> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/security-testing-orchestration/use-sto/sto-scanner-configuration/nikto-scanner-reference.md).

# Nikto step configuration

You can scan your application instances and ingest results from [Nikto](https://cirt.net/Nikto2).

### Important notes for running Nikto scans in STO <a href="#important-notes-for-running-nikto-scans-in-sto" id="important-notes-for-running-nikto-scans-in-sto"></a>

* You can utilize custom STO scan images and pipelines to run scans as a non-root user. For more details, refer [Configure your pipeline to use STO images from private registry](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/set-up-sto-pipelines/configure-pipeline-to-use-sto-images-from-private-registry.md).
* STO supports three different approaches for loading self-signed certificates. For more information, refer [Run STO scans with custom SSL certificates](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/secure-sto-pipelines/ssl-setup-in-sto.md#supported-workflows-for-adding-custom-ssl-certificates).

The following topics contain useful information for setting up scanner integrations in STO:

* [What's supported in STO](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/sto-whats-supported/sto-deployments.md)
* [Security Testing Orchestration FAQs](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/faqs.md)
* [Optimize STO pipelines](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/set-up-sto-pipelines/optimize-sto-pipelines.md)

### Nikto step settings for STO scans <a href="#nikto-step-settings-for-sto-scans" id="nikto-step-settings-for-sto-scans"></a>

The recommended workflow is to add a Nikto step to a Security or Build stage and then configure it as described below. You can also configure scans programmatically by copying, pasting, and editing the [YAML definition](#yaml-configuration).

#### Scan <a href="#scan" id="scan"></a>

**Scan Mode**

* **Orchestration** Configure the step to [run a scan](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/run-an-orchestrated-scan-in-sto.md) and then ingest, normalize, and deduplicate the results.
* **Ingestion** Configure the step to [read scan results from a data file](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/ingest-scan-results-into-an-sto-pipeline.md) and then ingest, normalize, and deduplicate the data.

**Scan Configuration**

The predefined configuration to use for the scan. All scan steps have at least one configuration.

#### Target <a href="#target" id="target"></a>

**Type**

* **Instance** Scan a running application.

**Target and variant detection**

When **Auto** is enabled for application instances, the step detects these values as follows:

* The target is based on the **Instance Domain** and **Path** defined in the step or runtime input, for example `https://qa.jpgr.org:3002/login/us`.
* The variant is the UTC timestamp when the step scanned the instance.

Note the following:

* **Auto** is not available when the **Scan Mode** is Ingestion.
* **Auto** is the default selection for new pipelines. **Manual** is the default for old pipelines, but you might find that neither radio button is selected in the UI.
* You should carefully consider the [baseline you want to specify](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/set-up-sto-pipelines/set-up-baselines.md) for your instance target. Every target needs a baseline to enable the full suite of STO features. Here are a few options:
  * Specify a RegEx baseline that captures timestamps. This ensures that every new scan compares issues in the new scan vs. the previous scan. Then it updates the baseline to the current scan.

    You can use this RegEx to capture timestamps: `\d{2}/\d{2}/\d{4}\,\s\d{2}\:\d{2}\:\d{2}`
  * Specify a fixed baseline.

    1. Scan the instance using a manual variant name.
    2. Select the baseline as a fixed value.
    3. Update the step to use auto-detect for future scans.

    This ensures that future scans get compared with one fixed baseline.

**Name**

The identifier for the [target](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/targets-and-baselines.md), such as `codebaseAlpha` or `jsmith/myalphaservice`. Descriptive target names make it much easier to navigate your scan data in the STO UI.

It is good practice to [specify a baseline](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/targets-and-baselines.md#every-target-needs-a-baseline) for every target.

**Variant**

The identifier for the specific variant to scan. This is usually the branch name, image tag, or product version. Harness maintains a historical trend for each variant.

#### Instance <a href="#instance" id="instance"></a>

**Domain**

Domain of the application instance to scan. You can include the full path to the app in this field, or split the full path between the **Domain** and the **Path** fields. Example: `https://myapp.io/portal/us`

**Protocol**

HTTPS (default) or HTTP.

**Port**

The TCP port used by the scanned app instance.

**Path**

Path to append to the application instance domain, if you're splitting the full path between the **Domain** and **Path** settings. For example, you might specify the domain as `https://myapp.io` and the path as `/portal/us`.

