recon-fingerprint

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Web fingerprinting and WAF detection using wafw00f, whatweb, nuclei, and httpx. Use this skill when user needs to identify web technologies, detect WAF/CDN, analyze server headers, or fingerprint web applications and frameworks.

crazyMarky By crazyMarky schedule Updated 2/15/2026

name: recon-fingerprint description: Web fingerprinting and WAF detection using wafw00f, whatweb, nuclei, and httpx. Use this skill when user needs to identify web technologies, detect WAF/CDN, analyze server headers, or fingerprint web applications and frameworks.

Web Fingerprinting & WAF Detection

Authorization Warning

IMPORTANT: Web fingerprinting sends requests to target servers. Always ensure you have:

  • Written permission from the target application owner
  • Defined scope of authorized testing
  • Legal compliance with local regulations

Prerequisites

Required tools that must be installed on your system:

  • httpx - go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/httpx/cmd/httpx@latest
  • nuclei - go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v2/cmd/nuclei@latest

Optional tools:

  • wafw00f - pip install wafw00f
  • whatweb - Package manager installation
  • fingerprintx - go install github.com/praetorian-inc/fingerprintx/cmd/fingerprintx@latest

Quick Start

Most commonly used commands for web fingerprinting:

Basic Technology Detection

whatweb https://target.com

WAF Detection

wafw00f https://target.com

HTTP Header Analysis

curl -I https://target.com

Comprehensive Fingerprinting (Nuclei)

nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Quick Technology Fingerprinting

When you need to quickly identify the technology stack:

whatweb https://target.com --aggression 1

Parameters:

  • --aggression 1 - Quick scan (1-4, default 1)
  • -a 3 - More aggressive (more requests)
  • -v - Verbose output

Example:

whatweb https://target.com -a 3

Scenario 2: WAF Detection

When you need to detect WAF/CDN protection:

wafw00f https://target.com

Output shows:

  • WAF vendor (Cloudflare, AWS WAF, Imperva, etc.)
  • CDN in use
  • Firewall rules detected

Check multiple targets:

wafw00f -i targets.txt

Scenario 3: Server Header Analysis

When you need to analyze HTTP headers:

curl -I https://target.com

Detailed headers:

curl -v https://target.com 2>&1 | grep -i "< "

Common headers to check:

Server: nginx/1.18.0
X-Powered-By: PHP/7.4
X-AspNet-Version: 4.0.30319
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000

Scenario 4: Technology Detection with Nuclei

When you need comprehensive technology fingerprinting:

nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech -severity info

Specific technologies:

nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "wordpress,joomla,drupal"
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "spring-boot,struts2"
nuclei -u https://target.com -tags "react,vue,angular"

Scenario 5: HTTPx Fingerprinting

When you need fast HTTP probing with tech detection:

httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect -status-code -title

Parameters:

  • -tech-detect - Enable technology detection
  • -status-code - Show HTTP status
  • -title - Extract page title
  • -server - Show server header
  • -websocket - Detect WebSocket
  • -cdn - Detect CDN

Example:

httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect -server -cdn -ssl

Scenario 6: CMS Detection

When you need to identify the CMS:

whatweb https://target.com --aggression 3 | grep -i cms

Nuclei CMS detection:

nuclei -u https://target.com -tags cms

Common CMS indicators:

  • WordPress: /wp-login.php, /wp-admin/, wp-json
  • Drupal: /user/login, Drupal.settings
  • Joomla: /administrator/components, Joomla!
  • TYPO3: /typo3conf

Scenario 7: JavaScript Framework Detection

When you need to identify frontend frameworks:

curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "react\|vue\|angular\|jquery"

Check specific framework files:

# React
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "react"

# Vue.js
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "vue\.js\|vue-"

# Angular
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "angular\|ng-app"

# jQuery
curl -s https://target.com | grep -i "jquery"

Scenario 8: Server Version Detection

When you need to identify server software and version:

nmap -sV -p 443,80 target.com

HTTP server banner:

curl -I https://target.com | grep -i server

Use httpx for server detection:

httpx -u https://target.com -server -response-time

Scenario 9: CDN Detection

When you need to identify CDN providers:

httpx -u https://target.com -cdn

Check HTTP headers for CDN:

curl -I https://target.com | grep -i "cf-ray\|x-amz\|x-akamai\|x-fastly"

Common CDN headers:

