ZAP 2.16 Review ⚡️#

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) has long been the "free alternative" to Burp Suite. With version 2.16, it's proving to be much more than that.

Key Updates#

1. Enhanced HUD#

The Heads Up Display (HUD) brings the ZAP interface directly into your browser. It's smoother and more responsive in 2.16, making manual testing significantly faster.

2. Automation Framework#

ZAP's automation framework allows you to define scan pipelines in YAML. This is a game-changer for CI/CD integration.

Copy code
env:
  contexts:
    - name: "Target"
      urls:
        - "https://target.com"
jobs:
  - type: spider
  - type: activeScan
  - type: report

3. Improved API Support#

Better handling of GraphQL and SOAP APIs means ZAP can now effectively scan modern backends.

Performance#

Scanning speed has improved noticeably. The crawl engine handles Single Page Applications (SPAs) better, reducing the number of missed endpoints.

Verdict#

If you haven't looked at ZAP in a while, 2.16 is the time to reconsider. For automated DAST in your pipeline, it is arguably the best tool available.