Performance Tips

This guide provides tips for optimizing smugglex scanning performance.

Quick Performance Options

Exit on First Vulnerability

Stop scanning after finding the first vulnerability using the --exit-first or -1 flag:

smugglex https://target.com/ --exit-first
smugglex https://target.com/ -1

This is the fastest way to check if a target has any HTTP Request Smuggling vulnerabilities. Smugglex will stop as soon as it detects the first vulnerability, saving significant time when you only need to confirm a vulnerability exists.

Use Cases

• Quick validation during penetration testing
• Rapid scanning of multiple targets
• Bug bounty hunting when confirmation is sufficient
• Initial vulnerability assessment
• CI/CD pipeline checks

Example Workflows

Quick Scan Single Target:

smugglex https://target.com/ -1 -v

Fast Mass Scanning:

cat targets.txt | smugglex -1 -o results.json

Quick Check with Exploitation:

smugglex https://target.com/ -1 --exploit localhost-access

Specific Attack Type Testing

Test only specific vulnerability types to reduce scan time:

# Test only CL.TE (fastest single check)
smugglex https://target.com/ -c cl-te

# Test CL.TE and TE.CL only
smugglex https://target.com/ -c cl-te,te-cl

# Skip HTTP/2 checks if not needed
smugglex https://target.com/ -c cl-te,te-cl,te-te

Timeout Optimization

Reduce Timeout for Fast Networks

For targets with fast response times:

smugglex https://target.com/ -t 5

Default timeout is 10 seconds. Reducing it speeds up scans on responsive targets.

Increase Timeout for Slow Networks

For targets with slow response times:

smugglex https://target.com/ -t 20

This prevents false negatives on slow or distant targets.

Pipeline Optimization

Parallel Scanning

Use GNU parallel for concurrent target scanning:

cat targets.txt | parallel -j 10 smugglex -1

This runs 10 smugglex instances in parallel.

Tool Integration

Integrate with other tools efficiently:

# Fast subdomain enumeration and testing
subfinder -d example.com | httpx | smugglex -1

# Quick port scan and smuggling test
nmap -p 80,443 -oG - target.net | awk '/open/{print $2}' | smugglex -1

Scan Strategy

Progressive Approach

1. Quick Initial Scan:

   smugglex https://target.com/ -1 -c cl-te,te-cl
   

2. If Vulnerable, Comprehensive Scan:

   smugglex https://target.com/ -v -o results.json --export-payloads ./payloads
   

3. Targeted Exploitation:

   smugglex https://target.com/ -c cl-te --exploit localhost-access
   

Focus on High-Value Targets

Test endpoints most likely to be vulnerable:

• API endpoints
• Admin panels
• Load balancer endpoints
• Reverse proxy paths
• CDN endpoints

Output Optimization

Minimal Output

Skip verbose output for faster processing:

smugglex https://target.com/ -1

JSON Output for Automation

Use JSON output for automated processing:

cat targets.txt | smugglex -1 -o results.json

Parse results programmatically without human-readable formatting overhead.

Network Considerations

Local Network Testing

Testing on local networks is faster:

# Fast local testing
smugglex http://192.168.1.100/ -t 5 -1

# Skip TLS overhead for HTTP
smugglex http://target.com/ -1

Batch Processing

Process URLs in batches for better resource utilization:

# Process 100 URLs at a time
split -l 100 targets.txt batch_
for batch in batch_*; do
  cat $batch | smugglex -1 >> results.txt
done

Resource Management

Memory Efficiency

Smugglex has low memory footprint. For very large scans:

# Stream processing without buffering
cat large_target_list.txt | smugglex -1 | tee results.txt

CPU Optimization

Smugglex uses async operations efficiently. For CPU-limited systems:

# Limit concurrent operations by processing fewer targets
cat targets.txt | head -n 50 | smugglex -1

Benchmarks

Typical scan times per target:

Times vary based on network conditions and target response times.

Best Practices

When to Use Exit-First

Use --exit-first / -1 when:

• Scanning large numbers of targets
• Performing initial vulnerability assessment
• Time is limited
• Confirmation is sufficient
• Testing in CI/CD pipelines

When to Use Full Scan

Use full scan (without -1) when:

• Detailed vulnerability analysis is needed
• Testing specific vulnerability types
• Generating comprehensive reports
• Verifying all attack vectors
• Research or thorough penetration testing

Balanced Approach

# Quick check first
smugglex https://target.com/ -1

# If vulnerable, run comprehensive scan
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
  smugglex https://target.com/ -v -o detailed_results.json --export-payloads ./payloads
fi

Performance Monitoring

Track Scan Progress

Use verbose mode to monitor performance:

smugglex https://target.com/ -1 -v

Measure Scan Time

Time your scans:

time smugglex https://target.com/ -1

Troubleshooting Slow Scans

Identify Bottlenecks

1. Network latency: Use -t to adjust timeout
2. Target responsiveness: Try different endpoints
3. Check selection: Use -c to limit checks
4. DNS resolution: Use IP addresses directly

Solutions

Slow network:

smugglex https://target.com/ -t 5 -1 -c cl-te

Unresponsive target:

smugglex https://target.com/ -t 30 -c cl-te,te-cl

Too many checks:

smugglex https://target.com/ -1 -c cl-te

References

• Options and Flags - All command-line options
• Examples - Usage examples
• Exploiting - Exploitation features