests like resource exhaustion, large-scale traffic bursts, or testing DoS/DDoS tools can overload AWS resources or introduce cross-tenant risks. Pentesting in the cloud must be well-structured and should ensure stability and availability of the AWS services to avoid any kind of service disruptions.

7 Best AWS Pentesting Tools In Detail

1. Astra Pentest

Astra Security VAPT Dashboard

Astra is one of the most powerful AWS penetration testing tools that provides manual and automated pentesting services. It offers robust scanning capabilities to find flaws, incorrect setups, and potential attack vectors. With its intuitive interface and wealth of features, Astra enables businesses to bolster their AWS security defenses and safeguard sensitive data proactively.

Features:

Tool Type: Commercial

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous automated scans with manual tests

Accuracy: Zero False Positive

Compliance Support: PCI-DSS, HIPAA, ISO27001, and SOC2

Expert Remediation: Yes

Pricing: Starting at $1999/year

Pros:

  • Leverage regularly updated scanner rules
  • Generate custom executive and developer-friendly reports
  • Scan round-the-clock for vulnerabilities
  • Integrate effortlessly with your CI/CD pipeline

Limitations:

  • Only a 1-week free trial is available

Secure your AWS environment with Astra Security’s expert cloud pentesting.

Get started today!

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2. ScoutSuite

scoutsuite-dashboard

ScoutSuite is another major player amidst other AWS pentesting solutions. It is an open-source security auditing application that is not limited to AWS but is also available for Microsoft Azure and GCP. It is a Python-based AWS pentesting tool that provides thorough security audits and collects configuration and resource data from cloud providers’ APIs.

Features:

Tool Type: Commercial

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous automated scans with manual analysis

Accuracy: Moderate Accuracy, needs manual analysis

Compliance Support: Limited compliance checks

Expert Remediation: No

Pricing: Free

Pros:

  • Provides multi-cloud support
  • Free and Open-source
  • Provides security audit reports

Limitations:

  • Limited compliance support
  • Requires manual validation for accuracy

3. Prowler

Prowler-dashboard

Prowler is one of the few open-source AWS pentesting tools for audits, incident response, continuous monitoring, hardening, and forensics readiness for Amazon Web Services (AWS) environments. It does automated security evaluations to look for configuration errors.

AWS FTR, ENS, GDPR, HIPAA, FFIEC, SOC2, CIS, PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, and custom security frameworks are among the hundreds of controls included.

Features:

Tool Type: Open-Source

Scanner Capabilities: Comprehensive Automated scans and best practices tests

Accuracy: Higher accuracy with some false positives

Compliance Support: CIS, PCI-DSS, HIPAA and GDPR

Expert Remediation: No

Pricing: Free base version, paid plans for advanced versions

Pros:

  • Reduces manual effort through automation
  • Extensive Compliance coverage

Limitations:

  • Limited dashboard visualization

4. AWS Inspector

AWS Inspector is a service that Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers for automatic security evaluation and penetration testing AWS. It locates potential security flaws and best practice violations in your AWS resources. 

Users get access to comprehensive reports, can modify assessment templates, and schedule repeat assessments. Integration with other AWS services like Amazon CloudWatch Events, AWS Systems Manager, and AWS Inspector enables automatic actions.

Features:

Tool Type: Commercial

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous automated scans for EC2 instances

Accuracy: High accuracy

Compliance Support: PCI-DSS,HIPAA, ISO27001, and GDPR

Expert Remediation: No; actionable recommendations provided

Pricing: Usage-based pricing starts at $0.30 per assessment for EC2 instances

Pros:

  • High accuracy with minimal false positives
  • Seamless integration with all AWS services

Limitations:

  • Usage-based pricing can be expensive for frequent scans.

5. AWS Config

AWS-config-dashboard

AWS Config is one of the significant AWS pentesting tools that allows you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configuration of your AWS resources. Track resource configuration history and adhere to ‎PCI DSS, ISO/IEC 27001:2013,  ‎SOC, and GDPR standards because it continuously monitors and logs configuration changes.

