DAST Authenticated Scan¶

AccuKnox Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) supports authenticated scans, enabling the crawler to access and test content behind login pages. The system visualises the session state with Logged In, Logged Out, and Fallback indicators — preventing false negatives where crawlers fail to reach protected content.

Unauthenticated scans

If you only need to scan publicly accessible pages without supplying credentials, see DAST Unauthenticated Scan.

Configuration Steps¶

Step 1: Log in to the AccuKnox Platform.

Step 2: Navigate to Settings > Collectors.

Navigate to Settings > Collectors

Step 3: Click Add Collector.

Add Collector

Step 4: Click Web Application DAST Scan.

Web Application DAST Scan

Step 5: Add the collector name and proceed to configure the following fields:

Target URL¶

Enter Target URL — Primary target URL to scan.

Scan Type¶

Scan Type — Select Baseline (quick scan) or Full (detailed scan).

Authentication¶

Authentication — Select Auth-based.

Login Page URL — The URL of the application's login page where the user enters credentials.

Example: https://ctflearn.com/

Login Page URL

Login Credentials — Valid username and password used to authenticate the scan against the application.

Example: Username: admin, Password: admin

Login Credentials

Include Path¶

Include Path (Optional) — Defines the specific URLs or URL patterns to include in the scan scope.

Example: https://ctflearn.com/lab/

Include Path

Exclude Path¶

Exclude Path (Optional) — URLs or URL patterns that should be excluded from the scan to avoid scanning specific pages or actions.

Example: https://ctflearn.com/1/scoreboard/0

Exclude Path

Logged In Indicator¶

Logged In Indicator — Keyword or phrase used to confirm a successful login during the scan.

Example: Dashboard, Get Started

Logged In Indicator

Logged Out Indicator¶

Logged Out Indicator — Keyword or phrase indicating the user is logged out or the session has expired.

Example: Login, Learn

Logged Out Indicator

Login Fallback URL — Post-login page used to verify a successful login.

Example: https://ctflearn.com/dashboard

Login Fallback URL

Label & Tags¶

Label — Create one using these steps: Create Labels

Tags (Optional) — Add any relevant tags.

See the difference between Baseline and Full scan modes here: Baseline vs Full Scan

Here is an example of how it looks after you have added everything:

Configuration Example

Configuration Example continued

Step 6: Enter your email address where you would like to receive scan notifications and press Enter.

Email Notification

Step 7: After submitting, the scan will be triggered. You can check the scan results on the same page.

Scan Results

Step 8: Once the Findings column is populated, click on it to be redirected to the findings page with all necessary details.

Findings Page