Getting Started in Bug Bounty Hunting
ToxSec | A guide to getting started in bug bounty programs.
0x00 What Bug Bounty Hunting Really Is
Bug bounty hunting is hacking under a contract. Finding vulnerabilities for pay. This guide covers platforms, strategies, and the mindset to succeed. Companies open their attack surfaces to outsiders and offer payment for valid vulnerabilities. Hunters bring curiosity, persistence, and technical craft; in return, they get both recognition and financial reward.
The structure looks clean on paper, but in practice it feels closer to the old-school hacker mindset: exploring, breaking, and finding unexpected ways around defenses. The difference is that today there’s a framework and a payout system instead of legal risk.
What bug bounty is not, however, is easy. It’s rarely “run a scan, claim a bounty.” Most of the work is long hours spent mapping assets, analyzing authentication flows, and piecing together subtle flaws that automation will miss. The hunters who succeed treat it less like a side hustle and more like a craft. It is a discipline sharpened by repetition and persistence.
Need help writing a good report? Check out the ToxSec guide on writing effective reports.
0x01 Bug Bounty Programs Explained: Contracts, Freedom, and Risk
At its core, a bug bounty program is a contract. Companies open a slice of their infrastructure to outside testing and offer payment instead of prosecution. For them, it’s a way to scale security testing across more eyes and skill sets than an internal team alone could provide.
For hunters, the draw is freedom. No manager, no permission slips — just a scope, some subdomains, and your own determination. Every report is a roll of the dice: it might be a duplicate, it might be dismissed, or it might pay out big.
That uncertainty is part of the appeal. The best hunters lean into that risk, knowing that persistence over time is what turns chance into a career.
0x02 The Big Three Platforms for Bug Bounty Hunters
Three platforms dominate the bug bounty ecosystem. Each has its own culture, payout structure, and quirks. Most hunters will try them all at some point, but the veterans know it’s less about the platform and more about how you approach the hunt.
HackerOne
HackerOne took the bug bounty concept mainstream, onboarding companies like PayPal, Shopify, and Uber. Their interface is polished, payouts are consistent, and once you prove yourself, private invitations can unlock higher-value programs.
Pros: Wide variety of programs, professional triage, fast payouts once validated.
Cons: Heavy competition, high duplicate rate, and the occasional “report lost in the queue” problem.
Bugcrowd
Bugcrowd has been around longer than many realize and built its reputation on reliable triage. They also pushed Vulnerability Disclosure Programs (VDPs) forward, giving hunters a way to report issues even without cash on the line.
Pros: Cleaner triage, balanced mix of private and public programs, strong reputation.
Cons: Average payouts trend lower than HackerOne, and the overall pace is slower.
Intigriti
Intigriti is newer, leaner, and aggressive about growth. Their programs often respond quickly, payouts are fair, and they’ve gained traction by focusing on the EU market.
Pros: Higher response rates, approachable programs, strong European presence.
Cons: Smaller scope pool compared to HackerOne, still scaling globally.
Between these three, you could build an entire career. Some hunters specialize on one platform, others spread across all three. In the end, the platform is just a venue. What matters is your ability to uncover unique bugs and tell a story the company cares about.
0x03 Getting Started in Bug Bounty Without Burning Out
The fastest way to burn out in bug bounty is to sign up, dive into a massive program, and immediately drown in subdomains, rate limits, and competition. The hunters who last don’t start with volume, they start with structure.
Pick a Platform and Scope
In the beginning, focus on one platform. It doesn’t matter which — HackerOne for sheer volume, Intigriti for responsiveness, or Bugcrowd for steadier pacing. Sticking to a single environment for the first few months helps you learn the process without spreading yourself too thin.
Skip the giants like Shopify or Coinbase. Those scopes are already crowded with veterans who know every corner. Look for smaller SaaS programs with a narrow surface area. Less competition means more space to practice and more room to breathe.
Master Recon Before Payloads
Bug bounty is won in recon, not in copy-pasting payloads. Your edge comes from discovering assets others miss. Automation only goes so far. Open the application in a browser, create accounts, perform transactions, change settings. Burp Suite becomes your microscope here. Following every request, map every workflow. Business logic bugs hide in the paths normal users walk.
