BitSentry is a CLI-first security assessment suite. The public build focuses on two production-ready capabilities:
- external attack-surface discovery
- web-focused vulnerability scanning
It is built to run cleanly in local shells, CI pipelines, and Docker. A private edition includes a Web UI with parity to CLI workflows; that UI is not part of this public repository.
Use only on systems you own or are explicitly authorized to test.
Current Product Status
| Product | Purpose | Status |
|---|---|---|
bitsentry | Suite orchestrator and unified CLI | Implemented |
bitscope | Subdomain/cloud/IP discovery | Implemented |
bitprobe | Crawl + plugin-based vulnerability scanning | Implemented |
bitreport | Aggregated suite reporting | Implemented |
bitai | Verification helpers | Implemented (expanding) |
bitwatch, bitgraph, bitintel, bitspear, bitcannon | Planned suite modules | Scaffold |
Live registry:
python bitsentry.py products
python bitsentry.py products --json
Quick Start
Option 1 (recommended): installer
./scripts/install_bitsentry.sh
# first load after install (if needed)
# zsh: source ~/.zshrc && hash -r
# bash: source ~/.bashrc && hash -r (or ~/.bash_profile on macOS)
# fish: set -U fish_user_paths /usr/local/bin $fish_user_paths
# verify
bitsentry --help
After install (before your first scan)
Refresh local intelligence databases once so scans are useful. This is separate from install_bitsentry.sh (the installer may remind you about ASN data but does not download CVE data).
# 1) ASN database (fast; needed for ASN/IP intel plugins)
bitsentry update-db
# 2) CVE database (choose one bootstrap — required for technology/CVE correlation)
export NVD_API_KEY="your-nvd-api-key" # optional but strongly recommended
# Recommended: full local mirror (slow once; best coverage)
bitsentry update-cve-db --full
# Alternative: smaller first-time bootstrap (~15 years of publications)
# bitsentry update-cve-db --years 15
# Check what was loaded
bitsentry cve-stats
# 3) Run your first assessment
bitsentry scan example.com
Ongoing maintenance (after the one-time bootstrap above):
bitsentry update-db # refresh ASN data when stale
bitsentry update-cve-db # incremental CVE sync (fast)
If you skip CVE bootstrap, the first scan may still run but will only auto-fetch a short recent-publication window—not enough for historical product/CVE exposure. See CVE database below for details.
Option 2: manual setup
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Same post-install DB steps as Option 1 (use python bitsentry.py if bitsentry is not on PATH)
python bitsentry.py update-db
export NVD_API_KEY="your-nvd-api-key" # optional
python bitsentry.py update-cve-db --full # or: --years 15
python bitsentry.py cve-stats
# Full workflow (default): BitScope discovery -> BitProbe scan
python bitsentry.py scan example.com
# Discovery only
python bitsentry.py discover example.com
# scanner-only (BitProbe path)
python bitsentry.py light-scan https://example.com
# equivalent
python bitsentry.py bitprobe scan https://example.com
Important behavior
scan= default full suite workflowfull-scanremains as a compatibility aliaslight-scan= BitProbe-only path- apex and
wwware treated as same site during crawl scope - redundant
www.<apex>follow-on targets are avoided in suite scans
Installer details
The installer:
- creates or reuses
.env - creates/repairs
.venv - installs runtime dependencies from
requirements.txt - installs a launcher in an OS-appropriate bin directory
- prints local ASN DB status and suggests
bitsentry update-dbif stale
It does not download or build the CVE database. Follow After install (before your first scan) before relying on CVE correlation in scan results.
Docker
Portable CLI usage without local Python dependency:
docker build -t bitsentry .
docker run --rm bitsentry --help
docker run --rm bitsentry scan example.com
Persist artifacts to host:
mkdir -p ./bitsentry-out
docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)/bitsentry-out:/out" bitsentry scan example.com --suite-out /out
Compose path:
docker compose build
docker compose run --rm bitsentry --help
docker compose run --rm bitsentry scan example.com
Data Maintenance Commands
ASN database
python bitsentry.py update-db # alias: update-asn-db
CVE database
BitProbe stores CVEs in a local SQLite database (bitprobe/data/cve_db.sqlite) and matches them by detected product and version during scans—not by “CVEs published in the last N days.”
| Phase | What happens |
|---|---|
| Bootstrap | Populates the local DB (one-time or after a wipe) |
| Incremental sync | Fetches only NVD records modified since the last cursor (fast) |
| Scan | Fingerprints the target, then queries the DB for that product/CPE |
A short publication window (for example --days 30) only controls what gets downloaded into the DB. It does not limit scan logic. For real exposure coverage, bootstrap with a full or multi-year mirror first, then rely on incremental updates.
Recommended first-time setup:
# Optional but strongly recommended (higher NVD rate limits)
export NVD_API_KEY="your-nvd-api-key"
# One-time: build a complete local mirror (slow; ~350k CVEs)
python bitsentry.py update-cve-db --full
# Alternative: compromise bootstrap (~15 years of publications)
python bitsentry.py update-cve-db --years 15
# Ongoing refresh (incremental when a sync cursor exists)
python bitsentry.py update-cve-db
# Inspect local store
python bitsentry.py cve-stats
Other options:
# Quick bootstrap only (~recent publications; not sufficient alone for deep history)
python bitsentry.py update-cve-db --days 30
# Skip automatic CVE refresh at scan startup
export BITSENTRY_SKIP_CVE_UPDATE=1
On scan startup, if the DB is empty, BitProbe may run a 7-day publication bootstrap so the tool stays usable without blocking on a full NVD download. Run update-cve-db --full or --years 15 before relying on CVE findings in production assessments.
Direct product commands are also available via python bitprobe/bitprobe.py ... (same flags: --full, --years, --days).
Other maintenance
python bitsentry.py profiles
Suite Output and Reporting
Full run with aggregated artifacts:
python bitsentry.py scan example.com \
--suite-out ./suite_runs \
--suite-report \
--suite-verify
Report formats:
- BitProbe:
json,md,pdf,html - BitScope:
json,yaml,table
Note on public HTML output: the .html artifact is a placeholder page in this public repository; use JSON/Markdown/PDF for report content.
Development
pip install -r requirements.txt -r requirements-dev.txt
python -m pytest
Roadmap
Short term: complete and integrate scaffold modules (bitwatch, bitgraph, bitintel, bitspear, bitcannon).
Private product line: includes Web UI and broader integrations (SSO, workflow hooks, exports, and operational connectors) while keeping capability parity with CLI operations.
Implementation direction: Python remains the orchestration core; performance-sensitive components may continue to move into compiled tooling (Go/Rust/Zig) where appropriate.
License
- MIT (
LICENSE)