enum4linux-ng vs XFFenum: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
enum4linux-ng is a free penetration testing tool. XFFenum is a free penetration testing tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best penetration testing fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of available product data, here is our conclusion:
Penetration testers and red team operators running Windows reconnaissance on networks with SMB exposure will move faster with enum4linux-ng than the original enum4linux, thanks to its Python rewrite that handles larger datasets and broken SMB implementations without hanging. The tool pulls user lists, share enumeration, and policy details from a single command line faster than manual net use or rpcclient chains, which matters when you're working through dozens of targets in a single engagement. Skip this if your scope is macOS or Linux-heavy environments where SMB isn't the attack surface; enum4linux-ng is deliberately Windows-centric and won't justify the learning curve otherwise.
Penetration testers running assessments against load-balanced or proxied applications need XFFenum to catch header-injection bypasses that manual testing misses. With 94 GitHub stars and active use in red team engagements, it's proven at identifying XFF spoofing chains that expose backend servers to direct attack. Skip this if your scope doesn't include HTTP header manipulation or you're working exclusively against single-origin targets; the tool solves a specific problem rather than serving as a general enumeration framework.
