DAST on-demand scan

DETAILS: Tier: Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

WARNING: Do not run DAST scans against a production server. Not only can it perform any function that a user can, such as clicking buttons or submitting forms, but it may also trigger bugs, leading to modification or loss of production data. Only run DAST scans against a test server.

On-demand scans

• Runner tags selection enabled on GitLab.com and self-managed in GitLab 16.3.
• Browser based on-demand DAST scans available in GitLab 17.0 and later because proxy-based DAST was removed in the same version.

An on-demand DAST scan runs outside the DevOps lifecycle. Changes in your repository don't trigger the scan. You must either start it manually, or schedule it to run. For on-demand DAST scans, a site profile defines what is to be scanned, and a scanner profile defines how the application is to be scanned.

An on-demand scan can be run in active or passive mode:

• Passive mode: The default mode, which runs a Passive Browser based scan.
• Active mode: Runs an Active Browser based scan which is potentially harmful to the site being scanned. To minimize the risk of accidental damage, running an active scan requires a validated site profile.

View on-demand DAST scans

To view on-demand scans:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project or group.
2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.

On-demand scans are grouped by their status. The scan library contains all available on-demand scans.

Run an on-demand DAST scan

Prerequisites:

• You must have permission to run an on-demand DAST scan against a protected branch. The default branch is automatically protected. For more information, see Pipeline security on protected branches.

To run an existing on-demand scan:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.

2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.

3. Select the Scan library tab.

4. In the scan's row, select Run scan.

   If the branch saved in the scan no longer exists, you must:

   1. Edit the scan.
   2. Select a new branch.
   3. Save the edited scan.

The on-demand DAST scan runs, and the project's dashboard shows the results.

Create an on-demand scan

Create an on-demand scan to:

• Run it immediately.
• Save it to be run in the future.
• Schedule it to be run at a specified schedule.

To create an on-demand DAST scan:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project or group.

2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.

3. Select New scan.

4. Complete the Scan name and Description fields.

5. In the Branch dropdown list, select the desired branch.

6. Optional. Select the runner tags.

7. Select Select scanner profile or Change scanner profile to open the drawer, and either:

   • Select a scanner profile from the drawer, or
   • Select New profile, create a scanner profile, then select Save profile.

8. Select Select site profile or Change site profile to open the drawer, and either:

   • Select a site profile from the Site profile library drawer, or
   • Select New profile, create a site profile, then select Save profile.

9. To run the on-demand scan:

   • Immediately, select Save and run scan.

   • In the future, select Save scan.

   • On a schedule:

     • Turn on the Enable scan schedule toggle.
     • Complete the schedule fields.
     • Select Save scan.

The on-demand DAST scan runs as specified and the project's dashboard shows the results.

View details of an on-demand scan

To view details of an on-demand scan:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.
3. Select the Scan library tab.
4. In the saved scan's row select More actions ({ellipsis_v}), then select Edit.

Edit an on-demand scan

To edit an on-demand scan:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.
3. Select the Scan library tab.
4. In the saved scan's row select More actions ({ellipsis_v}), then select Edit.
5. Edit the saved scan's details.
6. Select Save scan.

Delete an on-demand scan

To delete an on-demand scan:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > On-demand scans.
3. Select the Scan library tab.
4. In the saved scan's row select More actions ({ellipsis_v}), then select Delete.
5. On the confirmation dialog, select Delete.

Site profile

• Site profile features, scan method and file URL, were enabled on GitLab.com and self-managed in GitLab 15.6.
• GraphQL endpoint path feature was introduced in GitLab 15.7.

A site profile defines the attributes and configuration details of the deployed application, website, or API to be scanned by DAST. A site profile can be referenced in .gitlab-ci.yml and on-demand scans.

A site profile contains:

• Profile name: A name you assign to the site to be scanned. While a site profile is referenced in either .gitlab-ci.yml or an on-demand scan, it cannot be renamed.

