The Nikto 2.6.1 release focuses on scan consistency, safer internals, and a few behavior changes.
SQL Direct Reporting
The new SQL Direct plugin will insert findings directly into a MySQL or PostgreSQL database via the -F sqld output format option. See the wiki docs for setup info.
TLS Keep-Alives
TLS connections now use keep-alives for session reuse. This results in a significant scan speed increase (~18%). Can be disabled if a server misbehaves with -nosslkeepalive.
User-Agent handling
Nikto no longer rotates User-Agents on every request by default. It now uses a static Chrome UA for more stable responses. This reverts to behavior from 2.5.0.
-useragentforces a specific string.-evasion Rper-request Random User-Agents from the database.- The suggested-headers check always uses the static UA, even when
-evasion Ris set.
Other Changes
- Dictionary attack plugin removed.
@RFIURL— the default now lives indb_variables; an entry innikto.conf/udb_variablesstill overrides.- Version / outdated checks — more accurate comparison based on installation method. Added a six hour no-recheck window.
- Standardized on
JSON::PP. replay.pl— proxy parsing/usage fixed.- Debug print now shows proper test id or plugin name for request/response prints.
- Bunch of other bug fixes for accuracy & reliability, safer file opens.
- Cleaned up HTML output.
- Better archive detection.
- Auth/header edge-case cleanups.