OWASP ZAP
ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a free, open-source web application scanner and intercepting proxy maintained by the ZAP community under the Software Security Project.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Run passive and active scans against your own test application
- Add automated security checks to a CI pipeline
- Learn how common web flaws are detected
Key features
- Intercepting proxy
- Spider and AJAX spider
- Passive and active scanning
- Automation Framework and Docker images
Installation
Download from zaproxy.org/download or use the official Docker image described in the docs.
Beginner usage guide
Start with the "Automated Scan" on a target you own, then explore the Alerts tab; each alert explains the risk and a suggested fix.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Quick baseline scan with Docker
docker run --rm -t ghcr.io/zaproxy/zaproxy:stable zap-baseline.py -t http://host.docker.internal:3000Runs ZAP's passive baseline scan against a local app; check the ZAP docs for the current image name and options.
Keep learning
🎓 Learning path: OWASP Top 10
🎓 Learning path: Web Security
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.