Automating XSS Hunting with Dalfox [Pen Testing Hands-on]

Want a fast XSS check? Dalfox does the heavy lifting. It auto-injects, verifies (headless/DOM checks included), and spits out machine-friendly results you can act on. Below: installing on Kali, core commands, handy switches, and a demo scan against a safe target. Copy, paste, profit. (lab-only.)

Behind the Scenes: How Dalfox Works

Dalfox is more than a simple payload injector. Its efficiency comes from a smart engine that:

1. Performs Parameter Analysis: Identifies all parameters and checks if input is reflected in the response
2. Uses a DOM Parser: Analyzes the Document Object Model to verify if a payload would truly execute in the browser
3. Applies Optimization: Eliminates unnecessary payloads based on context and uses abstraction to generate specific payloads
4. Leverages Parallel Processing: Sends requests concurrently, making the scanning process exceptionally fast

1. Install dependencies

Update packages and make sure Go (Golang) is installed:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
go version || sudo apt install golang-go -y

If go version shows a Go runtime, you’re good.

2. Install Dalfox

Install the latest Dalfox binary using Go:

go install github.com/hahwul/dalfox/v2@latest
export PATH=$PATH:$(go env GOPATH)/bin   # add GOPATH/bin to PATH if needed
dalfox version

That installs Dalfox into your Go bin folder so you can run dalfox directly.