When I first got into bug bounty hunting, I used to think finding big bugs required fancy payloads and hardcore exploitation skills. But guess what?

👉 One of my biggest bounties ($3,000 💵) came from reconnaissance — just mapping out the target carefully and spotting something others had missed.

This blog isn't just my story; I'll also give you: ✅ My full recon workflow 🧑‍💻 ✅ Real-life bug bounty examples 🏆 ✅ Tools and tips that can help you win big ✅ Images and diagrams to make it super clear 🎨

🤯 The Moment It Clicked

I had been hunting on a private program for weeks with no luck. One night, I decided to go back to basics: just scan the target's subdomains.

I ran:

subfinder -d target.com -o subs.txt

And boom 💥 I spotted something interesting:

staging-login.target.com

When I visited the subdomain, it led to a staging login panel. No rate limits. No WAF. Just… sitting there.

I tried a few default creds (admin:admin, test:test) and … 😱 Access granted!

Inside was a staging version of their production site — with API keys, credentials, and sensitive business logic exposed.

👉 Result? $3,000 bounty. All because I took the time to enumerate subdomains properly.

🔥 Real Bug Bounty Examples of Recon Wins

You're not alone. Here are real-life recon stories from top bug hunters:

🏆 1. Uber — $10,000 DOM XSS via 3rd Party Script

A researcher tracked changes in Uber's JavaScript assets and found a new 3rd party script. It contained a vulnerable eval() call, leading to a DOM XSS. 💸 Reward: $10,000

🏆 2. Yahoo — $7,500 Exposed Admin Panel

A simple subdomain scan revealed an unprotected admin panel (admin.yahoo.net) still live from an old project. 💸 Reward: $7,500

🏆 3. Shopify — $5,000 S3 Bucket Disclosure

A forgotten subdomain pointed to an AWS S3 bucket. The bucket contained backups with sensitive user data. 💸 Reward: $5,000

🕵️‍♂️ My Recon Workflow

Here's the exact workflow I used (and still use):

1️⃣ Subdomain Enumeration 🌐

Tools: Subfinder, Assetfinder, Amass

subfinder -d target.com -o subs.txt
assetfinder --subs-only target.com >> subs.txt
amass enum -passive -d target.com >> subs.txt
sort -u subs.txt -o unique-subs.txt

✅ Goal: Find all possible subdomains

🖼️ Example Output:

2️⃣ Check Live Hosts 🖥️

Tool: httpx

cat unique-subs.txt | httpx -o live-hosts.txt

✅ Filters out dead subdomains

3️⃣ Crawl for Hidden URLs 🔗

Tools: gau, waybackurls, hakrawler

cat live-hosts.txt | gau >> urls.txt
cat live-hosts.txt | waybackurls >> urls.txt
sort -u urls.txt -o unique-urls.txt

📝 This gives you old API endpoints, forgotten pages, and more.

4️⃣ Fuzz for Hidden Directories 📂

Tool: ffuf

ffuf -u https://target.com/FUZZ -w wordlist.txt -o ffuf-results.txt

✅ Found /admin and /backup.zip on other targets using this.

5️⃣ Analyze JavaScript Files 📜

Tool: LinkFinder

python3 linkfinder.py -i https://target.com/app.js -o cli

✅ Looks for API endpoints & keys.

🖼️ JS Analysis Example:

⚡ Bonus: Automate Recon Like a Pro

Combine tools in a chain for fast recon:

subfinder -d target.com -o subs.txt
cat subs.txt | httpx | nuclei -t vulnerabilities/ -o results.txt

💡 Pro Tips for Better Recon

🔥 Combine multiple tools — no single one gives full coverage. 📅 Schedule regular scans on programs you're watching. 📁 Organize findings in Notion, Obsidian, or Google Docs. 🕵️‍♂️ Be patient — recon rewards hunters who stick with it.

🎯 Final Thoughts

Reconnaissance is not optional; it's your secret weapon. The bounty you're dreaming of may be hiding in a forgotten subdomain or old API endpoint.

So start small. Build your toolkit. And remember: ✅ Map everything ✅ Check what others skip ✅ Automate where possible

💬 Have you ever found a bug just from recon? Share your story in the comments! 👇