Rarest Bug Bounty Tools Most Hackers Overlook :star:
A deep-dive compilation of rare, free, and exceptionally powerful tools used by elite bug bounty hunters—many of which remain hidden from mainstream lists. Categorized for precision across reconnaissance, exploitation, and automation, this toolkit empowers bounty professionals to discover vulnerabilities faster, smarter, and more effectively.
Got it! Here's your list of information gathering and penetration testing tools, rewritten for clarity and impact, with links and relevant emojis for each entry.
The Ethical Hacker's Arsenal: Top Tools for Info Gathering, Vulnerability Discovery & Exploitation 🕵️♂️🛡️
Dive into the world of cybersecurity with this master list of essential tools. Designed for ethical hackers, penetration testers, and bug bounty hunters, this collection bridges common toolkit gaps, offering powerful utilities for every stage of your engagement—from initial reconnaissance to deep vulnerability exploitation. Automate smart, stay sharp, and always respect authorized scopes!
Information Gathering & Reconnaissance 🌐🔍
These tools help you map your target's digital footprint, uncover hidden assets, and lay the groundwork for deeper analysis.
reNgine: An automated reconnaissance engine that comprehensively maps assets, finds vulnerabilities, and visualizes results across targets. https://www.rengine.io/ 🗺️
Hakrawler: A lightweight tool that efficiently crawls endpoints from websites, perfect for feeding directly into fuzzers or vulnerability scanners. https://github.com/hakluke/hakrawler 🕷️
subfinder: Perform fast subdomain enumeration using passive sources, with easy integration for automation workflows. https://github.com/projectdiscovery/subfinder 🔎
dnsx: Quickly perform DNS resolution on large wordlists for validating subdomains discovered during your recon phase. https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx 📡
theHarvester: An OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tool to gather email accounts, hostnames, and virtual hosts from publicly available sources. https://github.com/laramies/theHarvester 👨💻
Shosubgo: Pulls hostnames directly from Shodan and can identify interesting IoT/web attack surfaces. https://github.com/inc0gnit0/shosubgo 📸
Findomain: A blazing fast, Rust-based subdomain enumerator that supports multiple APIs simultaneously for comprehensive results. https://github.com/findomain/findomain ⚡
Assetfinder: Automatically fetches domains related to a target using public sources and SSL/TLS certificates. https://github.com/tomnomnom/assetfinder 📄
amass: A massive network mapping tool for DNS enumeration, AS (Autonomous System) lookups, and IP link discovery. https://github.com/owasp-amass/amass 🌍
Vulnerability Discovery & Analysis ⚠️🔬
Pinpoint weaknesses and uncover hidden parameters with these powerful scanning and analysis tools.
Nuclei: A template-based vulnerability scanner featuring thousands of community-submitted detections. Fast, flexible, and highly effective. https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei 🎯
GF (Grep For): Quickly find common vulnerability patterns in URLs and request data, perfect for filtering recon results for actionable insights. https://github.com/tomnomnom/gf 🔍
ParamSpider: Extracts hidden parameters from websites for further injection or testing, revealing potential attack vectors. https://github.com/devanshbatham/ParamSpider 🕸️
Arjun: Bruteforces and discovers unused or hidden web parameters, especially useful for identifying undisclosed API endpoints. https://github.com/s0md3v/Arjun 🗝️
Waybackurls: Pulls historical URLs from the Wayback Machine, essential for discovering old, potentially vulnerable endpoints. https://github.com/tomnomnom/waybackurls 🕰️
LinkFinder: Extracts JS endpoints and paths by performing regex scanning on JavaScript files, uncovering client-side secrets. https://github.com/GerbenJaveld/LinkFinder 🧩
Kiterunner: A powerful path discovery tool that uses wordlists derived from real web applications for effective content discovery. https://github.com/assetnote/kiterunner 🏃♂️
SecretFinder: Scans for API keys, credentials, and sensitive secrets hidden within JavaScript code. https://github.com/m4ll0k/SecretFinder 🔑
CTFR: Leverages Certificate Transparency logs to find subdomains that might be missed by traditional enumeration methods. https://github.com/UnaPibaGeek/ctfr 📜
JSParser: Specifically parses JavaScript files to locate potential endpoints and parameters, streamlining your analysis. https://github.com/nahamsec/JSParser 📄
Exploitation & Testing ⚔️🩹
From injection flaws to misconfigurations, these tools help you safely test and demonstrate the impact of vulnerabilities.
