How To Install Nikto on Fedora 39

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Nikto on Fedora 39. In the digital age, web security is paramount. For system administrators and security professionals, the Nikto Web Scanner stands out as a critical tool in the cybersecurity arsenal. This open-source software performs extensive tests against web servers, identifying potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Nikto Web Scanner on a Fedora 39.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the installation process, it’s crucial to prepare your Fedora 39 system:

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Fedora 39.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• You will need access to the terminal to execute commands. Fedora 39 provides the Terminal application for this purpose. It can be found in your Applications menu.
• A network connection or internet access to download the Nikto packages.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Nikto on Fedora 39

Step 1.  Keeping your system up-to-date is a best practice for security and performance. Open your terminal and execute the following command:

sudo dnf clean all
sudo dnf update

This command refreshes your system’s package index and updates all installed packages to their latest versions.

Step 2. Installing Nikto on Fedora 39.

Fedora’s package manager, DNF, simplifies the installation of software. To install Nikto, run:

sudo dnf install nikto

This command searches the Fedora repository for the Nikto package and installs it along with any necessary dependencies.

After installation, it’s a good practice to verify that Nikto is correctly installed. Check the installed version:

nikto -Version

This command displays the current version of Nikto installed on your system, confirming the successful installation.

Step 3. Basic Usage of Nikto.

Nikto is user-friendly, with straightforward commands for initiating scans. To perform a basic scan on a target web server, use:

nikto -h <target-IP-or-domain>

For a comprehensive list of command options and usage, refer to:

nikto -Help

Step 4. Update Nikto’s Plugin and Database.

Keeping Nikto’s plugin and database updated ensures the tool can check for the latest vulnerabilities. Regularly run:

nikto -update

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Nikto. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the Nikto Web Scanner on your Fedora 39 system. For additional or useful information, we recommend you check the official Nikto website.