• Site type: The type of target to be scanned, either website or API scan.

• Target URL: The URL that DAST runs against.

• Excluded URLs: A comma-separated list of URLs to exclude from the scan.

• Request headers: A comma-separated list of HTTP request headers, including names and values. These headers are added to every request made by DAST.

• Authentication:

  • Authenticated URL: The URL of the page containing the sign-in HTML form on the target website. The username and password are submitted with the login form to create an authenticated scan.
  • Username: The username used to authenticate to the website.
  • Password: The password used to authenticate to the website.
  • Username form field: The name of username field at the sign-in HTML form.
  • Password form field: The name of password field at the sign-in HTML form.
  • Submit form field: The id or name of the element that when selected submits the sign-in HTML form.

• Scan method: A type of method to perform API testing. The supported methods are OpenAPI, Postman Collections, HTTP Archive (HAR), or GraphQL.

  • GraphQL endpoint path: The path to the GraphQL endpoint. This path is concatenated with the target URL to provide the URI for the scan to test. The GraphQL endpoint must support introspection queries.
  • File URL: The URL of the OpenAPI, Postman Collection, or HTTP Archive file.

When an API site type is selected, a host override is used to ensure the API being scanned is on the same host as the target. This is done to reduce the risk of running an active scan against the wrong API.

When configured, request headers and password fields are encrypted using aes-256-gcm before being stored in the database. This data can only be read and decrypted with a valid secrets file.

Site profile validation

Site profile validation reduces the risk of running an active scan against the wrong website. A site must be validated before an active scan can run against it. Each of the site validation methods are equivalent in functionality, so use whichever is most suitable:

• Text file validation: Requires a text file be uploaded to the target site. The text file is allocated a name and content that is unique to the project. The validation process checks the file's content.
• Header validation: Requires the header Gitlab-On-Demand-DAST be added to the target site, with a value unique to the project. The validation process checks that the header is present, and checks its value.
• Meta tag validation: Requires the meta tag named gitlab-dast-validation be added to the target site, with a value unique to the project. Make sure it's added to the <head> section of the page. The validation process checks that the meta tag is present, and checks its value.

Create a site profile

To create a site profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select New > Site profile.
5. Complete the fields then select Save profile.

The site profile is saved, for use in an on-demand scan.

Edit a site profile

NOTE: If a site profile is linked to a security policy, you cannot edit the profile from this page. See Scan execution policies for more information.

NOTE: If a site profile's Target URL or Authenticated URL is updated, the request headers and password fields associated with that profile are cleared.

When a validated site profile's file, header, or meta tag is edited, the site's validation status is revoked.

To edit a site profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Site Profiles tab.
5. In the profile's row select the More actions ({ellipsis_v}) menu, then select Edit.
6. Edit the fields then select Save profile.

Delete a site profile

NOTE: If a site profile is linked to a security policy, a user cannot delete the profile from this page. See Scan execution policies for more information.

To delete a site profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Site Profiles tab.
5. In the profile's row, select the More actions ({ellipsis_v}) menu, then select Delete.
6. Select Delete to confirm the deletion.

Validate a site profile

Validating a site is required to run an active scan.

Prerequisites:

• A runner must be available in the project to run a validation job.
• The GitLab server's certificate must be trusted and must not use a self-signed certificate.

To validate a site profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Site Profiles tab.
5. In the profile's row, select Validate.
6. Select the validation method.
   1. For Text file validation:
      1. Download the validation file listed in Step 2.
      2. Upload the validation file to the host, to the location in Step 3 or any location you prefer.
      3. If required, edit the file location in Step 3.
      4. Select Validate.
   2. For Header validation:
      1. Select the clipboard icon in Step 2.
      2. Edit the header of the site to validate, and paste the clipboard content.
      3. Select the input field in Step 3 and enter the location of the header.
      4. Select Validate.
   3. For Meta tag validation:
      1. Select the clipboard icon in Step 2.
      2. Edit the content of the site to validate, and paste the clipboard content.
      3. Select the input field in Step 3 and enter the location of the meta tag.
      4. Select Validate.

