🚀 The Ultimate Beginner’s Bug Bounty Methodology (2025 Edition)

🔍 New to bug bounties? Stop spraying and praying. Start with a structured process that actually uncovers real bugs—without wasting weeks guessing.

This isn’t another fluff list of tools. This is your step-by-step battle plan, based on what I use in real-world recon and exploitation.

Whether you’re looking for your first valid report or sharpening your recon game, this guide is designed to walk you through everything—from subdomains to XSS, SQLi and SSRF.

🧠 Why Methodology Matters

Too many new hunters fail not because they lack tools—but because they lack focus and workflow.

This article gives you a repeatable blueprint for turning noise into signal—so you stop missing low-hanging bounties hiding in plain sight.

🛰️ Phase 1: Reconnaissance (Know Thy Target)

Before you hack, you hunt.

🔹 Subdomain Enumeration

Subdomains are digital backdoors. Use both passive and active methods:

Passive Tools: subfinder, findomain, amass, assetfinder

Active Tools: massdns, shuffledns, dnsx, ffuf

👉 Combine, dedupe, and feed them into your resolver for the cleanest output.

cat *.txt | sort -u | tee all_subs.txt
dnsx -l all_subs.txt -r resolvers.txt -o live_subs.txt        

🔹 IP & Reverse DNS

Collect IPs and use reverse DNS to uncover shadow infrastructure.

dnsx -l live_with_ips.txt -ptr -ro -o dnsxoutput.txt        

🌐 Phase 2: Probing & Fingerprinting

You’ve got live domains. Now identify which ones are interesting.

🔹 HTTP Probing

Use httpx to extract status codes, titles, redirects, content lengths, technology detection and more!

httpx -l live_subs.txt -title -sc -td -server -fr -location -o httpx_output.txt        

🔹 Screenshot Everything

Run gowitness or aquatone to grab screenshots for visual triage.

gowitness scan file -f probed_domains.txt --write-db        

Feed these into tools like Eyeballer to auto-rank high-value targets (login portals, admin panels, old tech).

📂 Phase 3: Content Discovery (Unlock the Doors)

Now it’s time to find hidden files, paths, and endpoints.

🔹 Directory Brute-forcing

Use ffuf, feroxbuster, dirsearch, or gobuster:

gobuster dir -w raft-large-words.txt -u https://target.com        

🔹 Parameter Discovery

Tools like arjun, x8 and paramspider uncover juicy GET/POST parameters:

arjun -u https://target.com -m GET

paramspider -l subdomainList.txt        

🕰️ Phase 4: Time Travel with Archives

Wayback, CommonCrawl, AlienVault, etc., reveal what existed before.

cat subdomainList.txt | waybackurls | gf xss | anew xss_candidates.txt        

🔹 Filter Smart with GF

Use Grep patterns (gf) to auto-classify URLs for XSS, SSRF, SQLi, etc.

📜 Phase 5: JS File Mining (Secrets & Endpoints)

🔹 JS Crawling Tools

• SecretFinder, LinkFinder, subjs, katana, hakrawler, jsBro

jsbro -list URL-list.txt -c patterns/leakin-regexes.yml -n 10 | tee jsLeaked.txt        

Look for:

• Endpoints (api/v1/token)
• Hardcoded credentials
• API tokens
• Stack info

🧪 Phase 6: Vulnerability Testing

This is where you go from recon to exploitation.

🔹 XSS

dalfox file xss_candidates.txt --skip-xss-scanning -o reflecting.txt        

🔹 SQLi

ghauri -u "http://target.com/endpoint.php?param=1" --dbs  --level=3 --batch        

🔹 SSRF / Open Redirect / Host Header / IDOR

Use Burp, Postman, or curl for testing. Always validate manually.

🧨 Phase 7: Advanced Attack Surface

• DNS rebinding
• SSRF → internal scanning
• Host header injection
• Cache poisoning

These take more finesse but offer high-severity payouts when found.

📝 Phase 8: Report Like a Pro

• Reproduce clearly
• Include screenshots, payloads, tools
• Explain impact + remediation
• Use CVSS for severity scoring

✅ Platforms reward well-written reports more than clever payloads.

🧠 Final Tips for Beginner Hunters

• Prioritize subdomain recon and archive hunting
• Always manually review HTTP responses and JS
• Build a recon pipeline that auto-updates targets
• Combine AI-powered tools (like Eyeballer) for speed + precision

📌 TL;DR Checklist for First-Time Bug Hunters

✅ Subdomain + DNS + Screenshot

✅ HTTP probing + tech fingerprinting

✅ Directory + parameter brute-forcing

✅ Archive + JS file analysis

✅ Vulnerability testing (XSS, IDOR, SSRF)

✅ Document findings with proof + fixes

✅ Submit a clean, impactful report

💬 Final Thoughts

🎯 Most beginner bug hunters lose not because they’re unskilled—but because they lack a roadmap.

This guide is that roadmap. Follow it, tweak it, and make it yours.

Then go earn that first bounty.

🔁 Share with a new bug bounty hunter

💬 Comment your first recon win

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