Comprehensive Bug Bounty Roadmap

1.1 Web Technologies

• HTML5: Document structure, forms, semantic elements
• CSS3: Selectors, box model, flexbox, grid
• JavaScript: DOM manipulation, events, AJAX, promises
• Modern frameworks overview (React, Angular, Vue)
• Backend basics (NodeJS, Python, Ruby, PHP)
• REST API concepts and testing

1.2 Networking Fundamentals

• TCP/IP stack and protocols
• HTTP/HTTPS request/response cycle
• DNS resolution and record types
• Cookies, sessions, and authentication
• Same-origin policy and CORS

1.3 Basic Tools

• Browser DevTools (Network, Console, Sources panels)
• Burp Suite Community Edition (Proxy, Repeater, Intruder)
• Command line basics and Linux fundamentals
• Git basics for version control

2.1 Core Web Vulnerabilities

• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
  • Reflected, Stored, and DOM-based XSS
  • Content Security Policy (CSP)
  • XSS prevention techniques
• SQL Injection
  • Union-based, Error-based, Blind
  • Database fingerprinting
  • WAF bypass techniques
• Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
  • Cloud metadata endpoints
  • Internal service enumeration
  • Filter bypass techniques
• Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR)
  • Access control vulnerabilities
  • Parameter tampering
  • Mitigation strategies
• Broken Authentication
  • Session fixation
  • Weak password policies
  • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Security Misconfiguration
  • Default credentials
  • Improperly configured headers
  • Hardening techniques
• Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
  • CSRF token implementation
  • SameSite cookie attributes
  • Double submit cookie pattern
• Broken Access Control
  • Privilege escalation
  • Horizontal and vertical privilege abuse
  • Access control design best practices
• Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards
  • Open redirect vulnerabilities
  • Phishing and redirection risks
  • Validation mechanisms
• Deserialization Vulnerabilities
  • Insecure deserialization risks
  • Object injection attacks
  • Secure deserialization techniques
• Sensitive Data Exposure
  • Unencrypted data in transit
  • Weak cryptographic storage
  • Secure communication protocols
• Insufficient Logging and Monitoring
  • Lack of audit logs
  • Undetected malicious activity
  • Monitoring best practices
• XML External Entity (XXE) Injection
  • XXE in XML parsers
  • Exploiting external entities
  • Secure XML processing
• HTTP Host Header Injection
  • Cache poisoning attacks
  • Open redirect abuse
  • Header validation mechanisms
• File Upload Vulnerabilities
  • Remote code execution via file uploads
  • Content type validation
  • Upload directory restrictions

2.2 Authentication & Authorization

• OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect
• JWT structure and common vulnerabilities
• Session management issues
• 2FA/MFA bypass techniques

2.3 Advanced Tools

• Burp Suite Professional features
• Custom wordlist creation
• Automated scanning tools
• Mobile testing tools (FRIDA, Objection)

2.4 Practice & Labs

• PortSwigger Web Security Academy
• OWASP Juice Shop
• Hackviser
• HackTheBox
• TryHackMe
• VulnHub

3.1 Advanced Vulnerabilities

• Race Conditions
  • Time-of-check to time-of-use
  • API race conditions
  • Payment system vulnerabilities
• Deserialization Vulnerabilities
  • Java deserialization
  • PHP object injection
  • NodeJS prototype pollution
• GraphQL Security
  • Introspection queries
  • Authorization flaws
  • DoS vectors

3.2 Cloud Security

• AWS security misconfigurations
• Azure service vulnerabilities
• GCP security issues
• Container security (Docker, Kubernetes)

3.3 Mobile Security

• Android app testing methodology
• iOS security assessment
• API security testing
• Mobile app bypass techniques

4.1 Bug Bounty Platforms

• HackerOne
  • Program selection strategies
  • Report writing best practices
  • Reputation building
• Bugcrowd
  • VRT understanding
  • Priority assessment
  • Program collaboration

4.2 Methodology Development

• Creating custom testing workflows
• Developing automation scripts
• Building recon infrastructure
• Documentation and note-taking systems

4.3 Community Engagement

• Contributing to open source tools
• Writing technical blog posts
• Speaking at security conferences
• Mentoring other researchers

5.1 Web3 Security

• Smart contract auditing
• Blockchain vulnerabilities
• DeFi security
• Solidity security patterns

5.2 IoT Security

• Hardware hacking basics
• Firmware analysis
• RF communication security
• IoT protocols (MQTT, CoAP)

5.3 API Security

• REST API security testing
• GraphQL advanced exploitation
• gRPC security
• API versioning issues