Course Overview

The Bug Bounty Hunting course is designed to teach people the skills required to exploit, identify, and report security vulnerabilities in web applications. As the use of technology increases, ethical hackers play a vital role in safeguarding a company’s systems by identifying threats before malicious hackers can exploit them. This detailed course will offer learners practical insights into hacking methodologies and vulnerability assessment.

With hands-on labs and in-depth theoretical knowledge, participants will gain expertise in web application security testing, and API exploitation. This course will take you to experience popular bug bounty programs like HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Open Bug Bounty. By the end of this course, participants will have the ability to analyze, exploit, and report vulnerabilities effectively, positioning themselves a valuable assets in cybersecurity.

Syllabus

Chapter I – Introduction to Bug Bounty Hunting

• Understanding Bug Bounty Programs and Responsible Disclosure
• Differences between Ethical Hacking, Penetration Testing, and Bug Bounties
• Overview of popular Bug Bounty Platforms (HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, Synack, Open Bug Bounty)
• Legal and ethical considerations for bug bounty hunting

Chapter II – Setting Up the Bug Bounty Lab

• Installing Kali Linux and Burp Suite
• Configuring Virtual Machines and Cloud-Based Environments
• Using Proxies, VPNs, and Anonymity Tools for ethical hacking
• Best practices for creating a safe and legal testing environment

Chapter III – Reconnaissance and Information Gathering

• Passive vs. Active Reconnaissance Techniques
• DNS Enumeration with Amass, Sublist3r, and Recon-ng
• Discovering subdomains and exposed services
• Google Dorking, Shodan, and OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) techniques

Chapter IV – Web Application Security Testing

• Understanding OWASP Top 10 Vulnerabilities
• Using Burp Suite for Manual Web Application Testing
• Automating scans with Nikto, OWASP ZAP, and Wfuzz

Chapter V – SQL Injection

• Understanding SQL Injection and its impact
• Types of SQLi: Error-Based, Union-Based, Blind (Boolean & Time-Based)
• Exploiting SQLi with SQLmap and Manual Techniques
• Bypassing WAF (Web Application Firewall) Protections
• Preventing SQL Injection
• Hands-on Lab: Exploiting SQLi

Chapter VI – Broken Authentication

• Understanding Authentication Flaws and their consequences
• Exploiting weak authentication mechanisms: Brute Force and Session Hijacking
• Bypassing authentication using SQL Injection, Default Credentials, and Cookie Tampering
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Bypass Techniques
• Preventing Broken Authentication: Secure Session Management, Strong Password Policies, and Account Lockout Mechanisms
• Hands-on Lab: Exploiting and Fixing Authentication Vulnerabilities

Chapter VII – Broken Access Control

• Understanding Access Control Failures
• Exploiting IDOR (Insecure Direct Object References)
• Privilege Escalation via Role Manipulation
• Preventing Broken Access Control
• Hands-on Lab: Finding and Exploiting Broken Access Control Vulnerabilities

Chapter VIII – File Upload Vulnerabilities

• Understanding File Upload Risks (Remote Code Execution, Privilege Escalation)
• Exploiting Unrestricted File Upload to Gain Server Access
• Bypassing File Type Restrictions
• Preventing File Upload Vulnerabilities
• Hands-on Lab: Uploading a Malicious Shell and Gaining Remote Access

Chapter IX – Command Injection

• Understanding OS Command Injection and its impact
• Exploiting Command Injection using Shell Commands and Pipes
• Bypassing Input Filters and Restrictions
• Real-World Command Injection Exploits
• Preventing Command Injection: Input Validation, Least Privilege Execution, and Safe API Calls
• Hands-on Lab: Executing Remote Commands on a Vulnerable System

Chapter X – Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

• Understanding Path Traversal Attacks and their impact
• Exploiting Path Traversal to Access Restricted Files (passwd, config, logs)
• Using ../, URL Encoding, and Null Byte Injection to Bypass Filters
• Preventing Path Traversal
• Hands-on Lab: Extracting Sensitive Files from a Vulnerable Web Application

Chapter XI – Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

• Understanding SSRF vulnerability on Localhost, Local Network, and External Devices
• Exploring Blind SSRF
• Bypassing blacklisting and whitelisting defenses against SSRF

Chapter XII – Information Disclosure

• Understanding Information Leakage Risks
• Identifying Exposed Sensitive Data in Error Messages and Public Repositories
• Exploiting Misconfigurations
• Preventing Information Disclosure
• Hands-on Lab: Extracting Sensitive Data from Exposed Services

Chapter XIII – Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

• Understanding CSRF and its consequences
• Exploiting CSRF to Perform Unauthorized Actions on Behalf of Users
• Crafting Malicious Requests in HTML, JavaScript, and iFrames
• Preventing CSRF
• Hands-on Lab: Creating a Malicious CSRF Exploit and Fixing it

Chapter XIV – Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

• Understanding XSS Attacks and their impact
• Types of XSS: Stored, Reflected, and DOM-Based
• Exploiting XSS to Steal Cookies, Deface Web Pages, and Conduct Phishing Attacks
• Bypassing XSS Filters Using Encoding, Obfuscation, and Event Handlers
• Preventing XSS
• Hands-on Lab: Injecting and Executing Malicious Scripts in a Web Application

Chapter XV – OAuth Vulnerabilities

• Understanding OAuth Authentication and Authorization Flaws
• Exploiting Improper Redirects, Token Leakage, and Insufficient Scopes
• Real-World OAuth Attacks
• Preventing OAuth Exploits
• Hands-on Lab: Identifying and Exploiting an OAuth Misconfiguration

Chapter XVI – Report Writing

• Writing detailed bug reports with PoC (Proof of Concept)
• Applying all techniques learned in real-world bug bounty scenarios
• Hunting for vulnerabilities in open-source applications and live bug bounty programs
• Submitting findings to HackerOne, Bugcrowd, and Intigriti