Burp Suite Community Edition

The Burp Suite Community Edition is a free version of the popular web application security testing tool. While it has limitations compared to the Professional Edition, it still provides powerful functionality for manual testing and is an excellent starting point for those learning web application security.

Available Tools

Proxy Features

The Proxy tool in the Community Edition allows you to:

• Intercept HTTP/S requests and responses
• Modify intercepted traffic before forwarding
• View and analyze web traffic history
• Use basic match and replace rules
• Filter traffic based on URL, file type, etc.
• Support HTTP/1, HTTP/2, and WebSockets

The Community Edition proxy lacks some advanced features found in the Professional Edition, such as:

• Advanced match and replace rules
• Automatic matching
• Custom response interception rules

Basic Proxy Usage

To use the Burp Proxy:

1. Configure your browser to use Burp as a proxy (default: 127.0.0.1:8080)
2. Install the Burp CA certificate in your browser to handle HTTPS
3. Toggle interception on/off using the button in the Proxy tab
4. View intercepted requests and responses in the Intercept tab
5. Forward, drop, or modify requests as needed
6. Review all traffic in the HTTP history tab

# Example browser proxy configuration
Proxy Host: 127.0.0.1
Proxy Port: 8080

Repeater Features

The Repeater tool is fully functional in the Community Edition and allows you to:

• Manually modify and resend individual HTTP requests
• Compare responses from different requests
• Test how applications respond to modified inputs
• Analyze response headers, body, and rendering
• Work with various content types (JSON, XML, etc.)

Unlike some other tools, Repeater has essentially the same functionality in both Community and Professional editions.

Basic Repeater Usage

To use Repeater effectively:

1. Send requests to Repeater from the Proxy or other tools
2. Modify any part of the request (headers, parameters, body)
3. Click "Send" to transmit the modified request
4. Analyze the response in the various view options
5. Make further modifications and repeat as needed

Repeater is particularly useful for:

• Testing parameter manipulation
• Exploring API endpoints
• Testing for injection vulnerabilities
• Analyzing application logic

Intruder Features and Limitations

The Intruder tool in Community Edition is functional but severely rate-limited:

• Limited to approximately 1 request per second
• Includes only the "Sniper" and "Battering ram" attack types
• Missing "Cluster bomb" and "Pitchfork" attack types
• Basic payload options only
• Limited result analysis capabilities

Basic Intruder Usage

Despite its limitations, you can still use Intruder for:

1. Small-scale brute force attacks
2. Testing a limited set of payloads
3. Learning how automated testing works
4. Simple fuzzing of parameters

Basic workflow:

1. Send a request to Intruder from Proxy
2. Mark insertion points (parameters to test)
3. Select attack type (Sniper or Battering ram)
4. Configure payloads
5. Start the attack

For larger tests, consider using alternative tools or upgrading to Professional.

Decoder Features

The Decoder tool is fully functional in the Community Edition and provides:

• Encoding and decoding of application data
• Support for multiple encoding schemes:
  • URL encoding
  • HTML encoding
  • Base64
  • ASCII hex
  • Binary
  • Gzip
  • Deflate
• Hashing functions (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, etc.)
• Smart decode feature to automatically detect encoding

Decoder has identical functionality in both Community and Professional editions.

Basic Decoder Usage

To use Decoder:

1. Input text or copy data from other Burp tools
2. Select the desired encoding or decoding operation
3. Chain multiple operations as needed
4. View the results in various formats (hex, text, etc.)

Common use cases:

• Decoding values from cookies or tokens
• Encoding payloads for injection tests
• Analyzing obfuscated JavaScript
• Working with binary data

Comparer Features

The Comparer tool is fully functional in the Community Edition and allows you to:

• Compare two items (requests, responses, or any text)
• View differences in text or binary format
• Highlight differences between items
• Analyze subtle changes in responses

Like Decoder, Comparer has identical functionality in both Community and Professional editions.

Basic Comparer Usage

To use Comparer effectively:

1. Send items to Comparer from other Burp tools
2. Or paste content directly into the Comparer tabs
3. Select "Words" or "Bytes" comparison mode
4. Review the highlighted differences

Comparer is particularly useful for:

• Identifying changes in responses after parameter manipulation
• Comparing error messages
• Detecting subtle differences in seemingly identical responses
• Analyzing token patterns

Sequencer Features

The Sequencer tool in Community Edition provides:

• Analysis of randomness in session tokens and other important values
• Basic statistical tests for entropy
• Live capture of tokens from application traffic
• Manual token loading for offline analysis

The Community Edition has limited analysis capabilities compared to the Professional Edition, which offers more comprehensive statistical tests.

Basic Sequencer Usage

To use Sequencer:

1. Identify a request that returns a token (e.g., session cookie)
2. Configure Sequencer to extract the token from responses
3. Start the live capture
4. Collect a sufficient sample size (typically 100+ tokens)
5. Analyze the results to assess randomness

This helps identify weak token generation that could lead to session prediction vulnerabilities.

Key Limitations

No Automated Scanner

The most significant limitation of the Community Edition is the absence of the automated vulnerability scanner. This means:

• All testing must be performed manually
• No passive scanning for common issues
• No automatic detection of vulnerabilities
• Increased time and effort required for comprehensive testing

No Project Saving

The Community Edition does not allow you to save your work as project files:

• All state is lost when you close Burp Suite
• No ability to resume work from a previous session
• Difficult to collaborate or share findings
• Need to reconfigure settings each time you start

No Extensions Support

The Community Edition does not support extensions from the BApp Store:

• Limited to built-in functionality only
• No custom scan checks or specialized tools
• Cannot extend functionality for specific technologies
• No integration with third-party tools

Limited Intruder Functionality

As mentioned earlier, the Intruder tool is severely rate-limited and lacks advanced attack types:

• Approximately 1 request per second (vs. unlimited in Professional)
• Missing Cluster Bomb and Pitchfork attack types
• Limited payload processing options
• Basic result analysis only

Use Cases for Community Edition

Despite its limitations, the Community Edition is valuable for:

Learning and Education

• Students learning web application security
• Security enthusiasts building skills
• Academic environments
• Self-study and certification preparation

Basic Manual Testing

• Simple vulnerability assessments
• Testing specific, known issues
• Small-scale projects with limited scope
• Personal projects and hobby development

Evaluation Before Purchase

• Trying Burp Suite before investing in the Professional Edition
• Understanding the basic workflow and interface
• Determining if the tool meets your needs

Tips for Maximizing Community Edition

To get the most out of the free version:

1. Focus on manual testing techniques rather than relying on automation
2. Use external tools to complement missing functionality
3. Create custom wordlists for more efficient Intruder usage despite rate limits
4. Leverage browser developer tools alongside Burp for additional insights
5. Document findings externally to compensate for lack of project saving

When to Upgrade

Consider upgrading to the Professional Edition when:

• You need to test large or complex applications efficiently
• Time constraints make manual testing impractical
• Project saving is essential for your workflow
• You require advanced attack types in Intruder
• Extensions would significantly improve your testing process
• You're performing professional security assessments

Next Steps

• Professional Edition Features
• Setting Up Burp Proxy
• Manual Testing Techniques