Bug Bounty Hunting Guide: Essential Tools and Strategies

ByteBusterX
5 min readSep 18, 2023

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Introduction:

Hello, fellow Bug Bounty enthusiasts! Welcome to BBX, and today we’re going to dive into the exciting world of Bug Bounty hunting. If you’re new to this, don’t worry; I’ll walk you through the essential tools and strategies in simple terms.

Tools for Bug Bounty Hunting:

  1. Operating System : Kali Linux (or Windows/Mac): I prefer Kali Linux because it comes with many useful tools. But don’t worry if you’re on Windows or Mac; you can set up what you need.Just remember Kali is a good option if you want to deep dive into this stream, make yourself familiar with Kali.

Note:The alternative of kali is parrot os you can try it also if you want something new and advance.

Link: KALI LINUX and PARROT OS

2. Burp Suite: Imagine it as your Bug Bounty Swiss Army knife. It lets you check websites for vulnerabilities and automate tasks like finding weak spots or searching for security issues.

Note : Use Community edition of Burp it’s free it contains all tools for beginners . Professional editon is paid.

Link:- Burp Suite

3. Browser : Chrome (or your favorite): While I like Chrome, you can use any browser you’re comfortable with. The key here is browser extensions:

  • Foxy Proxy: Think of it as a traffic manager. It helps you connect with Burp Suite to inspect web requests.

Link : Foxy proxy Extension

  • Cookie Editor: This allows you to tweak cookies, useful during authentication tests.

Link : Cookie Editor Extension

  • BuiltWith or Wappalyzer: These tools tell you what technologies a website uses, like the content management system (CMS) or programming languages.

Link : BuiltWith Technology Profiler

Link : Wappalyzer

4. Fuzzing Tools — WFuzz and DirBuster : Imagine these as treasure hunters. WFuzz searches for hidden web content, while DirBuster looks for secret folders and files.

Link : WFuzz

Link : DirBuster

5. Subdomain Enumeration — Knockpy and Sublist3r: These tools help you find subdomains, which are like little corners of a website you might overlook.

Link : Knockpy

Link : Sublist3r

6. SecLists : It’s like a toolbox with all the tools you might need. It contains lists of things like usernames, passwords, and more, which can come in handy during your tests.

Link : SecList

7. Scrapy : Think of this as a spider. It helps you explore websites and find potential vulnerabilities.

Link : Scrapy

8. CyberChef : Imagine it as a secret code breaker. It helps you decode or encode data, which is often necessary during tests.

Link : CyberChef

9. WhatCMS : It’s your CMS detector. It tells you what content management system a website uses, which can be important for understanding its vulnerabilities.

Link : WhatCMS

10. Striker : This tool checks websites for vulnerabilities and helps you identify them. It’s like a detective for website security.

Link : Striker

11. SQLMap : It’s your automatic database explorer. It can find flaws in websites that use databases, like log-in pages or search forms.

Link : SQLMap

Methodologies and Documentation:

Now, let’s talk about how to approach Bug Bounty hunting:

  1. Methodology : It’s like following a map. You start with reconnaissance (learning about the target), move to discovery (looking for issues), and then focus on specific problems, like cross-site scripting (XSS) or SQL injection.

2. Documentation : Imagine it as your Bug Bounty journal. Keep notes about what you find, including the website links, what you tried, and what you discovered. Good notes make it easier to report your findings.

3. Vulnerability Classification : This is like ranking problems from “not a big deal” to “super critical.” It helps you understand which issues are worth reporting.

4. Testing Environments : Think of this as playing in a safe sandbox. Only test websites or systems you’re allowed to. Never attack something without permission.

Conclusion:

In this Bug Bounty series, I’ll dive deeper into each tool and strategy. Stay tuned for our next post, where I’ll explain methodologies and documentation in more detail. Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts or questions in the comments or on social media. Let’s work together to make the internet a safer place. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next post!

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ByteBusterX
ByteBusterX

Written by ByteBusterX

"Tech enthusiast exploring cybersecurity and networking. Sharing insights through the power of words. Join me in the world of tech and discovery. 📚✍️