How To Get STARTED IN BUG BOUNTY

Understanding Basics of Web Applications

Before diving into hacking, it's important to understand how web applications work. Hacking is not just about running tools or finding vulnerabilities—it's about understanding how applications are built and how they communicate. To effectively identify and exploit weaknesses, you need to know the underlying technologies and processes that power web apps. From the way HTTP requests and responses work to the role of networking, DNS, and Linux in application infrastructure, this foundational knowledge is essential. Without it, you'll miss critical opportunities to discover vulnerabilities and will struggle to interpret the results of your tests. Start here to build a strong base before moving into practical hacking.

• Learn how HTTP requests work - Understand the structure of HTTP requests and responses, including methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, and HEAD. Learn about headers, cookies, status codes, and how data is transmitted between a client and server. This foundational knowledge is essential for understanding how web applications communicate and for identifying any vulnerabilities in web applications

• Learn basics of networking - Networking concepts like TCP/IP, UDP, ports, and the OSI model are critical for understanding how data flows between systems. You’ll also need to understand concepts like firewalls, proxies, and VPNs, as these are often encountered in bug bounty environments.

• Learn how DNS works - DNS (Domain Name System) is the backbone of how domains resolve to IP addresses. Learn about DNS lookups, records (A, CNAME, TXT, MX, etc.), subdomain enumeration, and how attackers exploit misconfigured DNS to find subdomains or hijack traffic. Programming Languages

• HTML - HTML is the backbone of all web pages. Learn how HTML elements like forms, iframes, and meta tags are structured. This is critical for understanding how data is input, output, and manipulated on a website. For example, analyzing HTML forms can help you understand how parameters are passed to the server.

• Javascript - the backbone of modern web applications, enabling client-side functionality. Learn how it’s used for DOM manipulation, event handling, and making HTTP requests via AJAX or Fetch APIs. This knowledge is essential for:

  • Finding vulnerabilities like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS).

  • Understanding how web apps validate data on the client side.

  • Decoding obfuscated or minified JavaScript files to uncover hidden functionality or sensitive endpoints.

• Learn Linux and Command Line Basics
  Linux is the operating system of choice for most bug bounty hunters due to its flexibility and tool availability. Learn how to navigate the Linux command line, manage files and directories, understand permissions, and use essential commands like grep, find, cat, chmod, and scp. Mastering Linux is crucial for running tools and automating workflows effectively.

  • Resource Recommendation: Check out OverTheWire’s Bandit wargame to practice Linux basics and command-line skills interactively.

• Optional: A scripting language outside of bash

  • Python: It’s versatile and widely used in cybersecurity for automating tasks, writing custom exploit scripts, and interacting with APIs (like Bugcrowd or HackerOne APIs). Frameworks like Requests, BeautifulSoup, or Scapy can greatly aid in bug bounty tasks.

  • Go (Golang)
    Go is becoming increasingly popular in the cybersecurity and bug bounty space because of its performance and simplicity. Many modern tools, such as httpx, Amass, Subfinder, and Katana, are built in Go. Learning Go will allow you to:

    • Write high-performance scripts for automation or testing.

    • Contribute to or modify existing bug bounty tools written in Go.

    • Build tools that handle concurrency and scale efficiently, making it ideal for large-scale recon tasks.

Learning Path for Bug Bounty

• PortSwigger Web Security Academy (Free):
  Start with the free labs here to understand the foundational concepts of web application security. It provides hands-on labs for various vulnerabilities and aligns closely with real-world scenarios.

• Hand-on Web Exploitation (Premium)

  This is my personal course, where I teach the most popular bug types and share my proven methodology for finding them. It features over 10+ hours of content and includes 100+ hands-on labs based on real-world scenarios, covering topics like reconnaissance, web vulnerabilities, account takeover techniques, and more. It's perfect for beginners aiming to level up and intermediates looking to refine their skills with practical, scenario-based learning.

• Familiarize with OWASP Top 10:
  These are the most common vulnerabilities in web applications.

  Understand each category in-depth and learn how to identify and exploit them.

  • Broken Authentication

  • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

  • Injection (SQLi, Command Injection, etc.)

  • Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR)

  • Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

  Learn Recon

  Reconnaissance is a critical phase in bug bounty hunting and web application hacking. It involves gathering as much information as possible about a target to uncover potential attack surfaces. Effective recon can lead to finding hidden subdomains, endpoints, sensitive files, and more. Here's what to focus on:

  • Subdomain Enumeration: Use tools like Amass, Subfinder, or Assetfinder to identify subdomains.

  • Endpoint Discovery: Tools like httpx and ffuf are great for finding hidden or less obvious endpoints.

  • Web Archives: Leverage platforms like the Wayback Machine to uncover deprecated endpoints or older versions of the application.

  • GitHub Dorks: Search for sensitive information, such as API keys, credentials, or exposed code.

  • Automated Recon Workflows: Learn to combine tools and scripts to make your recon process more efficient.

  • Tools to Master for Recon:

    • Amass, Subfinder, httpx, Waybackurls, and Katana.

    • Browser tools like Burp Suite or Caido for inspecting and manipulating traffic during recon.