recon-and-methodology

SKILL: Recon and Methodology — Expert Bug Bounty Playbook

AI LOAD INSTRUCTION: Systematic recon and bug-finding methodology from top bug hunters. Covers subdomain enumeration, endpoint discovery, tech fingerprinting, and the hunter's mental model for finding bugs that others miss. Key insight: most high-severity bugs are found through systematic coverage, not just clever payloads.

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1. RECON HIERARCHY

Target Selection
└── Scope Definition (in-scope assets)
    └── Asset Discovery (subdomains, IPs, domains)
        └── Tech Fingerprinting (what's running)
            └── Endpoint Discovery (attack surface)
                └── Vulnerability Testing (per vulnerability type)

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2. SUBDOMAIN ENUMERATION (CRITICAL FIRST STEP)

Passive (no DNS queries to target)

# Subfinder (aggregates multiple sources):
subfinder -d target.com -o subdomains.txt

# Amass passive:
amass enum -passive -d target.com

# Certsh (certificate transparency):
curl -s "https://crt.sh/?q=%.target.com&output=json" | jq -r '.[].name_value' | sort -u

# SecurityTrails API, Shodan:
# Web: https://securitytrails.com/list/apex_domain/target.com

Active (DNS brute force + resolution)

# Massdns + wordlist:
massdns -r /path/to/resolvers.txt -t A -o S -w output.txt \
  <(cat wordlist.txt | sed 's/$/.target.com/')

# ffuf for subdomain brute:
ffuf -w subdomains-wordlist.txt -u https://FUZZ.target.com \
  -mc 200,301,302,403 -H "Host: FUZZ.target.com"

# DNSx for bulk resolution:
cat subdomains.txt | dnsx -a -resp -o resolved.txt

# Recommended wordlist: SecLists/Discovery/DNS/

Virtual Host Discovery

# ffuf vhost mode:
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com \
  -H "Host: FUZZ.target.com" -mc 200,301,403

# gobuster vhost:
gobuster vhost -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt

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3. SERVICE AND PORT DISCOVERY

# Fast port scan (common ports):
nmap -T4 -F target.com -oN ports.txt

# Comprehensive scan on resolved subdomains:
cat resolved_ips.txt | nmap -iL - --open -p 80,443,8080,8443,8888,3000,5000 -oG scan.txt

# httpx for HTTP probing:
cat subdomains.txt | httpx -title -tech-detect -status-code -o live_hosts.txt

# masscan for speed on large IP ranges:
masscan -p 80,443,8080,8443 10.0.0.0/8 --rate=1000

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4. WEB TECHNOLOGY FINGERPRINTING

# Wappalyzer (browser extension) or:
whatweb https://target.com

# httpx with tech detection:
httpx -u https://target.com -tech-detect

# Check headers manually:
curl -sI https://target.com | grep -i "server\|x-powered-by\|x-generator\|cf-ray"

# Fingerprint from:
- Server header: nginx/1.18, Apache/2.4, IIS/10.0
- X-Powered-By: PHP/7.4, ASP.NET
- Cookies: PHPSESSID (PHP), JSESSIONID (Java), _rails_session (Rails)
- HTML comments: <!-- Drupal 9 -->
- Meta generator: <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 6.2">
- JS framework files: /static/js/angular.min.js

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5. ENDPOINT DISCOVERY

Directory Brute Force

# ffuf (fastest):
ffuf -u https://target.com/FUZZ -w /usr/share/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/raft-medium-files.txt \
  -mc 200,301,302,403 -t 50 -o dirs.txt

# Gobuster:
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -x php,html,js,json

# feroxbuster (recursive):
feroxbuster -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -x php,html,txt -r

Parameter Discovery

# Arjun (hidden parameter finder):
arjun -u https://target.com/api/endpoint

# x8:
x8 -u https://target.com/api/endpoint -w params-wordlist.txt

JavaScript Source Mining

# Extract endpoints from JS files:
gau target.com | grep '\.js$' | httpx -mc 200 | xargs -I{} curl -s {} | \
  grep -oE '"/[a-zA-Z0-9/_-]+"' | sort -u