Expect Failure
When you first start, most reports won’t pay. Nine out of ten will be closed as duplicates, “informational,” or “not applicable.” Just keep in mind that this is not failure, it’s reconnaissance. Every dead end sharpens your understanding of how systems are built and defended. Bug bounty is about practice.
0x04 What to Hunt For in Bug Bounty
Not all vulnerabilities carry the same weight in bug bounty. Some are common but low impact, others are rare but critical. The key is to focus on the categories that consistently show up in real programs and directly affect users.
Broken Access Control / IDORs
One of the most reliable finds. Change an ID in an API request and suddenly you’re looking at another user’s data. Simple in concept, devastating in impact.Authentication Flaws
Password reset weaknesses, token reuse, and session mis-scoping are common entry points. Any flaw that lets you act as another user — without their credentials — is gold.File Upload Issues
Image uploaders that don’t validate properly can lead to stored XSS, data leaks, or even full compromise if file execution slips through.SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery)
Still a favorite. Features like PDF generators, image fetchers, or webhook handlers often allow attackers to pivot inside the target’s own infrastructure.Business Logic Flaws
The true differentiator. These are bugs scanners won’t catch: skipping checkout steps, bypassing rate limits, downgrading subscriptions. They require a human eye and an understanding of how the system is supposed to work.
0x05 The Mindset Shift — From CTFs to Bug Bounty Reports
CTFs and bug bounty feel similar on the surface, but the intent is different. Forget about trying to drop shells on production. Companies don’t want root on their servers — they want vulnerabilities that expose real users or break core business processes. The best reports connect the technical flaw to tangible impact.
In a CTF, the question is: “How do I break this contrived challenge?”
In bug bounty, the question is: “How does this vulnerability affect real users and the business?”
That shift in perspective is what separates a good technical find from a report that gets paid.
Every submission needs to answer three questions clearly:
Who can exploit this? Is it limited to an authenticated user, or could anyone trigger it?
What do they gain? Exposure of sensitive data, account takeover, financial loss, service disruption.
Why should the company care? What’s the concrete impact on customers or the business model?
Without that framing, even valid bugs can get marked as low severity or “informational.” The hunters who consistently land payouts don’t just demonstrate an exploit — they tell the story of risk in a way the company can’t ignore.
0x06 The Economics of Bug Bounty Hunting
Payouts in bug bounty can range anywhere from $50 for a minor information leak to $50,000+ for a critical exploit. The headlines highlight the jackpot findings, but the averages tell a different story: most hunters grind for weeks or months before seeing their first meaningful payout.
The platforms thrive on scale. Thousands of hackers are chasing the same targets, which means high competition and lots of duplicates. That can be discouraging at first — but it also means every unique skill you bring has the potential to stand out.
The outliers treat hunting like a full-time trade. They automate recon, study obscure vulnerability classes, and spend long hours in Burp dissecting workflows until patterns reveal themselves. That discipline is what separates hobbyists from professionals. Six-figure incomes are possible, and a handful of hunters have crossed into millionaire territory.
For most, though, the economics are less about instant windfalls and more about steady improvement. Every valid report, even small ones, compounds your skills and credibility. Over time, that consistency is what leads to bigger scopes, higher payouts, and private program invitations.
0x07 Debrief - Building Habits for Long-Term Success
Bug bounty isn’t a shortcut and it isn’t passive income. It’s a craft, and like any craft, progress comes from building habits that compound over time.
Start small. Don’t jump into massive scopes right away. Find manageable targets where you can learn without being buried in noise.
Document everything. Keep notes on recon commands, payloads, failed tests, and odd application behaviors. Today’s dead end often becomes tomorrow’s breakthrough.
Understand the why. Don’t just copy payloads from writeups or tools. Learn why they work, so you can adapt them when the context changes.
Build your recon muscle. The strongest hunters automate and streamline discovery until it becomes second nature. Recon isn’t glamorous, but it wins more than flashy payloads.
Hunt with intent. Companies don’t pay for clever tricks; they pay for risk reduction. Frame every finding in terms of how it affects real users and the business.
Over time, these habits create the foundation for consistency. And consistency is what keeps hunters in the game long after the beginners burn out.