WebScarab is a framework for analysing applications that communicate using the HTTP and HTTPS protocols. It is written in Java, and is thus portable to many platforms. WebScarab has several modes of operation, implemented by a number of plugins. In its most common usage, WebScarab operates as an intercepting proxy, allowing the operator to review and modify requests created by the browser before they are sent to the server, and to review and modify responses returned from the server before they are received by the browser. WebScarab is able to intercept both HTTP and HTTPS communication. The operator can also review the conversations (requests and responses) that have passed through WebScarab.
Some of its features are:
- Fragments – extracts Scripts and HTML comments from HTML pages as they are seen via the proxy, or other plugins
- Proxy – observes traffic between the browser and the web server. The WebScarab proxy is able to observe both HTTP and encrypted HTTPS traffic, by negotiating an SSL connection between WebScarab and the browser instead of simply connecting the browser to the server and allowing an encrypted stream to pass through it. Various proxy plugins have also been developed to allow the operator to control the requests and responses that pass through the proxy.
- Manual intercept – allows the user to modify HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses on the fly, before they reach the server or browser.
- Beanshell – allows for the execution of arbitrarily complex operations on requests and responses. Anything that can be expressed in Java can be executed.
- Reveal hidden fields – sometimes it is easier to modify a hidden field in the page itself, rather than intercepting the request after it has been sent. This plugin simply changes all hidden fields found in HTML pages to text fields, making them visible, and editable.
- Bandwidth simulator – allows the user to emulate a slower network, in order to observe how their website would perform when accessed over, say, a modem.
- Spider – identifies new URLs on the target site, and fetches them on command.
WebScarab-NG is a complete rewrite of the old WebScarab application, with a special focus on making the application more user-friendly. It can be downloaded from here: https://code.google.com/p/webscarab-ng/downloads/list
