AWStats Page Detection Exposure Scanner

AWStats is an open-source web analytics tool often deployed on web servers to provide traffic statistics and usage reports. System administrators and site operators typically use AWStats to analyze visitor counts, referrers, user agents, and bandwidth consumption. It can be installed as a CGI script, placed under cgi-bin, or served from dedicated stats directories and is frequently accessible via predictable paths. Many legacy or misconfigured servers expose AWStats pages without authentication or access controls. Security teams and scanners look for AWStats pages because they can reveal operational details about a site and its traffic patterns. Detecting exposed AWStats endpoints helps administrators decide whether the analytics interface should be restricted or removed from public access.

The detected condition is exposure of AWStats pages that disclose site analytics and potentially sensitive operational metadata. Exposed analytics pages may list internal resources, frequently visited URLs, referrer sources, and other information useful to an attacker. This type of exposure often arises from default installations, forgotten admin pages, or permissive directory configurations. Even when the information is not directly sensitive, aggregated statistics can enable targeted reconnaissance and fingerprinting. Detection of AWStats pages is primarily an informational finding that can indicate lax configuration or forgotten services. Remediation typically involves removing public access, adding authentication, or relocating analytics to private networks.

The scanner requests common AWStats locations such as /awstats.pl, /cgi-bin/awstats.pl, /stats/, /awsindex.html and other typical paths. It inspects returned page bodies for AWStats-specific markers such as the product name or formatted version strings like "AWStats" or "Advanced Web Statistics". The detection uses combined matchers to increase confidence by requiring both a regex that matches a version header and presence of AWStats-related words. If these signatures are present, the scanner flags the page as an AWStats instance accessible without restriction. The check does not attempt authentication or deeper interaction; it only confirms the presence and recognizability of the analytics interface. This simple detection is effective at surfacing exposed analytics installations across a fleet of assets.

Publicly exposed AWStats pages can provide attackers with reconnaissance data such as popular endpoints, referrers, visitor geography, and potential crawl patterns. Knowledge of frequently used paths and referrers can guide targeted attacks or phishing campaigns tailored to the site’s users. Exposure may also reveal server-side configuration hints, software versions, or internal URLs that help in further vulnerability hunting. While AWStats pages typically do not contain credentials, aggregated operational data can reduce attacker effort and increase the precision of follow-on attacks. Remediating or restricting access to analytics pages reduces the information surface available to adversaries and improves overall security posture.