Verifying a domain

Before you can scan a domain on the Internet, ASoC must verify that you have permission to scan it. Verification is not needed for domains that are not available on the Internet (private sites).

About this task

You can verify a domain either by adding a small file to its root folder, or confirming your permission by clicking an email link.

Procedure

  1. In Governance > DAST domains, click Verify a new domain.
  2. Type in the domain to verify, then click Next.
    Do not include the protocol. Specify a subdomain only if you want to verify just that subdomain.
    For example, to verify a domain and all subdomains, enter my-domain.com.
  3. Select your preferred verification method, then click Next:
    • File in domain root folder
    • Email domain administrator
  4. If you chose to verify by file:
    1. Enter domain protocol and the root folder location.
      You can test the URL to confirm you entered the correct information.
    2. Click Download.
    3. Place the file in the root folder location for the domain.

      If you do not have permissions to access that location, work within your organization to complete this step.

  5. If you chose to verify by email:
    1. Enter the email address for the domain owner, then click Send email.
    2. Contact the domain owner directly to ask that they respond to the email
  6. Click Done.
    The site is added to the list of domains, with status "Pending." The first time you run a scan, ASoC verifies the file you added, and changes the status to "Verified." Domains unverified after 30 days are removed from the list.

Example

If your application includes links to URLs outside the domain of the starting URL, they must be verified separately to be included in the scan (unless they are private sites and you are using an AppScan Presence). Consider these examples:

Subdomains:

The starting URL is: http://a.com/home/.

The site has links to http://b.a.com, which is a subdomain of a.com.

The subdomain is automatically included in the verification process but is not scanned by default. To scan subdomains, you must explicitly add them to the 'Domains to test' list in ASoC when you submit a scan or include them in the scan template file.

Parallel or parent domains:

The Starting URL: http://b.a.com/home/.

The site has links to a parallel domain http://c.a.com, or to parent domain http://a.com, and you want those links included in the scan.

To ensure full coverage:
  • Verify a.com, OR
  • Verify b.a.com and c.a.com, and when creating the scan in Create scan > Dynamic (DAST), clear the Include only links in and below this directory check box.