Chapter 36 Further Reading: Bug Bounty Hunting

Essential Reading

"Bug Bounty Bootcamp: The Guide to Finding and Reporting Web Vulnerabilities" by Vickie Li (2021). The most comprehensive book on bug bounty methodology. Covers reconnaissance, web vulnerability classes, report writing, and career development. Highly recommended as a companion to this chapter.

"Real-World Bug Hunting: A Field Guide to Web Hacking" by Peter Yaworski (2019). Features 30+ real-world bug bounty case studies with detailed technical analysis. Each case study shows the discovery process, the vulnerability, and how it was reported. Excellent for learning from real findings.

"The Web Application Hacker's Handbook" by Dafydd Stuttard and Marcus Pinto (2nd Edition, 2011). Despite its age, this remains the most comprehensive reference on web application security testing. The techniques and methodology are foundational for bug bounty hunting.

Online Learning Platforms

PortSwigger Web Security Academy (portswigger.net/web-security). Free, comprehensive web security training from the makers of Burp Suite. Covers all major vulnerability classes with interactive labs. Start here to build foundational skills.

HackTheBox Academy (academy.hackthebox.com). Structured learning paths covering web application security, API testing, and bug bounty methodology. Many modules are free; premium content covers advanced topics.

TryHackMe (tryhackme.com). Guided, hands-on cybersecurity learning with rooms dedicated to bug bounty skills including OWASP Top 10, SSRF, IDOR, and API testing.

PentesterLab (pentesterlab.com). Practice exercises covering a wide range of web vulnerabilities. The Pro subscription provides access to advanced exercises covering OAuth, JWT, and race condition testing.

Write-ups and Blogs

HackerOne Hacktivity (hackerone.com/hacktivity). Publicly disclosed vulnerability reports from real bug bounty programs. The single best resource for learning from real findings. Filter by severity or vulnerability type to study specific categories.

Bugcrowd Disclosed Reports. Similar to HackerOne Hacktivity. Browse publicly disclosed reports to understand what types of findings are accepted and how they are valued.

InfoSecWriteups (infosecwriteups.com). Community publication on Medium featuring bug bounty write-ups, methodology guides, and tool tutorials from active researchers.

Assetnote Research Blog (assetnote.io/blog). High-quality technical research covering attack surface management, subdomain takeover, and novel vulnerability discovery techniques.

PortSwigger Research Blog (portswigger.net/research). Technical research from the Burp Suite team covering novel web attack techniques. James Kettle's research on HTTP request smuggling, web cache poisoning, and server-side prototype pollution has opened entirely new bug bounty hunting areas.

Detectify Labs (labs.detectify.com). Security research covering web vulnerability classes, browser security, and cloud misconfiguration. Many articles directly applicable to bug bounty hunting.

Methodology Resources

"The Bug Hunter's Methodology" by Jason Haddix. Presented annually at NahamCon and DEF CON, this is the definitive bug bounty methodology talk. Each version covers updated techniques, tools, and approaches. Watch the most recent version on YouTube.

Nahamsec's YouTube Channel and Twitch streams. Ben "Nahamsec" Sadeghipour streams live bug bounty hunting sessions, providing real-time insight into professional methodology. His content is educational and accessible.

STOK's YouTube Channel. Bug bounty educational content covering tools, techniques, and career advice from an experienced full-time hunter.

InsiderPhD's YouTube Channel. Research-oriented bug bounty content from a PhD researcher, covering academic approaches to vulnerability discovery.

Tools Documentation

Burp Suite Documentation (portswigger.net/burp/documentation). Complete documentation for the primary web testing tool. Pay particular attention to the Intruder, Repeater, and extension ecosystem documentation.

ProjectDiscovery Tools Documentation. Covers subfinder, httpx, nuclei, katana, and other tools from the ProjectDiscovery suite. Available at docs.projectdiscovery.io. These tools form the backbone of modern bug bounty recon workflows.

ffuf Documentation (github.com/ffuf/ffuf). Documentation for the fast web fuzzer. Understanding ffuf's matching, filtering, and recursion options significantly improves content discovery efficiency.

Amass Documentation (github.com/owasp-amass/amass). OWASP's network mapping and attack surface discovery tool. The configuration documentation covers data sources, API keys, and advanced enumeration techniques.

"Legal Considerations for Bug Bounty Programs" by HackerOne. Covers the legal landscape for both programs and researchers. Important reading for understanding safe harbor provisions and responsible disclosure obligations.

EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) resources on security research. The EFF advocates for security researchers' rights and provides legal guidance. Their resources on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) are particularly relevant.

DOJ Policy on Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (2022). The U.S. Department of Justice updated its CFAA prosecution policy to explicitly protect good-faith security research. Read this to understand the legal protections available.

disclose.io. Open-source vulnerability disclosure standards and templates. Provides framework for organizations to create safe harbor for security researchers.

Community and Events

NahamCon. Annual virtual conference focused on bug bounty hunting. Free to attend with talks from top researchers. Recordings available on YouTube.

DEF CON Bug Bounty Village. Annual village at DEF CON dedicated to bug bounty hunting with talks, workshops, and live hacking.

Bugcrowd LevelUp. Annual conference with talks from top researchers and program managers. Content covers both technical skills and career development.

Bug Bounty Forum (bugbountyforum.com). Community forum for bug bounty discussion, write-up sharing, and tool recommendations.

Reddit r/bugbounty. Active community for bug bounty discussion, questions, and resource sharing.

Discord communities. Multiple active bug bounty Discord servers (Nahamsec, HackerOne, Bugcrowd) provide real-time community interaction and mentorship opportunities.