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XSStrike

The XSStrike Masterclass: Professional XSS Assessment

XSStrike is an advanced, context-aware XSS vulnerability scanner and exploitation suite. It is designed for both rapid reconnaissance and deep, context-driven payload generation, making it a powerful tool for professional web application penetration testers.

I. Environment Setup: Dynamic Variables

Export variables for flexible, repeatable workflows and to keep your scans organized:

export URL="<http://target.com/page.php?search=FUZZ>"
export COOKIE="SESSION=abcd1234; other=xyz"
export USER_AGENT="Mozilla/5.0 (XSStrike)"
export PROXY="127.0.0.1:8080"
export THREADS=10
export OUTPUT_DIR="xsstrike-results"
export PAYLOAD_FILE="/path/to/custom_payloads.txt"

II. Core Capabilities & Workflow

  • Context-Aware Payload Generation: XSStrike analyzes the injection context and crafts payloads that are highly likely to succeed, reducing noise and false positives.

  • Reflected & DOM XSS Detection: Scans for both reflected and DOM-based XSS vulnerabilities.

  • Multi-threaded Crawler: Discovers hidden endpoints and parameters for comprehensive coverage.

  • Fuzzing Engine: Identifies injection points and context for optimal payload delivery.

  • WAF Detection & Evasion: Detects and attempts to bypass Web Application Firewalls.

  • Custom Payloads & Encoding: Supports custom payload lists and automatic encoding.

  • Blind XSS Support: Can be configured to test for blind XSS vectors.

  • Outdated JS Library Detection: Identifies vulnerable JavaScript libraries in use.

III. Professional Usage Examples

1. Basic Reflected & DOM XSS Scan

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL"

2. Scan with Custom Headers, Cookies, and User-Agent

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --cookie "$COOKIE" --user-agent "$USER_AGENT"

3. Use Proxy (e.g., Burp Suite)

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --proxy "$PROXY"

4. Multi-threaded Crawling & Parameter Discovery

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --crawl --threads "$THREADS"

5. Fuzzing for Injection Points

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --fuzz

6. Custom Payloads (Bruteforce from File)

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --payload "$PAYLOAD_FILE"

7. Blind XSS Testing (with external payload receiver)

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --blind "<https://your-xss-catcher.com>"

8. Outdated JavaScript Library Detection

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --js

9. Save Output to File

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --output "$OUTPUT_DIR/scan.txt"

IV. Advanced Techniques & Scenarios

  • Parameter Discovery: Use XSStrike's crawler to find hidden or unlinked parameters, then scan each for XSS.

  • Contextual Payloads: Leverage XSStrike's context analysis to generate payloads that match the injection point (e.g., inside tags, attributes, scripts).

  • WAF Evasion: Enable WAF detection and use encoding or custom payloads to bypass filtering.

  • DOM XSS: XSStrike automatically analyzes JavaScript and DOM nodes for client-side injection vectors.

  • Blind XSS: Integrate with an out-of-band XSS catcher to detect non-reflected payload execution.

  • Batch Scanning: Use shell scripting to iterate over multiple URLs or parameter sets for large-scale assessments.

V. Real-World Workflow Example

  1. Export Variables:

export URL="<http://app.htb/search.php?q=FUZZ>"
export COOKIE="SESSION=xyz"
export OUTPUT_DIR="xsstrike_htb"

  1. Crawl and Discover Parameters:

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --crawl --threads 20 --output "$OUTPUT_DIR/crawl.txt"

  1. Scan for Reflected and DOM XSS:

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --cookie "$COOKIE" --output "$OUTPUT_DIR/scan.txt"

  1. Test with Custom Payloads and WAF Evasion:

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --payload "/path/to/payloads.txt" --waf

  1. Blind XSS Testing:

python3 [xsstrike.py](<http://xsstrike.py>) --url "$URL" --blind "<https://xss.htb-catcher.com>"

  1. Review Output and Validate in Browser:

  • Use the payloads and reflection points found by XSStrike to manually verify in a browser or with Burp Suite.

VI. Pro Tips & Best Practices

  • Always crawl first to maximize parameter and endpoint coverage.

  • Leverage context analysis for more reliable payloads and fewer false positives.

  • Use custom payloads for bypassing advanced filters or targeting specific contexts.

  • Integrate with Burp Suite for manual validation and deeper analysis.

  • Document all findings and save output for reporting and future reference.

  • Test only with authorization—never scan targets without explicit permission.

  • Combine with other tools (e.g., Dalfox, Burp, manual testing) for comprehensive XSS coverage.

This professional XSStrike guide equips you for advanced, context-driven XSS testing, automation, and reporting in real-world web application security assessments.cyberphinix+2

  1. https://cyberphinix.de/blog/learn-how-to-use-xsstrike-step-by-step-tutorial/

  2. https://www.hackingloops.com/xsstrike/

  3. https://infosecwriteups.com/devsecops-phase-4b-manual-penetration-testing-9c9e0493531d

  4. https://cybersamir.com/exploitation-injection-attacks-day-5/

  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq5iC302Igc

  6. https://hackmd.io/@0rgis/BkpY5lIJp

  7. https://github.com/s0md3v/XSStrike

  8. https://www.blazeinfosec.com/post/web-application-penetration-testing/

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