# LinkFinder:
python3 linkfinder.py -i https://target.com -d -o output.html

# GetAllURLs (gau):
gau target.com | sort -u > all_urls.txt

# Wayback URLs:
waybackurls target.com | sort -u > wayback_urls.txt

API Endpoint Discovery

# Common API paths:
ffuf -u https://target.com/FUZZ -w /SecLists/Discovery/Web-Content/api/api-endpoints.txt

# Swagger/OpenAPI:
test: /swagger.json /api-docs /openapi.json /v2/api-docs /.well-known/ /docs/

# GraphQL:
test: /graphql /gql /v1/graphql /api/graphql

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6. SOURCE CODE RECON

GitHub / GitLab Exposure

# trufflehog (secret scanner in git history):
trufflehog git https://github.com/target-org/target-repo

# gitleaks:
gitleaks detect --source /path/to/cloned/repo

# Manual GitHub search:
# site:github.com "target.com" "api_key" OR "secret" OR "password"
# site:github.com "target.com" ".env" OR "config.php" OR "db_password"

# GitHub dorks:
# "target.com" extension:env
# "target.com" filename:*.config password
# org:target-org secret OR password OR apikey

Exposed Environment Files

# Check common paths:
https://target.com/.env
https://target.com/.git/config
https://target.com/config.json
https://target.com/config.yaml
https://target.com/credentials.json
https://target.com/secrets.json
https://target.com/wp-config.php
https://target.com/backup.sql
https://target.com/backup.zip

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7. ZSEANO'S TESTING METHODOLOGY

Core Philosophy

1. Go deep on one program rather than spread across many — learn the application thoroughly
2. Build a profile of the company — tech stack, developers, processes
3. Look where others don't — check error pages, admin paths, old versions, mobile API
4. Follow the filter — if input is filtered somewhere, that functionality exists and may be bypassed

Testing Sequence (One Page / Feature)

For each input point:
1. Non-malicious HTML tags (<h2>, <img>) → are they reflected?
2. Incomplete tags → what happens? (<iframe src=//evil.com )
3. Encoding tests → %0d, %0a, %09, <%00
4. Observe the OUTPUT too (not just response) — where does your input appear?
5. Test same input in ALL similarly-structured pages (shared code → shared vuln)
6. Check if the same parameter exists in mobile/API endpoint (less protected)

Parameter Insights

- Each parameter tells a story: "what does this do server-side?"
- Filename → OS interaction → Path Traversal / CMDi
- URL/location → HTTP fetch → SSRF
- Template/HTML parameter → render function → SSTI
- XML field → parser → XXE
- SQL filter → query → SQLi
- User-content → storage → Stored XSS

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8. BUG BOUNTY PROGRAM TRIAGE (WHERE TO SPEND TIME)

High-Value Target Selection

✓ Programs with large scope (*.target.com)
✓ Programs that pay for P2/P3 (not just RCE)
✓ Programs with recent tech changes (migrations = new bugs)
✓ Programs with active development (new features = new attack surface)
× Avoid: frozen/old codebases with well-known CVEs (already claimed)
× Avoid: strict programs with narrow scope (less surface)

High-Value Feature Focus (by bug probability)

Priority 1: Authentication, password reset, 2FA → account takeover
Priority 2: File upload, profile edit, API endpoints → stored XSS, IDOR
Priority 3: Admin panels, user management → BFLA, privilege escalation
Priority 4: Payment flows, subscription → business logic
Priority 5: Import/export, template rendering → XXE, SSTI

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9. NUCLEI TEMPLATES (AUTOMATED SCANNING)

# Run all on target:
nuclei -u https://target.com -t /nuclei-templates/ -o nuclei-results.txt

# Specific categories:
nuclei -u https://target.com -t cves/ -severity critical,high
nuclei -u https://target.com -t exposures/
nuclei -u https://target.com -t misconfiguration/

# On subdomain list:
cat subdomains.txt | nuclei -t exposures/ -t misconfiguration/ -o exposed.txt

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10. COMMON MISCONFIGURATIONS (QUICK WINS)

