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Advanced Ffuf Techniques for Web Security and Bug Bounty Success
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Advanced Ffuf Techniques for Web Security and Bug Bounty Success

Hey, fellow bug hunters and security nerds! As a seasoned penetration tester, I’ve spent countless hours digging through web apps, chasing those elusive vulnerabilities that make bug bounties so thrilling. One tool that’s been a game-changer in my arsenal is Ffuf—short for Fuzz Faster U Fool. It’s not just another directory buster; it’s a fuzzing beast that lets you probe URLs, headers, parameters, and more with surgical precision. In this post, I’m sharing my go-to advanced Ffuf commands and pro tips, honed from real-world pentests and bug bounty hunts. Whether you’re sniffing out hidden endpoints or chasing critical CVEs, this guide will help you wield Ffuf like a pro.

advanced ffuf

Why Ffuf is My Secret Weapon

I’ve messed around with tools like dirb and Gobuster, but Ffuf is on another level. It’s not just about blasting directories—it’s about fuzzing anything and everything in a web app. URLs, headers, parameters—you name it, Ffuf can poke it.

  • Fuzz Anywhere: Stick the FUZZ keyword in URLs, POST data, or headers to test whatever you want.
  • Wordlist Power: Combine multiple wordlists to hit complex targets hard.
  • Filter Like a Boss: Cut through junk responses with status codes, sizes, or regex.
  • Config Hacks: Save time with custom setups for your pentest gigs.

This guide’s got my favorite Ffuf commands and hacks I’ve used to unearth hidden APIs, config files, and even a few CVEs.

Starting Simple: Ffuf Basics

Before we go full hacker mode, let’s cover the basics. If you’re new to Ffuf, this is how you kick things off:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ

The -w flag points to your wordlist (SecLists is my jam), and FUZZ is where Ffuf swaps in each word. It’s like knocking on every door of a website to see which ones open.

Grab quickhits.txt from SecLists for a fast, focused scan. It’s small but punches above its weight.

Advanced Ffuf Commands to Crush It

Alright, let’s get to the juicy stuff—advanced commands I’ve used to find hidden gems in real pentests.

1. Ditching Noise with Status Code Filters

Fuzzing spits out a ton of responses, and half of ‘em are useless 404s or 301s. To keep your sanity, filter ‘em out:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -fc 404,301

The -fc flag skips those pesky status codes. Want to dig deeper? Add recursion to chase subdirectories:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -fc 404,301 -recursion -recursion-depth 2

Recursion follows discovered paths, and -recursion-depth 2 keeps it from going overboard.

2. Snagging Hidden Files with Extensions

Backup files like .bak or .env are hacker candy. To hunt them down, use the -e flag:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -e .php,.bak,.env

Or, for extra control, use a separate extension list:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ.EXT -w /path/to/extensions.txt:EXT

Always throw in .conf, .sql, and .txt to your extension list.

3. Sneaking Past Defenses with Headers

Some servers are picky and block generic requests. To look legit, spoof your User-Agent:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) AppleWebKit/537.36"

For pentests, I add custom headers to tag my traffic:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -H "X-Hunter-ID: bounty2025"

4. Filtering by Response Size

Ever get spammed with identical error pages? Filter them by size:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -fs 1500

The -fs 1500 skips responses with 1500 bytes. Combine it with status filters for max clarity:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -fc 404 -fs 1500

Use this to skip generic 404s and find unique pages, like an exposed admin login.

5. Laser-Focused Directory Hunting

Want to zero in on juicy directories like /admin or /api? Use -acc:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -ac -acc /admin -acc /api

This focuses your fuzzing on those paths, saving time and server stress.

6. Parameter Fuzzing for Big Wins

Parameters are where bugs like IDOR or SQLi hide. Fuzz them like this:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/burp-parameter-names.txt -u https://target.com/?id=FUZZ&user=test -fc 200

This tests the id parameter while keeping user static, skipping 200 OK responses to find oddballs.

7. Brute-Forcing with Character Sets

For login pages or tokens, limit payloads to specific characters:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Usernames/top-usernames-shortlist.txt -u https://target.com/login -X POST -d "username=FUZZ&password=test123" -c a-z0-9

The -c a-z0-9 keeps it to lowercase letters and numbers, making your brute-force leaner.

Used this to enumerate usernames on a login page. Pair with a short wordlist to avoid lockouts.

8. Saving Results for Later

Don’t lose your findings in terminal chaos. Save them in JSON:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -o results.json -of json

The -o sets the output file, and -of json keeps it structured.

9. Staying Stealthy with Timing

Fuzzing too fast can get you banned. Slow it down:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -p 0.5-1.5 -t 25

The -p 0.5-1.5 adds a random delay, and -t 25 limits threads to 25.

Pro Hacks for Ffuf Mastery

Config Files to Save Time

Typing the same options is a pain. Save them in ~/.ffufrc:

[general]
  colors = true

[http]
  proxyurl = "http://127.0.0.1:8080"
  headers = ["X-Hunter-ID: bounty2025"]

Run with:

ffuf -config ~/.ffufrc -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ

Separate configs for each client. Saves me hours on big pentests.

Dynamic Payloads with STDIN

For creative fuzzing, pipe payloads from seq or cook:

seq 1 500 | ffuf -u https://target.com/?id=FUZZ -w -

For path traversal:

cook '../*1-6' | ffuf -u https://target.com/?file=PT/etc/passwd -w -:PT -v

Avoiding False Negatives

Ffuf defaults to status codes like 200 and 403, but you might miss 201 or 429. Catch everything:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -mc all -fc 404

For proxy noise (like .htaccess), use regex:

ffuf -w /usr/share/wordlists/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/common.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -mc all -fr '/\..*'

Raw Requests for Complex Targets

For tricky APIs, use a raw request file (req.txt):

GET /api?token=FUZZ HTTP/1.1
Host: target.com
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0
Accept: */*

Run:

cook 1-500 | ffuf -request req.txt -w - -request-proto http

Chaos Fuzzing with Radamsa

For wild fuzzing, use Radamsa to mutate payloads:

ffuf --input-cmd 'echo "user@target.com" | radamsa --seed $FFUF_NUM' -input-num 50 -u https://target.com/api -X POST -d '{"email":"FUZZ"}' -H "Content-Type: application/json"

This creates 50 email variations to test input handling.

Bug Hunter’s Code of Ethics

  1. Smart Wordlists: Use raft-medium-files-lowercase.txt to keep scans lean.
  2. Filter Hard: Stack -fc, -fs, and -fr for clean results.
  3. Stay Legal: Respect bug bounty scopes and rate limits.
  4. Analyze Fast: Pipe outputs to grep or jq for quick wins.
  5. Practice: Hit up TryHackMe’s Ffuf room or the ffufme Docker image.
FFuF

Wrap-Up: Fuzz Like a Bounty Legend

Ffuf’s my trusty sidekick for finding hidden endpoints, misconfigs, and juicy bugs. With these advanced Ffuf commands, configs, and hacks, you’re ready to dominate web security testing and bug bounty fuzzing. Fire up TryHackMe or ffufme to practice, and let’s keep the hunt ethical and fun. Got a bug? Go get that bounty!

Advanced Ffuf Techniques for Web Security and Bug Bounty Success

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