An autonomous agent that tests your own web application for security holes and writes up what it finds.
Worth a timeboxed spike before you bet on it.
Small teams with no security staff, ahead of a customer security review or a compliance questionnaire.
A four-figure penetration-testing engagement, or shipping untested.
Only ever point it at systems you own and are authorised to test. It supplements a real pentest; it does not satisfy an auditor who wants one.
Run it against your staging environment, never production, and triage whatever it finds before your next customer asks.
AGPL-3.0. If you run a modified version as part of a service you offer to others, you may be required to publish your source. Many companies buy a commercial licence instead.
This is a reading of the licence label, not legal advice.
The numbers
Maintainers describe it as: “Shannon is an AI pentester for web applications and APIs. It analyzes your source code, identifies attack vectors, and executes real exploits to prove vulnerabilities before they reach production.”
shannon, in short
- Should a small team use shannon?
- Pilot it. Worth a timeboxed spike before you bet on it. Small teams with no security staff, ahead of a customer security review or a compliance questionnaire.
- What does shannon actually do?
- An autonomous agent that tests your own web application for security holes and writes up what it finds.
- What does shannon replace?
- A four-figure penetration-testing engagement, or shipping untested.
- What is the downside of shannon?
- Only ever point it at systems you own and are authorised to test. It supplements a real pentest; it does not satisfy an auditor who wants one.
- Can shannon be used in a commercial product?
- Its licence is AGPL-3.0, which carries obligations or restrictions for commercial use. Read the LICENSE file, and get a lawyer's read before you ship it inside a product you sell.