Automated Black Box Scanner + Top Asset Discovery

A black box scanner is a type of automated security testing tool that scans web applications without access to their source code. 

It’s called “black box” because the scanner treats the application like a sealed system, only interacting with it from the outside, much like an attacker would.

Such scanners are used in dynamic application security testing (DAST) and external attack surface management (EASM) contexts to simulate real-world attacks and discover vulnerabilities that are visible from an external perspective.

There are three main types of web application scanners: black box, white box, and gray box. Black box web vulnerability scanners test from an external attacker’s perspective, without any knowledge of the internal code. 

White box scanners have full access to source code and system details, enabling detection of insecure coding practices and logic flaws before the app runs. These are used for static application security testing (SAST). 

Gray box scanners combine both approaches, using partial knowledge (like credentials or internal API docs) to uncover issues such as business logic errors and privilege misconfigurations. They are essentially black box vulnerability scanners with additional features. Gray box scanners are used for interactive application security testing (IAST).

Refer to our article on DAST vs. SAST vs. EASM to learn more.

Black box testing helps simulate real-world attackers’ approach to applications—from the outside, without credentials. It reveals vulnerabilities that unauthenticated or semi-authenticated users could exploit, such as SQL injection, XSS, broken authentication, and misconfigured headers.

Because it tests production behavior rather than relying on static code, it uncovers runtime issues like poor input filtering and session handling that developers might miss when doing static analysis. This makes it especially valuable when source code isn’t available — common with third-party applications and closed-source or commercial software — and allows assessments to proceed independently of development teams.

Black box scanning also speeds up initial assessments, making it a practical option for early-stage audits or integration into a DevSecOps pipeline. It doesn’t require deep technical access or insider knowledge, which makes it ideal for regular scanning and security posture checks. Beyond vulnerabilities, it can flag misconfigurations like exposed admin panels that might allow unauthorized access, insecure HTTP headers, unsafe input fields that could be used for SQLi, or sensitive error messages that leak data.

By focusing on how the application actually behaves in production, black box scanning surfaces the kinds of issues attackers look for—and gives teams the visibility to fix them fast.