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Burp suite pro is not started in Headless mode

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 06:54AM UTC

Hi, I am trying to run the Burp Suite tool in Headless mode (i.e. through Command line) but it shows continuously below message. Arguments to headless burp: No arguments found for Headless Burp, quitting I have tried with various commands as below java -Xmx1G -Djava.awt.headless=true \ -classpath headless-burp-scanner-master-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar:burpsuite_pro.jar burp.StartBurp \ --unpause-spider-and-scanner \ --project-file=project.burp -c config.xml java -Djava.awt.headless=true -jar /path to folder/burpsuite_pro.jar http localhost 80/folder Even I have referred the official GitHub pages for setup and running the commands. But am not able to proxy started or any other function of Burp suite. 1. https://netsoss.github.io/headless-burp/user-guide/burp-extensions/headless-burp-scanner/ 2. https://github.com/portswigger/headless-burp Please help to solve the issue. Thanks

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 08:24AM UTC

Hi Smita, Do you see any errors at the command line when using those parameters? Have you tried typing out the full command without the \'s? Also, are you using a valid project file and XML configuration? E.g. java -Xmx1G -Djava.awt.headless=true -classpath headless-burp-scanner-master-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar:burpsuite_pro.jar burp.StartBurp --unpause-spider-and-scanner --project-file=project.burp -c config.xml

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 09:33AM UTC

Thanks for immediate reply. Yes I have tried using full command without \s also. And am using valid project file and XML file. By using full command it shows below error: Error: Could not find or load main class burp.StartBurp Please help to solve this.

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 09:57AM UTC

Hi, Also can you please let me know how can I get "headless-burp-scanner-master-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar" file. I have already downloaded project as a zip from "https://github.com/portswigger/headless-burp" repo but did not find mentioned jar file. Thanks.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 09:58AM UTC

Is your Burp Pro jar file in the same directory as the location you are running the command from?

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 10:12AM UTC

Yes. I am running the command from the same directory where the Burp Pro jar file is present.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 10:23AM UTC

You need to execute the build instructions mentioned in the repo. 1. Install Maven 2. Run ./mvnw in the unzipped headless-burp directory (the build seems to fail every time for me) It looks like there are issues with version 2.x: https://github.com/NetsOSS/headless-burp/issues/22. You will need to contact the author of the extension directly if it is not working. Are you just interested in launching scans without having to interact with the UI? If so, you may benefit from using the generic CI driver: https://portswigger.net/burp/extender/ci-integration.

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 12:51PM UTC

Thanks for reply. I have tried with above-mentioned steps and generated the jar file and put it at a location where my Burp suite jar & other files are present. but still when I try to execute the below command I am getting the error mentioned below the command. java -Xmx1G -Djava.awt.headless=true -classpath "headless-burp-scanner-master-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar;burpsuite_pro.jar" burp.StartBurp --unpause-spider-and-scanner -project-file=2020-04-28-sample_proj.burp -c config.xml Error message I get is as below : Arguments to headless burp: -project-file=2020-04-28-sample_proj.burp -c config.xml No arguments found for Headless Burp, quitting. Can you please confirm whether this issue is related to the known issue which you have mentioned " https://github.com/NetsOSS/headless-burp/issues/22" so that I can contact author of the extension directly if required. Also thanks for sharing this link "https://portswigger.net/burp/extender/ci-integration. " I will start looking into this as well. Thanks.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 12:53PM UTC

You have specified the project file parameter as -project-file instead of --project-file. Can you try again and let me know if it works?

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 01:09PM UTC

Thanks for your input. I have tried with passing the project file parameter as --project-file. But now it shows another error as below. Could not open file: C:\Program Files\BurpSuitePro\test.burp Could you please also help on this. Thank.

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 01:11PM UTC

Thanks for your input. I have tried with passing the project file parameter as --project-file. But now it shows another error as below. Could not open file: C:\Program Files\BurpSuitePro\2020-04-28-sample_proj.burp This project is already present at that particular location. Could you please also help on this. Thanks.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 01:32PM UTC

You may need to associate Burp as the program that file extension should be opened with. You can edit this by: right-clicking the .burp file > Properties

Smita | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 01:52PM UTC

Thank you very much for your valuable support. Now I have started Burp Suite in headless mode successfully. The one query for your question is "Are you just interested in launching scans without having to interact with the UI?" I am interested in launching scans without GUI and also I want to use other features/functions of Burp Suite like Intruder, intercepting requests/response which will be received from my test application(Webapp). Like I have used this in Burp Suite GUI mode. But I want to use or test my application in headless mode for test automation. Could you please help more on this. Thank you.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 29, 2020 02:28PM UTC

You are welcome. Thanks for clarifying. Please run java -jar burp-ci-driver-1.0.7beta.jar --help to get a full list of the capability of the CI driver. Out of the functions you want to use, the CI driver only allows the capability to launch new scans. You cannot use the Intruder in headless mode. You may be able to write an extension to handle this using the Extender API: https://portswigger.net/burp/extender/api/.

Smita | Last updated: Apr 30, 2020 07:35AM UTC

Thanks for the detailed information. Actually one query/point that I missed is as below. When I fire command: java -Xmx1G -Djava.awt.headless=true -classpath "headless-burp-scanner-master-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar;burpsuite_pro.jar" burp.StartBurp --unpause-spider-and-scanner --project-file=2020-04-28-sample_proj.burp -c config.xml then it asks license key and after providing license key then I just see blank screen only for some time. Also it does not show any kind or error. Burp Suite does not get started or any message i.e proxy server started does not shown on command promt. Please help me on this. Thanks.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 30, 2020 08:04AM UTC

It looks like the extension has not been working for some time so please contact the original author: https://github.com/NetsOSS/headless-burp/issues.

Smita | Last updated: Apr 30, 2020 09:16AM UTC

Thanks for the information. I will contact the original author through Github. So just to update you; Now I am seeing some kind of error when I run the same command as below Deleting temporary files - please wait ... Failed to delete temp directory: C:\Users\ue\AppData\Local\Temp\burp1566461434190533344.tmp and then I have deleted respective temp files but still shows this error. Can you help me by using the above error? Thanks.

Uthman, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Apr 30, 2020 09:22AM UTC