XSStrike: An intelligent XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) exploitation tool with advanced fuzzing, context analysis, and payload generation capabilities. https://github.com/s0md3v/XSStrike 💥
Dalfox: A modern XSS scanner that expertly handles DOM-based and reflected variants with smart detection logic. https://github.com/hahwul/dalfox 🦊
SQLMap: A feature-rich tool to detect and exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities with extensive automation, covering various database types. https://sqlmap.org/ 💧
ffuf (Fuzz Faster U Fool): An ultra-fast web fuzzer ideal for discovering hidden directories, API endpoints, or virtual hosts. https://github.com/ffuf/ffuf 💨
Commix: Automates command injection attacks with full support for interactive shell interaction. https://github.com/commixproject/commix 💻
tplmap: Specifically designed to find and exploit Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerabilities. https://github.com/epinna/tplmap 📝
Smuggler: Automates HTTP Request Smuggling detection, particularly effective against older reverse proxies and load balancers. https://github.com/defparam/smuggler 📦
dirsearch: A CLI-based web path scanner that quickly identifies hidden files, directories, and common misconfigurations. https://github.com/dirsearch/dirsearch 📂
jwt_tool: A dedicated tool for exploiting JWT (JSON Web Token) flaws, such as alg none attacks or weak secrets. https://github.com/ticarpi/jwt_tool 🎟️
Workflow Automation & Management ⚙️🚀
Streamline your bug bounty or penetration testing operations with these automation and alert management tools.
Bugbounty-Toolkit: An automated toolkit pre-loaded with scripts, tools, and wordlists tailored for bug bounty hunting workflows. https://github.com/nahamsec/bb-toolkit 🧰
bbmonitor: Continuously tracks new scopes on bug bounty platforms and provides timely alerts to users. https://github.com/dreyandrei/bbmonitor 🔔
bountyplz: Automates the process of applying to private programs on HackerOne with custom messages. https://github.com/dwisiswant0/bountyplz ✍️
Metabigor: Performs extensive metadata gathering and reconnaissance from IPs, ASNs, CIDRs, and more. https://github.com/j3ssie/metabigor 📊
Chaos: Access ProjectDiscovery’s massive subdomain datasets easily through the Chaos API, accelerating your recon. https://chaos.projectdiscovery.io/ 🌐
Slack Pirater: Scans for leaked Slack tokens or sensitive endpoints exposed on open sites. https://github.com/ali-alwash/Slack-Pirater 🔒
Notify: Create custom notification pipelines for tool alerts across various platforms like email, Slack, and Discord. https://github.com/projectdiscovery/notify 📣
Niche, CMS, or Framework-Specific Tools 🎯CMS
Tailor your attacks to specific technologies with these specialized scanners and fingerprinting tools.
Drupwn: Scans Drupal-based sites for known CVEs and exploits, helping identify common vulnerabilities. https://github.com/immunIT/drupwn 🌳
WPScan: The go-to tool for auditing WordPress vulnerabilities, including themes and plugins. Essential for any WordPress target. https://wpscan.com/ 📝
joomscan: Performs comprehensive vulnerability analysis on Joomla sites, identifying known security flaws. https://github.com/rezaduty/joomscan 🌸
CMSmap: A versatile penetration testing tool for multiple CMS systems: WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. https://github.com/Dionach/CMSmap 🏛️
WhatWeb: Quickly identifies technologies and frameworks used on a website, which is incredibly helpful for target profiling and focused attacks. https://github.com/urbanadventurer/WhatWeb 💡
Final Note 🏁✨
This master list bridges gaps in common bug bounty toolkits—offering highly valuable tools often overlooked in traditional guides. Whether you’re automating recon, fingerprinting technologies, fuzzing parameters, or exploiting deep vulnerabilities, these tools give you the strategic edge.
Tip: Use tools like tmux, GNU parallel, or interlace to run multiple tools simultaneously—supercharging automation without slowing performance. ⚡⚙️
Maintain ethics, stick to authorized scopes, and always report responsibly. Let your toolkit evolve as your skillset sharpens. Stay sharp, automate smart, and always respect platform scopes and policies.
ENJOY & HAPPY LEARNING! 🥳📚
