HExHTTP : Web Security Through Advanced HTTP Header Analysis

HExHTTP is a specialized tool designed to test and analyze HTTP headers to identify vulnerabilities and uncover interesting behaviors in web servers.

It is particularly useful for security analysts and penetration testers, offering a range of features to explore potential weaknesses in HTTP implementations.

Key Features

HExHTTP provides several functionalities for HTTP header analysis, including:

• Server Error Response Checking: Identifies errors returned by the server.
• Cache Poisoning Techniques: Supports Cache Poisoning Denial of Service (CPDoS) and web cache poisoning.
• Header Manipulation: Allows testing with custom headers, user agents, and authentication.
• Experimental Analyses: Includes HTTP version analysis and range poisoning/error detection.
• Behavioral Insights: Highlights cache behaviors and analyzes CDN/proxy responses.

HExHTTP can be installed via Python or Docker:

1. Python Installation:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   ./hexhttp.py -u 'https://target.tld/'

2. Docker Installation:

   docker build -t hexhttp:latest .
   docker run --rm -it --net=host -v "$PWD:/hexhttp/" hexhttp:latest -u 'https://target.tld/'

The tool supports various command-line options for flexible testing:

• Single Domain Testing: ./hexhttp.py -u 'https://target.tld/'
• Batch Testing with Behavior Analysis: ./hexhttp.py -b -f domains.lst
• Custom Headers and Authentication: ./hexhttp.py --header 'Foo: bar' --auth 'user:passwd' -u 'https://target.tld/'
• Verbose Mode: Provides detailed output for deeper analysis.

HExHTTP can detect vulnerabilities like cache poisoning on public targets, such as Web Security Academy’s labs. For instance, it can confirm cache poisoning by analyzing unkeyed headers.

The tool is actively developed with planned enhancements such as mobile user-agent support, false positive filtering, and additional output formats (e.g., JSON). Contributions are welcome via pull requests on its GitHub repository.

HExHTTP is based on cutting-edge research in HTTP header exploitation and web cache vulnerabilities, making it a valuable asset for web security professionals.