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Introduction:
The journey of a bug bounty hunter is a continuous cycle of testing, critical thinking, and skill refinement. As highlighted by recent successes in the community, mastering a core set of tools and commands is fundamental to efficiently identifying vulnerabilities and earning rewards. This article provides a technical deep dive into the essential command-line arsenal every hunter needs.
Learning Objectives:
- Master fundamental reconnaissance and enumeration commands for web applications and networks.
- Understand and utilize critical vulnerability assessment and exploitation techniques.
- Learn commands for post-exploitation analysis and securing your own testing environment.
You Should Know:
1. Passive Subdomain Enumeration with `amass`
`amass enum -passive -d target.com -o subdomains.txt`
This command uses the OWASP Amass tool to perform passive reconnaissance, collecting subdomains from various public data sources without sending direct traffic to the target. It queries services like Certificate Transparency logs, DNS databases, and search engines to build a list of potential subdomains for `target.com` and saves the results to a file. This is the crucial first step in expanding your attack surface.
2. Active Subdomain Bruteforcing with `gobuster`
`gobuster dns -d target.com -w /usr/share/wordlists/subdomains-top1million-5000.txt -o results.txt -t 50`
After passive enumeration, active bruteforcing is essential. This Gobuster command uses a wordlist to send DNS queries for common subdomain names (-d target.com). The `-t 50` flag uses 50 threads for speed. Any positive responses are written to results.txt, often revealing hidden or internal subdomains missed by passive methods.
3. Port Discovery with `nmap` Aggressive Scan
`nmap -A -T4 -p- 192.168.1.100`
A foundational network reconnaissance command. `-A` enables OS detection, version detection, script scanning, and traceroute. `-T4` specifies a faster timing template. `-p-` tells Nmap to scan all 65,535 ports. This provides a comprehensive view of open ports and the services running on them, which is critical for identifying potential entry points.
4. Web Content Discovery with `feroxbuster`
`feroxbuster -u http://target.com/ -w /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt -x php,html,js,txt -o ferox_scan.log`
This command uses the fast Feroxbuster tool to bruteforce directories and files on a web server. The `-x` flag specifies extensions to append to each word in the wordlist. Discovering hidden directories like /admin/, /backup/, or `/api/` can reveal sensitive functionality or files containing credentials.
5. Vulnerability Scanning with `nuclei`
`nuclei -u https://target.com -t /path/to/nuclei-templates/ -o nuclei_findings.txt`
Nuclei is a powerful scanner based on community-generated templates. This command checks the target URL against a vast library of known vulnerabilities (-t for templates). It automates the detection of common misconfigurations, CVEs, and security flaws, dramatically increasing assessment efficiency.
6. Analyzing JavaScript for API Endpoints
`cat script.js | grep -Eo “(https?://)?[a-zA-Z0-9./?=_-]” | sort -u | tee js_endpoints.txt`
Many modern apps hide API endpoints in client-side JavaScript. This simple bash pipeline extracts all strings that resemble a URL from a JavaScript file. The results are sorted, duplicates are removed (sort -u), and saved. Manual review of these endpoints often reveals undocumented and potentially unprotected APIs.
7. Intercepting and Modifying Traffic with `curl`
`curl -X POST http://target.com/login -H “Content-Type: application/json” -d ‘{“username”:”admin”,”password”:”test123″}’ -x http://127.0.0.1:8080`
This `curl` command is used to manually test HTTP requests, often through a proxy like Burp Suite (hence the `-x` proxy flag). It sends a custom POST request with a JSON payload. Hunters use this to bypass client-side controls, test for SQLi, IDOR, and logic flaws by manipulating parameters directly.
8. Searching for Hardcoded Secrets
`gitleaks detect –source-path /path/to/code/ –no-git -v`
Accidental commits of API keys, tokens, and passwords are a common bounty source. This Gitleaks command scans a source code directory (--source-path) for patterns matching hundreds of different secret types. The `–no-git` flag is for scanning directories not initialized as a git repo.
9. Testing for Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
`python3 -m http.server 80`
A simple way to test for out-of-band SSRF vulnerabilities. This command starts a basic HTTP server on port 80 of your machine. You can then feed a target application URLs pointing to your server (e.g., `http://your-ip/`). If the application makes a request to your server, you have proof-of-concept for SSRF.
10. Basic SQL Injection Probe with `sqlmap`
`sqlmap -u “http://target.com/page?id=1” –batch –level=1 –risk=1`
This initializes the sqlmap tool against a potentially vulnerable parameter (id=1). The `–batch` flag runs non-interactively with default prompts, while `–level` and `–risk` control the depth of tests. This automates the process of identifying and exploiting SQL injection flaws.
11. Checking for Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) with Reflection
`curl -s “http://target.com/search?q=” | grep -i ““`
A quick check for reflected XSS. The request is sent with a basic payload, and the response is searched for the same unencoded payload. If found, it indicates poor input sanitization and a high potential for XSS. More sophisticated payloads are needed for confirmation.
12. Analyzing SSL/TLS Configuration with `testssl`
`testssl.sh -E https://target.com`
A thorough command to check a web server’s SSL/TLS configuration for weaknesses. It tests for outdated protocols (SSLv2/3), weak cipher suites, certificate issues, and vulnerabilities like Heartbleed. Misconfigurations here can lead to interception and decryption of sensitive data.
13. Network Traffic Monitoring with `tcpdump`
`sudo tcpdump -i eth0 host target.com and port 80 -w capture.pcap`
This command captures all HTTP traffic (port 80) to and from `target.com` on the `eth0` interface and writes it to a file (capture.pcap). This packet capture can be analyzed later in Wireshark to understand application behavior, debug exploit scripts, or find sensitive data in transit.
14. Process and Network Monitoring with `lsof`
`sudo lsof -i -P -n | grep LISTEN`
On your local testing machine, this command lists all processes that are actively listening on network ports (-i). It’s crucial for ensuring your tools (e.g., local proxies, servers) are running on the expected ports and to identify any unexpected network activity.
15. Managing Proxy Chains with `proxychains`
`proxychains nmap -sT -Pn 192.168.1.50`
This forces any TCP tool (like nmap) to route its traffic through a proxy defined in the `/etc/proxychains.conf` file (e.g., Burp Suite, Tor). This is essential for testing from different IP addresses or for chaining tools through an intercepting proxy for analysis.
What Undercode Say:
- The modern bug bounty hunter’s workflow is a symphony of automated scanners and precise manual commands.
- True success lies not in running every tool, but in knowing which specific command to use to answer a precise question during a test.
+ analysis around 10 lines.
The provided social post celebrates a successful bounty reward, attributing it to renewed focus on testing, hunting, and critical thinking. This underscores a key truth in cybersecurity: tools and certifications provide the foundation, but consistent practice and a motivated, analytical mindset are what lead to discoveries. The hunter’s mention of “BBP” (likely Bug Bounty Platform) and “new target” highlights the importance of continuously engaging with fresh attack surfaces where automated scanners have less coverage, allowing for manual technique and ingenuity to shine. The commands listed here form the core technical vocabulary for that manual process.
Prediction:
The increasing complexity of web applications, particularly with the proliferation of APIs and cloud-native architectures, will push bug bounty hunting further towards specialization. Hunters will need to develop deep expertise in specific areas like GraphQL security, cloud misconfigurations (AWS/Azure/GCP), and CI/CD pipeline vulnerabilities. The tools will evolve to become more integrated and intelligent, but the human element of creative exploitation and chain-building will remain the highest value and most rewarded skill.
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IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Engineer Hassan – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
