Best Penetration Testing Tools for Linux of 2025

Validate your cyber defenses against real-world threats. Kroll’s world-class penetration testing services leverage a unique advantage: the insights provided by our world-class incident response practice, which feed our certified cyber experts the information they need to test against the exploits attackers are executing today.

Security Reporter is a platform for collaboration and reporting on pentests that streamlines the entire pentest lifecycle. By automating key elements, it empowers the security teams to improve efficiency and provide actionable results. The software has a number of features, such as customizable reports, analytics, and assessments. It also boasts seamless integrations. This integration capability brings diverse security tools under a single source of truth. It speeds up remediation and optimizes the impact of security strategies and services. Security Reporter helps you reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, formatting and security assessments. Document findings quickly using templates or previous discoveries. Engage clients in a conversation by providing feedback, arranging retests and discussing results. Utilize the unique analytics and multilanguage feature of this software to generate reports in any language.

Invicti (formerly Netsparker) dramatically reduces your risk of being attacked. Automated application security testing that scales like none other. Your team's security problems grow faster than your staff. Security testing automation should be integrated into every step in your SDLC. Automate security tasks to save your team hundreds of hours every month. Identify the critical vulnerabilities and then assign them to remediation. Whether you are running an AppSec, DevOps or DevSecOps program, help security and development teams to get ahead of their workloads. It's difficult to prove that you are doing everything possible to reduce your company's risk without full visibility into your apps, vulnerabilities and remediation efforts. You can find all web assets, even those that have been forgotten or stolen. Our unique dynamic + interactive (DAST+ IAST) scanning method allows you to scan the corners of your apps in a way that other tools cannot.

Acunetix is the market leader for automated web application security testing and is the preferred tool for many Fortune 500 customers. Acunetix can detect and report on a wide range of web application vulnerabilities. Acunetix's industry-leading crawler fully supports HTML5/JavaScript and Single-page applications. This allows auditing of complex, authenticated apps. Acunetix is the only technology that can automatically detect out of-band vulnerabilities. It is available online as well as on-premise. Acunetix includes integrated vulnerability management capabilities to help enterprises manage, prioritize and control all types of vulnerability threats. These features are based on business criticality. Acunetix is compatible with popular Issue Trackers, WAFs, and is available online on Windows, Linux, and Online

Modern software development must be as fast as the business. The modern AppSec toolbox lacks integration, which creates complexity that slows down software development life cycles. Contrast reduces the complexity that hinders today's development teams. Legacy AppSec uses a single-size-fits all approach to vulnerability detection and remediation that is inefficient, costly, and expensive. Contrast automatically applies the most efficient analysis and remediation technique, greatly improving efficiency and effectiveness. Separate AppSec tools can create silos that hinder the collection of actionable intelligence across an application attack surface. Contrast provides centralized observability, which is crucial for managing risks and capitalizing upon operational efficiencies. This is both for security and development teams. Contrast Scan is a pipeline native product that delivers the speed, accuracy and integration required for modern software development.

This integrated solution can perform active, passive, and agent-based assessments. It also allows for flexibility in evaluating risk according to each business. SAINT's remarkable, flexible, and scalable scanning capabilities make it stand out from other solutions in this market. SAINT has partnered up with AWS to allow its customers to benefit from AWS's efficient scanning. SAINT also offers Windows scanning agents for subscribers. Security teams can easily schedule scans, configure them with a lot of flexibility, and fine-tune their settings with advanced options.

Caido is an advanced web security toolkit for pentesters and bug bounty hunters. It's also a great solution for security teams that need a flexible and efficient way to test web applications. Caido includes a powerful interceptor proxy for capturing HTTP requests and manipulating them, replay functionality to test endpoints and automation tools to handle large-scale workflows. Its sitemap visualisation provides a clear picture of web application structures and helps users map and navigate complicated targets. HTTPQL allows users to filter and analyze traffic efficiently, while a no-code workflow and a plugin system allow for easy customizations to meet specific testing needs. Caido is built on a flexible Client/Server architecture that allows seamless access from anywhere. Its project-management system makes it easy to switch between targets, and eliminates the need to manually handle files. This keeps workflows organized.

Phishing Club is a self-hosted phishing simulation platform built for modern security needs. It provides organizations complete control over their phishing infrastructure through a single binary deployment. Key differentiators: - Self-hosted architecture ensuring full data sovereignty - Multi-stage phishing campaigns with defense evasion - Automated domain and TLS certificate management - Flexible delivery through SMTP or API integration - No artificial limits on campaigns or recipients The platform is designed for red teams requiring advanced capabilities, privacy-focused companies running phishing simulations, and security providers offering phishing services. All data remains on your infrastructure with comprehensive privacy controls.

Appvance IQ (AIQ), delivers transformative productivity gains and lower costs for both test creation and execution. It offers both AI-driven (fully automated tests) and 3rd-generation codeless scripting for test creation. These scripts are then executed using data-driven functional and performance, app-pen, and API testing -- both for web and mobile apps. AIQ's self healing technology allows you to cover all code with only 10% of the effort required by traditional testing systems. AIQ detects important bugs automatically and with minimal effort. No programming, scripting, logs, or recording are required. AIQ can be easily integrated with your existing DevOps tools, processes, and tools.

