🐞 How to Approach Finding Bugs Easily: My Bug Hunting Methodology

Are you staring at HackerOne or Bugcrowd dashboards wondering when you’ll finally find your first bug? 😩

I’ve been there. Refreshing scope pages. Watching recon tools run. Questioning my life choices.
But let me tell you — your first bug is closer than you think, if you follow a smart system. 🎯

In this guide, I’ll walk you step by step on how to find your first valid bug — no theory overload, just real, actionable steps I’ve tested.

Let’s go from zero to your first report. ✅

🔍 Step 1: Choose the Right Platform (and Program)

Don’t randomly jump on massive companies like Google or PayPal. Start with new or less noisy programs.
Why? Because:

Less competition
More scope flexibility
Easier targets

👉 I recommend checking:

💡 Look for programs with:
✅ Wildcard subdomains
✅ Low submission volume
✅ Known tech stack like WordPress, Laravel, etc.

🧠 Step 2: Understand the Scope and Rules

Before touching anything, read the scope. Twice.
Most new hunters ignore this and waste hours testing things that are out-of-scope.

📄 Example scope:

*.example.com (includes all subdomains) ✅
mobile app APIs (only iOS) ✅
corporate site (www.example.com) ❌

🛑 Avoid:

Third-party services (like Salesforce) unless explicitly in scope
Denial of Service tests
Automated scanning without permission

🛠️ Step 3: Set Up Your Toolkit (Minimalist Edition)

You don’t need 50 tools. You need the right tools.

💻 Here’s a beginner-friendly setup:

Recon Tools:

Subfinder 🕵️
httpx 🌐
Nuclei 📄
Waybackurls 🕰️

Manual Testing Tools:

Burp Suite (Community Edition is fine) 🧪
Firefox with extensions like Wappalyzer and HackBar 🔍

🔎 Step 4: Recon and Map the Target

Now it’s time to map the attack surface.

Run Subfinder to find subdomains:

subfinder -d example.com -o subs.txt

Use httpx to filter live domains:

cat subs.txt | httpx -status-code -title -o live.txt

Run Nuclei for common misconfigurations:

nuclei -l live.txt -t cves/ -o results.txt

Explore the site manually. Visit every link. Look at every form.

✅ Look for things like:

Login/Signup pages
Contact forms
Upload fields
Parameters in the URL (?id=123)
Forgotten subdomains (dev.example.com, test.example.com)

💥 Step 5: Focus on Easy & Common Bugs

Don’t chase fancy RCEs on day one. Start with:

🪲 XSS (Cross-site Scripting)
🪲 IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference)
🪲 Open Redirects
🪲 Subdomain Takeover
🪲 Sensitive Data in JS files

🔧 Example:
Visit dev.example.com, check for robots.txt, open main.js, and find hardcoded credentials.
💣 Boom, report-worthy.

Great resources to learn:

📤 Step 6: Report It Like a Pro

Found something?

Here’s how to write a clear, reproducible report:

Title: Clear and specific
“Stored XSS on blog.example.com via comment box”
Summary: Explain what the bug is and its impact
Steps to Reproduce:

1. Go to blog.example.com 2. Click on “Add Comment” 3. Submit <script>alert(1)</script> 4. Refresh the page – XSS fires

Proof of Concept (PoC): Screenshots, Burp logs, or videos
Impact: Explain why it matters to the business.

✍️ Want help? Use this free tool: https://hacktivitywriter.com

🚀 Bonus Tip: Play CTFs & Bug Bounty Labs

To sharpen your real-world bug hunting skills, practice here:

🎉 Success Stories from Beginners

🌟 Harsh found an IDOR bug in a travel booking app after just 2 weeks of trying.
🌟 Anjali found a reflected XSS in a forgotten marketing subdomain of a big company.

And you can too.

🧘 Final Thoughts: Don’t Give Up

Finding your first bug is not about luck, it’s about:

✔️ Being consistent
✔️ Staying curious
✔️ Testing smart, not hard

You might spend 10 days and find nothing. Then on day 11, you’ll spot that forgotten endpoint or misconfigured subdomain and BAM — you’re a bug bounty hunter with a payout. 💰

Let’s Connect 🤝

Follow me for more:

👉 Drop your questions or thoughts in the comments! I love nerdy discussions. 🤓