No. 9 of 36 ·Vulnerability Scanning Software

Nikto

Windows · Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely2 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Nikto is ranked #9 of 36 in vulnerability scanning software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted, Windows. There is a free plan.

Nikto plans and pricing

All plans

Nikto Free Free software under GPLv3 · Database files are restricted to use with Nikto; commercial use requires a license github.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on vulnerability scanning software

Deployment model: on_premises
Supported targets: web servers; host URLs
Authenticated scanning: Yes

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The record

Purpose: Nikto is an open-source web server scanner for security professionals, penetration testers, and system administrators.
Scan coverage: It checks for over 8,000 potentially dangerous or interesting files and programs and identifies outdated server versions and common misconfigurations.
Detection: It identifies installed web servers and software using headers, content, and file analysis, and its scan items and plugins can update automatically.
Reporting: Scans can produce plain text, JSON, SQL, XML, HTML, or CSV reports, including direct reporting to MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Protocols and proxies: Nikto supports IPv4, IPv6, and HTTP proxies.
Authentication: It supports Basic and NTLM host authentication and can guess credentials for Basic, NTLM, and Digest authorization realms.
Scan controls: Users can tune scans to include or exclude vulnerability check classes and scan multiple ports or servers, including servers listed in Nmap output.
Custom checks: Users can add custom checks through CSV files.
False positives: The scanner uses headers, page content, hashing, and other methods to reduce false positives.
TLS and cookies: Nikto detects TLS configuration and fingerprints, handles cookies automatically, and offers an option to disable cookie use.
Install options: The project documents Perl installation, Docker images, and Windows installation.
Support: The project directs users to GitHub or Docker and its documentation for support, and asks users to open GitHub issues for bugs, feature requests, or questions.
License terms: Nikto 2.6 code is GPLv3, while its database files may only be distributed with and used in Nikto unless a commercial license is obtained from the author.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Vulnerability Scanning Software in 2026#9 of 36

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Sources

cirt.net/nikto/· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/sullo/nikto/wiki· checked 4 Oct 2026
github.com/sullo/nikto· checked 4 Oct 2026