#### Ingestion <a href="#ingestion" id="ingestion"></a>

**Ingestion File**

The path to your scan results when running an [Ingestion scan](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/ingest-scan-results-into-an-sto-pipeline.md), for example `/shared/scan_results/myscan.latest.sarif`.

* The data file must be in a [supported format](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/sto-whats-supported/scanners.md#supported-ingestion-formats) for the scanner.
* The data file must be accessible to the scan step. It's good practice to save your results files to a [shared path](/continuous-integration/new-to-harness-ci/key-concepts.md#stages) in your stage. In the visual editor, go to the stage where you're running the scan. Then go to **Overview** > **Shared Paths**. You can also add the path to the YAML stage definition like this:

  ```yaml
      - stage:
        spec:
          sharedPaths:
            - /shared/scan_results
  ```

#### Log Level <a href="#log-level" id="log-level"></a>

The minimum severity of the messages you want to include in your scan logs. You can specify one of the following:

* **DEBUG**
* **INFO**
* **WARNING**
* **ERROR**

#### Additional CLI flags <a href="#additional-cli-flags" id="additional-cli-flags"></a>

Use this field to run the [nikto scanner](https://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/focal/man1/nikto.1.html) with specific flags. For example, the `-Tuning` flag customizes the tests that the scanner runs. The following example excludes a test from the scan:

`-Tuning x01`

{% hint style="warning" %}
Passing additional CLI flags is an advanced feature. Harness recommends the following best practices:

* Test your flags and arguments thoroughly before you use them in your Harness pipelines. Some flags might not work in the context of STO.
* Don't add flags that are already used in the default configuration of the scan step.

  To check the default configuration, go to a pipeline execution where the scan step ran with no additional flags. Check the log output for the scan step. You should see a line like this:

  `Command [ scancmd -f json -o /tmp/output.json ]`

  In this case, don't add `-f` or `-o` to **Additional CLI flags**.
  {% endhint %}

#### Fail on Severity <a href="#fail-on-severity" id="fail-on-severity"></a>

Every STO scan step has a **Fail on Severity** setting. If the scan finds any vulnerability with the specified [severity level](/security-testing-orchestration/new-to-sto/key-concepts/severities.md) or higher, the pipeline fails automatically. You can specify one of the following:

* **`CRITICAL`**
* **`HIGH`**
* **`MEDIUM`**
* **`LOW`**
* **`INFO`**
* **`NONE`** — Do not fail on severity

The YAML definition looks like this: `fail_on_severity : critical # | high | medium | low | info | none`

#### Settings <a href="#settings" id="settings"></a>

You can use this field to specify environment variables for your scanner.

#### Additional Configuration <a href="#additional-configuration" id="additional-configuration"></a>

The fields under **Additional Configuration** vary based on the type of infrastructure. Depending on the infrastructure type selected, some fields may or may not appear in your settings. Below are the details for each field

* Override Security Test Image
  * [Container Registry](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/set-up-sto-pipelines/configure-pipeline-to-use-sto-images-from-private-registry.md#step-level-override)
  * [Image Tag](/security-testing-orchestration/troubleshooting-and-resources/sto-use-cases/set-up-sto-pipelines/configure-pipeline-to-use-sto-images-from-private-registry.md#step-level-override)
* [Privileged](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/manage-dependencies/background-step-settings.md#privileged)
* [Image Pull Policy](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/manage-dependencies/background-step-settings.md#image-pull-policy)
* [Run as User](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/manage-dependencies/background-step-settings.md#run-as-user)
* [Set Container Resources](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/manage-dependencies/background-step-settings.md#set-container-resources)
* [Timeout](/continuous-integration/use-harness-ci/use-harness-ci/run-step-settings.md#timeout)

#### Advanced settings <a href="#advanced-settings" id="advanced-settings"></a>

In the **Advanced** settings, you can use the following options:

* [Conditional Execution](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/pipelines/step-skip-condition-settings.md)
* [Failure Strategy](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/pipelines/failure-handling/define-a-failure-strategy-on-stages-and-steps.md)
* [Looping Strategy](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/pipelines/looping-strategies/looping-strategies-matrix-repeat-and-parallelism.md)
* [Policy Enforcement](/harness-ai/use-harness-platform/governance/policy-as-code/harness-governance-overview.md)