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Test a Non-Proxy-Aware Thick Client Application

Sarah | Last updated: Sep 21, 2023 04:34PM UTC

Is there a way to use Burp to test a desktop application? I see a very outdated post here: https://portswigger.net/support/using-burp-suites-invisible-proxy-settings-to-test-a-non-proxy-aware-thick-client-application, but the instructions are very vague.

Ben, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Sep 22, 2023 10:47AM UTC

Hi Sarah, Yes, Burp is capable of testing desktop applications that communicate using HTTP/HTTPS. In the first instance, you would need to find out whether the desktop application is proxy aware or non-proxy aware. If it is proxy aware then it should respect the system proxy settings and be relatively simple to configure. If the application is non-proxy aware then there is no simple point and click solution. The documentation that you linked to is still valid (the screenshots are from are older version of Burp - an updated version is here - https://portswigger.net/burp/documentation/desktop/tools/proxy/invisible). You would need to redirect requests sent by the application to Burp and then configure Burp to redirect theses request to the relevant host. The documentation does walk through the process to do this but, in terms of the specifics of the application you are trying to test, you would need to discover the details in order to be able to configure this.

Sarah | Last updated: Sep 22, 2023 03:57PM UTC

Hi Ben, Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, I've seen very little documentation on this. "You can force the non-proxy-aware client to connect to Burp. Modify your DNS resolution to redirect the relevant hostname" How do I figure out what that relevant hostname is?

Ben, PortSwigger Agent | Last updated: Sep 25, 2023 09:41AM UTC