9 Best Android Vulnerability Scanners to Detect Vulnerabilities

In the digital age, Android vulnerability scanners, or as some may call them, android app vulnerability scanners, have become an essential tool for maintaining the security of mobile applications. Given Android’s substantial mobile OS market share, it’s a prime target for cyber threats.

In fact, as of March 2020, the number of new Android malware samples reached a staggering 482,579 per month, underscoring the critical need for effective vulnerability scanners. This article will review the best Android app vulnerability scanners available in 2024.

Top Android Vulnerability Scanners for 2024

1. Astra’s Pentest Suite
2. Invicti
3. Acunetix 
4. Intruder 
5. Core Impact 
6. OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) 
7. Nessus 
8. Qualys 
9. Rapid7 

1. Astra’s Pentest Suite

Astra’s Pentest Suite provides a comprehensive solution for web application security. It offers exhaustive testing capabilities to identify vulnerabilities other pen tests might overlook. This ensures your web app is always protected against the latest threats.

Features

• Comprehensive Testing: Its intelligent scanner uses intel about new hacks and CVEs.
• Continuous Scanning: You don’t have to wait for your next pentest to find vulnerabilities. The intelligent scanner continuously monitors and fixes issues in your application.
• Smarter Vulnerability Management: A smart vulnerability management dashboard lets you make data-backed decisions. This helps prioritize vulnerabilities based on ROI.
• Compliance Ready: All the necessary tests to achieve ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC2, or GDPR compliance are covered.

Pros

• Vetted Vulnerability Scans eliminate the nuisance of false positives.
• Optimizable for Single Page Apps (SPAs) and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
• Brilliant track record of customer assistance and service on review sites.

Cons

• For those new to pen testing, there may be a learning curve involved.

2. Invicti

Invicti, formerly known as Netsparker, has established itself as a leader in vulnerability scanning. This tool identifies and validates vulnerabilities, ensuring they’re not false positives. This feature saves time and effort by eliminating manual verification after scanning.

Features

• Comprehensive Vulnerability Verification: Invicti goes beyond merely identifying vulnerabilities. It verifies each one, ensuring they’re genuine threats, not false positives.
• Windows Software and Online Service: Invicti is available as both Windows software and an online service, offering flexibility to its users.
• Advanced Manual Tools: Invicti has advanced manual tools that automate lengthy tasks. This saves time for experienced users.

Pros

• Very user-friendly and organized UI keeps all the different scans in a single dashboard.
• Minimizes false positives with proof-based results, offering ranked vulnerabilities for efficient prioritization and action.
• With Invicti, security teams can expedite basic tests, allowing faster app deployment and more focus on complex vulnerability assessments.

Cons

• Can take a very long time to complete a scan due to the number of items it can scan for.
• Pricing may be high for small businesses

3. Acunetix

Acunetix stands out as a robust Android vulnerability scanner. It fully supports modern technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, Single-page applications, and CMS systems. It is designed to automate tasks that can take hours to test manually. This delivers accurate results with no false positives at a rapid pace.

Features

• Full Support for Modern Technologies: Acunetix is designed to work seamlessly with modern technologies, including HTML5, JavaScript, and Single-page applications. It can effectively scan and identify vulnerabilities in the most advanced applications.
• Advanced Manual Tools: Acunetix includes advanced manual tools and a comprehensive suite for thorough and effective vulnerability scanning.
• Integration with Popular Issue Trackers and WAFs: Acunetix integrates with popular Issue Trackers and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) to streamline the vulnerability management process.

Pros

• The dashboard is easy to customize
• Best-in-class integration of tools with different IDEs
• Very low rate of false positives

Cons

• Poor user management
• Dashboard lacks API integration

4. Intruder

Intruder brings enterprise-grade vulnerability scanning within reach for businesses of all sizes. It is a versatile Android vulnerability scanner tool in the cybersecurity landscape. It identifies misconfigurations, missing patches, and common web application issues like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

Features

• Extensive Security Checks: Intruder performs over 11,000 security checks, including identifying misconfigurations, missing patches, and common web application issues like SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
• Prioritization of Results: Intruder saves time by prioritizing results based on context. This allows users to focus on the most critical vulnerabilities first.
• Integration with Major Cloud Providers: Intruder integrates with all the major cloud providers, making it a versatile tool.

Pros

• The results of the scans are clearly explained and categorized, with remediation of any identified threats outlined.
• Cost-effective, even suitable for small businesses
• UI is well-optimized and informative, and the navigation is intuitive

Cons

• 30-day lock on moving authentication domain targets
• API cannot dive deep into the details of assets and their associated vulnerabilities

5. Core Impact

Core Impact is a comprehensive Android vulnerability scanner designed to identify vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. It offers extensive reporting capabilities that can be used to validate compliance with industry regulations.