Features:

Tool Type: Commercial

Platform: Online

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous monitoring and scanning for misconfigurations

Accuracy: High accuracy

Compliance Support: PCI-DSS, HIPAA, NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2

Expert Remediation: No

Pricing: starts at $0.003 per configuration item recorded and $0.003 per AWS Config rule evaluation

Pros:

  • Monitors configuration changes in real-time
  • Seamless integration with all AWS services

Limitations:

  • Require expertise to implement custom rules

6. CloudSploit

cloudsploit_dashboard

CloudSploit is a cloud security monitoring and assessment tool for (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) environments. It checks cloud resources for security flaws, improper setups, and regulatory infractions. It has flexible output formats with default console tables for seamless integration with other best AWS penetration testing tools.

Features:

Tool Type: Open Source

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous automated scans with manual analysis

Accuracy: High accuracy with some false positives

Compliance Support: CIS, GDPR, ISO27001, HIPAA, PCI-DSS

Expert Remediation: No

Pricing: Free

Pros:

  • Supports multiple cloud platforms
  • Helps with compliance monitoring

Limitations:

  • Limited customizations options

7. Pacu

pacu-dashbaord

Pacu is an open-source, free AWS exploitation framework for security and penetration testing. An extensive collection of tools and modules is available to evaluate the security posture of AWS accounts and test the efficacy of security controls. 

It supports various AWS penetration testing services and offers a flexible and extensible framework for advanced security assessments in AWS environments.

Features:

Tool Type: Open Source

Scanner Capabilities: Continuous automated scans with manual analysis

Accuracy: Moderate accuracy with false positives

Compliance Support: No compliance support

Expert Remediation: No

Pricing: Free

Pros:

  • Fully open-source and community-driven
  • Specialized in AWS exploitation testing

Limitations:

  • No built-in compliance support
  • Require expert knowledge to use it effectively

Run 180+ security tests on your AWS, Azure, and GCP Clouds.

Discuss your security
needs & get started today!


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How To Choose The Best AWS Pentesting Tools ?

how-to-choose-the-best-aws-pentesting-tools

Understand Testing Objectives

Determine the scope of your penetration test and accordingly choose a tool that provides you with capabilities for automation, compliance checks, API testing, vulnerability scanning, security configuration assessments, and more.

Detailed Reports

Reports are essential for understanding the vulnerabilities. Look for the best AWS penetration testing solution that delivers thorough reports with detailed descriptions of identified problems, their effects, suggested corrective actions, and a severity-based ranking of vulnerabilities.

Scalability & Integration

If your organization manages multiple AWS accounts or uses a hybrid cloud model, ensure that the tool can scale with the requirements of the environment. It should seamlessly integrate with the CI/CD pipelines or the monitoring systems.

Vulnerability Scanning

Ensure that the AWS pentesting software that you are considering provides vulnerability scanning for your AWS assets and infrastructure for the quick detection of vulnerabilities. A great example of such a tool would be Astra Security, which provides automated vulnerability scans, pentest, and cloud configuration reviews for your AWS infrastructure.

circular image showing AWS vulnerability management steps used in AWS pentesting tools

Final Thoughts

AWS penetration testing is an integral part of setting up your assets in an AWS cloud environment. If you require a comprehensive commercial solution with compliance support, Astra Pentest or AWS Inspector and Config are good choices. While organizations that need flexibility and open-source customization, tools like Prowler, ScoutSuite and Pacu provide actionable insights but may need manual efforts to validate the results. Choosing a blend of automated tools and expert manual testing helps you protect your AWS infrastructure.

FAQs

What is AWS penetration testing?

AWS penetration testing is when an enterprise evaluates the security of the infrastructure and applications hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to find flaws and vulnerabilities that malicious actors might exploit; it involves simulating actual attacks with proper permission and controls.

Why do we perform penetration testing in my AWS environment?

Penetration testing can help you find and address vulnerabilities in your AWS infrastructure before attackers find and exploit them. Penetration testing in the AWS environment will check the efficiency of your security controls, configurations, and policies and ensure your AWS resources’ privacy, integrity, and availability.

What are the specific tools recommended for AWS penetration testing?

1. AWS native technologies like AWS Security Hub, AWS CloudTrail, and AWS Config
2. Tools from outside sources, such as Astra Pentest, Burp Suite, Nessus, Nmap, and OpenVAS
3. Techniques like OSSTMM, NIST SP 800-115, and the OWASP Testing Guide