Knowledge Base Overview
The Knowledge Base is a repository of context documents that PAIStrike's AI uses to improve the accuracy and relevance of penetration tests. By providing the AI with information about your target environment, you enable it to perform more intelligent and targeted testing.
Why Use the Knowledge Base?
Without a knowledge base, PAIStrike's AI approaches every target as a complete unknown (black box mode). With a knowledge base, you can provide:
- Application documentation to help the AI understand functionality
- API specifications so the AI tests every endpoint correctly
- Source code snippets to identify logic vulnerabilities
- Q&A pairs that encode your team's institutional knowledge
- Configuration details that guide authentication and scope
A well-stocked knowledge base typically increases vulnerability discovery rate and reduces false positives.
Knowledge Base Scope
Knowledge bases are scoped to an organization. All projects and assets within the organization can use the shared knowledge base.
Content Types
PAIStrike supports four types of knowledge base content:
QA (Question & Answer)
Structured pairs of questions and answers. Use this to encode specific knowledge about your target:
-
Q: "What authentication mechanism does this API use?" A: "JWT tokens with RS256 signing, issued by the
/auth/tokenendpoint." -
Q: "What are the admin roles in this application?" A: "Roles are: superadmin, org_admin, user. Superadmin can access
/admin/*endpoints."
Document
Uploaded text or PDF documents. Use this for:
- Application security specifications
- Threat models
- Previous pentest reports
- Architecture diagrams (with textual descriptions)
- Compliance requirements
Code
Source code files or snippets. Use this for:
- Authentication logic
- Authorization middleware
- API route definitions
- Known vulnerable code areas to focus testing on
Mixed
A flexible type that combines multiple formats in a single entry — useful when you have rich context that doesn't fit neatly into one category.
Knowledge Base vs. White Box Job Config
| Feature | Knowledge Base | White Box Job Config |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Organization-wide | Per job |
| Persistent | Yes | Configured per job |
| Best for | General context, documentation | Credentials, specific test instructions |
Use the Knowledge Base for persistent, reusable context. Use White Box job configuration for test-specific instructions like credentials or targeted test cases.