□ CORS: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * with credentials → CSRF + data theft
□ S3 bucket public: curl https://target.s3.amazonaws.com/
□ Directory listing: response contains "Index of /"
□ .git exposed: curl https://target.com/.git/config
□ .env exposed: curl https://target.com/.env
□ Debug mode: stack traces in production (source code exposure)
□ Default credentials: admin:admin, admin:password on admin panels
□ phpinfo.php: curl https://target.com/phpinfo.php
□ Backup files: config.bak, database.sql.gz, app.zip
□ GraphQL introspection enabled: POST /graphql {"query":"{__schema{types{name}}}"}
□ Admin panels: /admin /manager /console /phpmyadmin /wp-admin

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11. QUICK REFERENCE TOOLS

Category	Tool
Subdomain enum	subfinder, amass, massdns
Port scan	nmap, masscan
HTTP probe	httpx
Dir brute	ffuf, feroxbuster, gobuster
JS mining	LinkFinder, gau, waybackurls
Secret scan	trufflehog, gitleaks
Parameter fuzz	arjun, x8
Vuln scan	nuclei
Proxy/intercept	Burp Suite Pro
JWT attacks	jwt_tool
SQLi	sqlmap
XSS	dalfox, XSStrike
SSRF	SSRFmap, Gopherus

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12. JAVA MIDDLEWARE FINGERPRINT MATRIX

Middleware	Detection Path	Key Indicators
Apache Tomcat	/manager/html, /manager/status	Default creds: tomcat:tomcat, admin:admin
JBoss / WildFly	/jmx-console/, /web-console/	JMX MBean access, WAR deployment
WebLogic	/console/, /wls-wsat/	T3 protocol on 7001/7002, IIOP
Spring Boot Actuator	/actuator/, /actuator/env, /actuator/heapdump	JSON endpoint listing, heap dump contains secrets
Spring Boot (alt paths)	/actuator/jolokia, /actuator/gateway/routes	Jolokia JMX bridge, Gateway route injection
Jenkins	/script, /manage	Groovy console, API token in cookie
GlassFish	/common/, /theme/	Admin on 4848, default empty password
Jetty	/jolokia/	JMX access
Resin	/resin-admin/	Admin panel

Spring Boot Actuator Exploitation Priority

/actuator/env          → Leak environment variables (DB creds, API keys)
/actuator/heapdump     → Download JVM heap → search for passwords in memory
/actuator/jolokia      → JMX → possible RCE via MBean manipulation
/actuator/gateway/routes → Spring Cloud Gateway → SpEL injection (CVE-2022-22947)
/actuator/configprops  → All configuration properties
/actuator/mappings     → All URL mappings (hidden endpoints)
/actuator/beans        → All Spring beans
/actuator/threaddump   → Thread dump (may leak session tokens / secrets in stack frames)

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13. INFORMATION LEAK DETECTION CHECKLIST

Version Control & Backup Leaks

/.git/HEAD                    → Git repository exposed
/.svn/entries                 → SVN metadata
/.svn/wc.db                   → SVN SQLite database
/.hg/requires                 → Mercurial
/.bzr/README                  → Bazaar
/.DS_Store                    → macOS directory listing

Backup File Patterns

/backup.zip    /backup.tar.gz    /backup.sql
/wwwroot.rar   /www.zip          /web.zip
/db.sql        /database.sql     /dump.sql
/config.php.bak    /config.php~    /config.php.swp
/.config.php.swp   /wp-config.php.bak
/.env          /.env.bak         /.env.production

API Documentation & Debug

/swagger-ui.html              → Swagger/OpenAPI
/swagger-ui/                  → Swagger UI
/api-docs                     → API documentation
/graphql                      → GraphQL playground
/graphiql                     → GraphQL IDE
/debug/                       → Debug endpoints
/phpinfo.php                  → PHP configuration
/server-status                → Apache status
/server-info                  → Apache info
/nginx_status                 → Nginx status

Cloud & Infrastructure

/.aws/credentials             → AWS credentials
/.docker/config.json          → Docker registry auth
/robots.txt                   → Disallowed paths (hint list)
/sitemap.xml                  → Full URL listing
/crossdomain.xml              → Flash cross-domain policy
/.well-known/                 → Various well-known URIs