Building a Lightweight Alternative to Burp Suite
- 4 minsAs a penetration tester, I spend most of my time intercepting and manipulating HTTP requests to identify vulnerabilities. Burp Suite is great—don’t get me wrong. But sometimes I just want to quickly test something without configuring proxies, installing certificates, or dealing with applications that break when they detect a MITM proxy.
That’s why I built Enhanced Network Tab, a Firefox extension that brings the essential capabilities of an intercepting proxy directly into your browser’s DevTools. No proxy configuration. No certificate headaches. Just open DevTools and start testing.
The Problem
During bug bounty hunting, I often find myself doing quick recon on multiple targets. I just want to poke around, intercept a few requests, test for obvious issues like IDOR or JWT manipulation. But spinning up Burp for every quick test feels like overkill.
Sometimes I just need to confirm a vulnerability before committing to a full testing session. Is this endpoint really vulnerable to IDOR? Does changing this JWT claim work? Quick checks that don’t warrant the full Burp setup.
I thought: “Why can’t I just do quick interception directly in the browser?”
So I built it.
What is Enhanced Network Tab?
It’s a Firefox extension that lives in your DevTools. Think of it as Burp’s Interceptor and Repeater, but running natively in your browser.
Open Firefox DevTools (F12), click on the “Enhanced Network Tab” panel, toggle “Intercept”, and you’re immediately testing. No configuration. No certificates. No breaking modern web applications.
The UI is intentionally similar to Burp Suite. If you know Burp, you’ll feel right at home.
When to Use This Instead of Burp
Look, Burp Suite is still the king for comprehensive assessments. But here’s when I reach for Enhanced Network Tab:
Quick Testing
No configuration overhead. Open browser, open DevTools, start testing. Perfect for bug bounty hunting when you’re hitting multiple targets.
Applications That Hate Proxies
Some modern apps detect MITM proxies and refuse to work. Or they have certificate pinning. Enhanced Network Tab bypasses all of that because it works at the browser level.
Client Environments
Can’t install Burp on the client’s machine? The extension works anywhere Firefox runs.
Free and Open Source
Completely free. No Pro version, no licensing costs. Open source, so you can audit the code yourself.
Don’t get me wrong—for deep pentesting with active scanning, Intruder, and extensions, you still need Burp. But for quick validation and targeted testing? This is faster.
Core Features
Request Interception
Toggle “Intercept” and every matching request pauses before being sent. Modify the method, URL, headers, or body. Test for SQL injection, XSS, IDOR, privilege escalation—whatever you need.
You can configure what to intercept using regex patterns. For example, only intercept /api/* endpoints and ignore static resources. This keeps the app running smoothly while you focus on testing.
Request Repeater
Burp’s Repeater, but in your browser. Capture any request and resend it with modifications. Perfect for:
- Testing multiple injection payloads
- JWT token manipulation
- Rate limiting tests
- IDOR fuzzing
Response Interception
Intercept and modify response bodies before they reach the browser. Useful for testing client-side validation bypass or authorization logic. (Browser API limitations prevent modifying response headers—this is clearly communicated in the UI.)
Traffic Capture
See all requests with full headers and bodies. Search through everything. JSON, XML, and HTML are automatically formatted for readability.
HTML/Image Preview
HTML responses can be viewed in three modes: Raw source, Formatted, or Preview (rendered in a sandboxed iframe). Perfect for testing stored XSS—you can immediately see if your payload executed.
Images display inline. Handy for CAPTCHA analysis.
Quality of Life
Copy any request as cURL for your reports. Dark theme for those late-night bug bounty sessions. Sortable columns. Advanced filtering. All the small things that make testing smoother.
Privacy Matters
When you’re pentesting, you’re handling sensitive client data. Session tokens, API keys, PII—stuff that absolutely cannot leak.
This extension:
- Keeps everything local. No data leaves your browser.
- No telemetry. No analytics. No “phone home” behavior.
- Never makes external network requests.
- Open source. Audit the code yourself.
Only UI preferences (theme, column widths) are stored in browser local storage. No request/response data is ever persisted.
This isn’t just about good practice—it’s about client trust and rules of engagement. You can use this tool confidently during engagements.
Get It
Install from Firefox Add-ons: Enhanced Network Tab
Or build from source on GitHub.
Once installed, open Firefox DevTools (F12), go to “Enhanced Network Tab”, toggle “Capture”, and start testing.
Final Thoughts
Look, this won’t replace Burp Suite for comprehensive assessments. No active scanner, no sophisticated Intruder, no extensions ecosystem.
But for quick testing, bug bounty hunting, or when you need to move fast without proxy overhead? It’s perfect.
When to use this: Quick validation, bug bounties, apps that break with proxies, can’t-install-Burp situations.
When to use Burp: Comprehensive pentests, active scanning, advanced fuzzing, complex workflows.
It’s open source. No telemetry. Built by a pentester, for pentesters.
Give it a try. Let me know what you find.
Install: Firefox Add-ons
Source: GitHub
Happy hunting! 🎯