The site is validated and an active scan can run against it. A site profile's validation status is revoked only when it's revoked manually, or its file, header, or meta tag is edited.

Retry a failed validation

Failed site validation attempts are listed on the Site profiles tab of the Manage profiles page.

To retry a site profile's failed validation:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Site Profiles tab.
5. In the profile's row, select Retry validation.

Revoke a site profile's validation status

WARNING: When a site profile's validation status is revoked, all site profiles that share the same URL also have their validation status revoked.

To revoke a site profile's validation status:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Beside the validated profile, select Revoke validation.

The site profile's validation status is revoked.

Validated site profile headers

The following are code samples of how you can provide the required site profile header in your application.

Ruby on Rails example for on-demand scan

Here's how you can add a custom header in a Ruby on Rails application:

class DastWebsiteTargetController < ActionController::Base
  def dast_website_target
    response.headers['Gitlab-On-Demand-DAST'] = '0dd79c9a-7b29-4e26-a815-eaaf53fcab1c'
    head :ok
  end
end

Django example for on-demand scan

Here's how you can add a custom header in Django:

class DastWebsiteTargetView(View):
    def head(self, *args, **kwargs):
      response = HttpResponse()
      response['Gitlab-On-Demand-DAST'] = '0dd79c9a-7b29-4e26-a815-eaaf53fcab1c'

      return response

Node (with Express) example for on-demand scan

Here's how you can add a custom header in Node (with Express):

app.get('/dast-website-target', function(req, res) {
  res.append('Gitlab-On-Demand-DAST', '0dd79c9a-7b29-4e26-a815-eaaf53fcab1c')
  res.send('Respond to DAST ping')
})

Scanner profile

• Deprecated AJAX Spider option with the introduction of Browser based on-demand DAST scans in GitLab 17.0.
• Renamed spider timeout to crawl timeout with the introduction of Browser based on-demand DAST scans in GitLab 17.0.

A scanner profile defines the configuration details of a security scanner. A scanner profile can be referenced in .gitlab-ci.yml and on-demand scans.

A scanner profile contains:

• Profile name: A name you give the scanner profile. For example, "Spider_15". While a scanner profile is referenced in either .gitlab-ci.yml or an on-demand scan, it cannot be renamed.
• Scan mode: A passive scan monitors all HTTP messages (requests and responses) sent to the target. An active scan attacks the target to find potential vulnerabilities.
• Crawl timeout: The maximum number of minutes allowed for the crawler to traverse the site.
• Target timeout: The maximum number of seconds DAST waits for the site to be available before starting the scan.
• Debug messages: Include debug messages in the DAST console output.

Create a scanner profile

To create a scanner profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select New > Scanner profile.
5. Complete the form. For details of each field, see Scanner profile.
6. Select Save profile.

Edit a scanner profile

NOTE: If a scanner profile is linked to a security policy, you cannot edit the profile from this page. For more information, see Scan execution policies.

To edit a scanner profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Scanner profiles tab.
5. In the scanner's row, select the More actions ({ellipsis_v}) menu, then select Edit.
6. Edit the form.
7. Select Save profile.

Delete a scanner profile

NOTE: If a scanner profile is linked to a security policy, a user cannot delete the profile from this page. For more information, see Scan execution policies.

To delete a scanner profile:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Secure > Security configuration.
3. In the Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) section, select Manage profiles.
4. Select the Scanner profiles tab.
5. In the scanner's row, select the More actions ({ellipsis_v}) menu, then select Delete.
6. Select Delete.

Auditing

The creation, updating, and deletion of DAST profiles, DAST scanner profiles, and DAST site profiles are included in the audit log.