TERGET WEBSITE RECON PROCESS

Website reconnaissance is a critical phase in penetration testing where you gather information about the target website. This process helps identify potential vulnerabilities, understand the website’s architecture, and prepare for further testing. Here’s a breakdown of the website recon process:

WHOIS Lookup: Obtain domain registration details, including the registrar, contact information, and DNS records.DNS Enumeration: Use tools like nslookup, dig, or Fierce to identify DNS records, subdomains, and related services.Search Engine Queries: Use Google dorking to find publicly available information, such as exposed directories, files, or configuration details.Website Mirroring: Tools like HTTrack can be used to download the entire website for offline analysis.Gathering Information from Social Media: Analyzing social media profiles related to the website can reveal useful information like employee names, technology used, etc.Port Scanning: Use tools like Nmap to identify open ports and running services on the web server.Service Enumeration: Identify the versions of the services running on open ports using Nmap or Netcat. This may also include identifying the web server, database, and other technologies in use.Directory and File Brute Forcing: Tools like DirBuster or Gobuster can help find hidden directories or files that are not easily accessible through the web interface.Web Application Fingerprinting: Identify the specific CMS, frameworks, or web technologies used. Tools like Wappalyzer or WhatWeb can be helpful here.SSL/TLS Analysis: Check for SSL/TLS vulnerabilities using tools like SSL Labs or testssl.sh.Spidering the Website: Automated tools like OWASP ZAP or Burp Suite can crawl the entire website to identify all the accessible pages, forms, and inputs.Analyzing Source Code and Comments: Sometimes, sensitive information can be found in the HTML source code or within comments.Identifying Input Points: List all the input fields, forms, and parameters that can be manipulated. This will be essential for testing for SQL Injection, XSS, etc.Reviewing Security Headers: Analyze the security headers in HTTP responses, such as X-Frame-Options, Content-Security-Policy, and Strict-Transport-Security.Mapping the Network: Understanding the network topology that the web server is a part of. This may include identifying load balancers, firewalls, and other network infrastructure.Checking for Firewalls or IDS/IPS: Some servers may have Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems. Identifying their presence is crucial for further exploitation.Detailed Documentation: Keep detailed notes of all findings, including any discovered vulnerabilities, open ports, technologies used, and potential attack vectors.Risk Assessment: Prioritize the identified vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and exploitability.Preparation for Exploitation: Based on the recon data, plan the next phase of penetration testing, focusing on the most critical areas.Nmap: For port scanning and service enumeration.Burp Suite: For web application security testing, including spidering and input point analysis.OWASP ZAP: An open-source web application security scanner.Gobuster/DirBuster: For directory and file brute forcing.WhatWeb/Wappalyzer: For web application fingerprinting.theHarvester: For email, subdomain, and metadata gathering.

This process is iterative, and you may need to revisit certain steps as new information becomes available. The goal is to gather as much information as possible to understand the target thoroughly before moving on to the exploitation phase.