  • Cloudflare: cf-ray, cf-cache-status
  • AWS CloudFront: x-amz-cf-id
  • Akamai: x-akamai-transformed
  • Fastly: x-served-by, fastly-ssl
  • CloudFront: via, x-amz-cf-pop

Scenario 10: SSL/TLS Fingerprinting

When you need to analyze SSL configuration:

nmap --script ssl-cert,ssl-enum-ciphers -p 443 target.com

SSL info with curl:

curl -vI https://target.com 2>&1 | grep -i ssl

Using testssl.sh:

testssl.sh https://target.com

Tool Selection Guide

Scenario Recommended Tool Command
Quick tech detect whatweb whatweb https://target.com
WAF detection wafw00f wafw00f https://target.com
Header analysis curl curl -I https://target.com
Comprehensive nuclei nuclei -u https://target.com -tags tech
Fast probing httpx httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect
CMS detection nuclei nuclei -u https://target.com -tags cms
CDN detection httpx httpx -u https://target.com -cdn

Tool Comparison:

Tool Speed Coverage Best For
whatweb Fast Good Quick tech stack
wafw00f Fast WAF only WAF detection
nuclei Medium Excellent Comprehensive
httpx Very Fast Basic Fast probing
nmap Slow Deep SSL/Server details

Technology Fingerprints

Web Servers

Server Header Pattern Common Versions
nginx Server: nginx 1.18.x, 1.20.x, 1.22.x
Apache Server: Apache 2.4.x, 2.2.x
IIS Server: Microsoft-IIS 7.5, 8.0, 8.5, 10.0
Cloudflare Server Server: cloudflare -

Backend Frameworks

Framework Indicators
PHP X-Powered-By: PHP, .php URLs
Python Server: WSGIServer, Python headers
Ruby X-Powered-By: Phusion Passenger
Node.js X-Powered-By: Express
Java X-Powered-By: JSP, .jspx, .do
.NET X-AspNet-Version, .aspx
Go Server: Go-http-server

Frontend Frameworks

Framework File/Pattern
React react.js, react-dom, _react, __REACT__
Vue.js vue.js, vue-router, v-if, v-for
Angular ng-app, angular.js, zone.js
jQuery jquery.js, $(, .ajax()

WAF Signatures

WAF Detection Method
Cloudflare cf-ray, cf-cache-status headers
AWS WAF x-amz-cf-id headers
Imperva X-Iinfo, X-CDN headers
Akamai akamai-origin headers
F5 ASM BIGipServer cookies
ModSecurity Mod_Security headers
Barracuda barra_counter_session cookies

Tips and Best Practices

  1. Start passive - Use headers and page content first
  2. Check multiple sources - Combine tool outputs for accuracy
  3. Verify versions - Technology detection is not always precise
  4. Note evasion - Some sites hide their technology stack
  5. WAF first - Always check for WAF before active scanning
  6. CDN consideration - CDN may hide actual server info
  7. Save results - Record fingerprints for correlation

Resources

Scripts

  • scripts/extract_headers.py - Extract and analyze HTTP headers
  • scripts/tech_matcher.py - Match technologies from responses
  • scripts/waf_detector.py - Detect WAF from headers/cookies

References

  • references/whatweb_guide.md - WhatWeb reference guide
  • references/wafw00f_guide.md - WAF detection guide
  • references/httpx_guide.md - HTTPx reference
  • references/fingerprinting_techniques.md - Advanced fingerprinting methods

Scenario: Persistent Storage of Fingerprinting Results

When you need to persist web fingerprinting results to the database:

# Manual entry after fingerprinting
python .claude/skills/recon-fingerprint/scripts/fingerprint_storage.py \
  --host-ip 192.168.1.100 \
  --url "https://example.com" \
  --technology "Apache 2.4.41" \
  --category "web-server" \
  --version "2.4.41" \
  --subsystem "Web Application"

Parameters:

  • --host-ip - Target host IP (required)
  • --url - Target URL (required)
  • --technology - Discovered technology (required)
  • --category - Technology category: web-server, cms, framework, etc. (optional)
  • --version - Technology version (optional)
  • --confidence - Confidence level (optional)
  • --subsystem - Subsystem name (optional)

Database location: ./data/results.db

Related skills: results-storage - Query data, generate reports


Assets

  • assets/waf-signatures.txt - Known WAF signatures
  • assets/tech-headers.txt - Technology header patterns
  • assets/cms-fingerprints.txt - CMS detection patterns
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/crazyMarky/pentest-skills --skill recon-fingerprint
Repository Details
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navigation Branch main
article Path SKILL.md
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