Yersinia vs OWASP ZAP: Which Cyber Security tool is Best in 2025?

Yersinia is an open-source, robust framework for executing layer 2 (Data Link Layer) network attacks, designed to exploit vulnerabilities in various network protocols. Integrated into Kali Linux, Yersinia empowers cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, and network administrators to analyze and test the security of deployed networks. Named after the plague-causing bacterium Yersinia pestis, it targets protocols like STP, DHCP, CDP, and VLAN, enabling users to simulate attacks such as DHCP starvation, VLAN hopping, and spanning tree manipulation.

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy), developed by OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project), is a versatile, open-source web application security scanner pre-installed on Kali Linux. It is designed for penetration testers, developers, and security enthusiasts to identify vulnerabilities in web applications. Acting as a man-in-the-middle proxy, ZAP intercepts and modifies HTTP/HTTPS traffic, enabling active and passive scanning, fuzzing, and API testing. Its user-friendly GUI, automation framework, and heads-up display (HUD) make it accessible for beginners and powerful for experts. With features like spidering, brute-forcing, and marketplace add-ons, ZAP is ideal for detecting issues like SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF, ensuring robust web security.