SCYTHE is an adversary-emulation platform that serves the cybersecurity consulting and enterprise market. SCYTHE allows Red, Blue, or Purple teams to create and emulate real-world adversarial campaign in just minutes. SCYTHE allows organizations continuously assess their risk exposure and risk posture. SCYTHE goes beyond assessing vulnerabilities. It allows for the evolution from Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures to Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs). Organizations should be aware that they may be breached. They should concentrate on assessing and alerting controls. Campaigns are mapped according to the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This is the industry standard and common language among Cyber Threat Intelligence Blue Teams and Red Teams. Adversaries can use multiple communication channels to reach compromised systems within your environment. SCYTHE allows for the testing of preventive and detective controls on various channels.

Hexway Hive & Apiary allows you to efficiently collaborate with your team and generate detailed reports that can be used for action. It also helps you build better relationships with customers.

We help companies build their trust by creating real security controls and then attesting these controls with a SOC2 report. Oneleet's full-stack platform makes cybersecurity easy and painless. We help businesses to stay secure so they can focus on delivering value to their clients. We'll begin by having a scoping conversation to learn about your security concerns, compliance needs, and infrastructure. We'll then build you a custom security plan that is appropriate for your stage. We'll also take you through a SOC 2 audit with a third-party CPA. Oneleet offers everything you need in one place to become compliant. All tools under one roof make the compliance journey seamless.

Zed Attack Proxy is a free and open-source penetration test tool that is being maintained under the wing of the Open Web Application Security Project. ZAP is flexible and extensible and was specifically designed for testing web applications. ZAP is a "man in the middle proxy" that acts as a firewall between the browser and the web app. It can intercept and inspect the messages between the browser and web applications, modify them if necessary, and then forward those packets to the destination. It can be used both as a standalone application and as a daemon process. ZAP offers functionality for all skill levels, from developers to security testers, to security specialists, to security testers who are new to security testing. ZAP supports all major OSes and Dockers, so you don't have to stick with one OS. You can access additional functionality from the ZAP Marketplace by downloading add-ons.

MaxPatrol is designed to manage vulnerabilities and compliance in corporate information systems. MaxPatrol's core features include penetration testing, system checks, compliance monitoring, and system checks. These mechanisms provide an objective view of IT security infrastructure and granular insight at department, host and application levels. This information is essential to quickly identify vulnerabilities and prevent attacks. MaxPatrol makes it easy to keep a current inventory of IT assets. You can view information about your network resources (network addresses and OS), identify hardware and software that are in use, and track the status of updates. It can also monitor changes to your IT infrastructure. MaxPatrol does not blink when new hosts and accounts are created, or when hardware and software are upgraded. Information about the security of infrastructure is quietly collected and processed.

BlackArch Linux, an Arch Linux-based penetration test distribution for security researchers and penetration testers, is available. Tools can be installed individually or in groups. BlackArch Linux can be used with Arch installations. Multiple window managers are available in the BlackArch Full ISO. The BlackArch Slim ISO includes XFCE Desktop Environment. The full ISO contains a fully functional BlackArch Linux system that includes all tools available in the repo at build-time. The slim ISO contains a functional BlackArch-Linux system with a selection of well-known tools and system utilities that can be used for pentesting. The netinstall ISO image is lightweight and suitable for bootstrapping. It contains a small number of packages. BlackArch Linux can be used with normal Arch installations. It serves as an unofficial repository for users. BlackArch Linux can be installed using the Slim medium, which includes a GUI installer.

Kali Linux, an open-source Linux distribution that is Debian-based, is designed for information security tasks such as Penetration Testing and Security Research. Any Linux can be used to install pentesting tools. However, you must manually set up and configure the tools. Kali was designed to make it easier for professionals to just sit down and do the work. Kali is always at your fingertips, no matter where it is needed. All versions of Kali are available for mobile devices, such as ARM, Docker, ARM and Amazon Web Services. It's easy to create an optimized Kali version for your needs using metapackages. These metapackages are optimized for security professionals and have a well-documented ISO customization process. No matter if you're a veteran or a novice, we have all the information that you need.

Gophish, a powerful and open-source phishing framework, makes it easy for you to test your organization's vulnerability to phishing. Gophish makes it easy for you to import or create pixel-perfect templates for phishing. Our web UI features a full HTML editor that allows you to customize your templates right from your browser. The campaign is launched and phishing emails are sent automatically in the background. Campaigns can be scheduled to launch at any time you like. You receive detailed results in near real time. You can export the results for use in reports. Gophish offers a beautiful web interface. Gophish allows you to import existing websites and email addresses, enable email open tracking, as well as other features with just one click. Gophish updates results automatically. The UI allows you to view a timeline of each recipient, track email opens, link clicks and submit credentials. Everything in Gophish is designed "just to work". It's easy to set up, quick to use, and powerful enough to make you believe it works.