Features

• Comprehensive Vulnerability Scanning: Core Impact finds vulnerabilities before attackers do, providing a proactive approach to vulnerability management.
• Reporting Capabilities: With its comprehensive reporting capabilities, Core Impact can be used to validate compliance with industry regulations.
• Commercial-Grade Exploits: The Security library of commercial-grade exploits is developed and tested by Core Impact’s cybersecurity experts.

Pros

• Core Impact provides detailed remediation paths, helping teams patch issues effectively.
• Users can design custom payloads to test specific scenarios, giving a tailored approach to vulnerability assessment.
• Can scan across various network configurations and is not limited by the underlying OS, ensuring broad coverage.

Cons

• The licensing model might restrict the number of concurrent scans or the range of IPs that can be scanned, which can be limiting for larger enterprises.
• Its interface, laden with advanced features, might be overwhelming for beginners or inexperienced in penetration testing.

6. OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP)

Hundreds of international volunteers actively maintain OWASP Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), one of the world’s most popular free android vulnerability scanner tools. It is designed to automatically detect security vulnerabilities in your web applications during the development and testing stages.

Features

• Intercepting Proxy: Understand how your application communicates, and see incoming/outgoing data.
• Automated Scanner: Scan your applications automatically for vulnerabilities.
• Forced Browsing: Find hidden files and directories not linked by the application.
• Fuzzer: Send random, unexpected data to your application to provoke errors and uncover security issues.

Pros

• Free and open-source.
• Extensive community support.
• Regular updates and improvements.

Cons

• It may be complex for beginners.
• Requires manual configuration for advanced features.

7. Nessus

Nessus, particularly effective for UNIX systems, is among the most popular and capable android vulnerability scanners. Although initially free and open-source, the source code was closed in 2005, and the free “Registered Feed” version was discontinued in 2008.

Features

• High-speed discovery, configuration auditing, asset profiling, sensitive data discovery, and more.
• Vulnerability Analysis: Identify security vulnerabilities in your network.
• Configuration Auditing: Check the configuration of your systems against best practices.
• Web Application Scanning: Detect vulnerabilities in web applications.

Pros

• Comprehensive vulnerability scanning capabilities.
• Regular updates with new vulnerability checks.
• Easy to use with a clean interface.

Cons

• Not all features are available in the free version.
• It can be resource-intensive on the device running the scan.

8. Qualys

Qualys, a cloud-based Android vulnerability scanner, offers a comprehensive solution addressing all IT, security, and compliance aspects. It provides various security and compliance solutions. This includes web application scanning, vulnerability management, and policy compliance.

Features

• Web Application Scanning: Detect vulnerabilities in your web applications.
• Vulnerability Management: Identify, investigate, and prioritize vulnerabilities.
• Policy Compliance: Ensure your systems comply with internal policies and external regulations.

Pros

• Cloud-based, no need for on-premise hardware or software.
• A comprehensive suite of security and compliance tools.
• It is regularly updated with new vulnerability checks.

Cons

• It can be expensive for small businesses.
• Some users report the interface can be complex.

9. Rapid7

Rapid7, a cybersecurity solutions provider, offers a suite of security products engineered to integrate and automate your security processes. Their offerings encompass vulnerability management, application security, and incident detection and response.

Features

• Vulnerability Management: Rapid7’s InsightVM provides a comprehensive view of your security risks, helping you understand and prioritize vulnerabilities.
• Application Security: InsightAppSec, Rapid7’s dynamic application security testing solution, helps reduce risk in modern web applications.
• Incident Detection and Response: With InsightIDR, Rapid7 provides accelerated detection and response across any network.

Pros

• Integrates with popular automation frameworks, allowing for automated scans during development cycles, ensuring vulnerabilities are caught early.
• With customizable dashboards, users can tailor their interface to highlight the most pertinent information, streamlining vulnerability management and remediation processes.
• It is regularly updated with new vulnerability checks.

Cons

• While Rapid7 offers numerous integrations, some third-party tools or uncommon systems might face integration challenges.
• Advanced features and the comprehensive nature of the tool can make it expensive, especially for smaller organizations.

Conclusion

In today’s digital era, ensuring the security of Android applications is of utmost importance, especially as Android remains a prime target for cyber threats. This article highlighted the top 9 Android app vulnerability scanners of 2024, each with its unique strengths, from Astra’s Pentest Suite’s exhaustive testing to Rapid7’s integrated security solutions. 

When selecting a scanner, it’s vital to consider comprehensive scanning capabilities, regular updates, ease of use, integration potential, support for modern technologies, threat verification, continuous scanning, and compliance features. Ultimately, the right choice will depend on an organization’s specific needs and budget. 

Investing in a reliable scanner is essential to safeguard applications, users, and businesses from potential cyber threats. Reach out to the experts at Astra for assistance in finding the best fit for you.

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