XFFenum vs Cognito Scanner: 2026 Comparison
XFFenum is a free penetration testing tool. Cognito Scanner 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 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.
AWS security teams testing Cognito deployments should use Cognito Scanner because it catches account enumeration and privilege escalation flaws that managed AWS security tools routinely miss. At 109 GitHub stars with zero cost, it's the only tool built specifically to attack Cognito's auth mechanics rather than treating identity as a checkbox in a broader AWS scanner. Skip this if your threat model doesn't include internal or compromised-credential scenarios; Cognito Scanner assumes attackers already have network access and focuses on what they can do once inside.
