Overview
zgrab is a security scanner from ZMap Project used for security scanning, malware checks, vulnerability assessment, certificate review, and site-safety analysis.
Its primary user-agent pattern is zgrab.
zgrab is Unverified at the identity-evidence level. The listed identity remains useful for detection, but this record does not currently contain authoritative evidence sufficient to authenticate the identity claim.
Robots.txt behavior is not currently confirmed.
zgrab should be monitored first, then rate-limited or blocked if the crawl rate, paths, or behavior are unwanted.
Identity
- User-Agent Pattern
-
zgrab - HTTP Agent Examples
-
zgrab - Robots Token
- zgrab
- Identity Type
- Observed
- Evidence Method
- Treat `zgrab` as an identity signal only. Confirm it with current operator documentation, cryptographic verification, forward-confirmed reverse DNS, source-network ownership, or other authoritative evidence before trusting the claimed identity.
Classification
- Type
- Security scanner
- Kind
- Security scanner
- Family
- ZMap Project
- Purpose
- Security scanning
Behavior and handling
- Common Use
- zgrab is used for security scanning, malware checks, vulnerability assessment, certificate review, and site-safety analysis.
- Detection Notes
- zgrab traffic is primarily detected by the `zgrab` user-agent pattern. Compare source IPs, reverse DNS, request paths, and crawl cadence with ZMap Project infrastructure before trusting the traffic.
- Respects robots.txt
- Unknown
- Spoofing Risk
- zgrab has medium spoofing risk because user-agent strings can be copied; pair the match with DNS, IP, behavior, or operator evidence.
- Risk
- Caution
- Recommended Handling
- Monitor
Rules and controls
- Robots.txt Snippet
-
# robots.txt behavior is unconfirmed. Do not rely on this rule without verification.
Relationships
- Operator
- ZMap Project Checked 2026-08-07
Relationships without an Evidence link are normalized from the canonical directory record. They should not be interpreted as independent proof of physical presence or request origin.