However, nowadays, Chrome occupies the top of the “attackers’ podium,” with half of the malicious traffic divided evenly between execution in headless and non-headless mode. In this case, some Chrome functionality will be limited, but it offers the flexibility to write automation in any programing language besides NodeJS and JavaScript.īy analyzing malicious activity generated by automated browsers, I found that PhantomJS was a leader not only in the amount of traffic it produced but also in malicious activity. Without much difficulty, attackers can put in place an infrastructure with a host of nodes running Headless Chrome and orchestrated by one component (Puppeteer).Īpart from Puppeteer, Chrome can be automated using webdriver and automation frameworks like Selenium or by direct access through Command Line Interface (CLI). It provides full access to browser features and, most importantly, can run Chrome in fully headless mode on a remote server, which is very useful for both automation teams and attackers. ![]() Puppeteer is a common and natural way to control Chrome. Puppeteer is a NodeJs library developed by the Chrome team, which provides a high-level API to control headless and full versions of the latest Chrome. The release of Puppeteer a couple of months after the release of the headless functionality was a decisive push in Headless Chrome’s popularity. ![]() Headless Chrome also has convenient development tools and many additional useful features for Devs. Another reason is the support for major desktop, server, and mobile operating systems. There are several reasons for Headless Chrome’s popularity one being the support for Chrome’s new “out of the box” features, which constantly introduce new trends in web development. Traffic ratio between automated and non-automated browsers So, why is Headless Chrome so popular? In comparison to other headless browsers and automation frameworks, Headless Chrome overtook the previous leader, PhantomJS, within a year of its release. The chart below shows the amount of traffic generated by Headless Chrome and other major headless browsers since its release date in June 2017. It’s used in dedicated headless browsers like PhantomJS and NightmareJS, test frameworks like Capybara and Jasmin, and tools like Selenium that can automate different browsers including Chrome. ![]() The practice of web browser automation isn’t new. In headless mode, it’s possible to run large scale web application tests, navigate from page to page without human intervention, confirm JavaScript functionality and generate reports.Īs with benign cases, the same functionality takes place in malicious scenarios, when an attacker needs to evaluate JavaScript or emulate browser functionality. It can be used on servers without dedicated graphics or display, meaning that it runs without its “head”, the Graphical User Interface (GUI). Headless mode is a functionality that allows the execution of a full version of the latest Chrome browser while controlling it programmatically. This article focuses on the “headless mode” feature that Google released more than a year ago and, since day one has become very popular not only among software engineers and testers but also with attackers. Each new version of Chrome brings new usability, security and performance features. ![]() Google Chrome is the most popular web browser and has been so for almost a decade.
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