I was ready to quit bug bounty hunting. After weeks of zero valid reports, I felt like I was wasting time — until I stumbled upon a forgotten recon trick that flipped everything.

In just 7 days, I found 12 bugs (3 XSS, 2 IDORs, 1 SSRF, and more).

Here’s the exact checklist that made it happen.

The Pain Point: Why Most Beginners Fail at Recon

Most hunters jump straight into automated tools without a strategy. They miss critical steps like:

• Skipping subdomain permutations (missing hidden test.env.example.com).
• Ignoring JavaScript files (goldmines for API keys and endpoints).
• Relying only on passive scans (no active brute-forcing for params).

I learned the hard way — recon isn’t about tools. It’s about workflow. Let me break down mine.

Step-by-Step Recon Checklist

Step 1: Subdomain Enumeration (Passive + Active)

Tools: Amass, crt.sh, FFUF