OWASP Hunting

Getting Started

Introduction to OWASP Hunting — what it is, who it's for, and how to navigate the project.

Getting Started

OWASP Hunting is a curated collection of security testing resources and payloads maintained as an open-source project under the OWASP umbrella. It provides organized, categorized payload files and documentation designed for security professionals conducting authorized testing.

What Is OWASP Hunting?

OWASP Hunting is a payload reference repository. Each vulnerability category contains:

  • A README.md explaining the vulnerability, common attack vectors, and testing methodology
  • A payloads.txt file containing real-world payloads organized by technique

The project covers over 30 vulnerability classes across injection, access control, authentication, server-side vulnerabilities, configuration issues, and network-layer attacks.

Who Is This For?

This documentation is intended for:

  • Penetration testers conducting authorized assessments
  • Bug bounty hunters working within program scope
  • Security engineers building defensive controls and test suites
  • Students and researchers learning web application security in controlled environments
  • Open-source contributors improving the payload database

How to Navigate This Site

  • Documentation — Setup guides, methodology, and repository reference
  • Payload Reference — Browse all vulnerability categories and their payloads
  • Contributing — How to add payloads, create categories, and open pull requests
  • About — Project background and attribution

| Resource | Description |
|---|---|
| Upstream Repository | The canonical OWASP project source |
| Payload Index | All 30+ vulnerability categories |
| Methodology | Recommended testing workflow |
| Repository Structure | File layout explanation |

Prerequisites

No special tooling is required to use the payload files. For hands-on testing you will need:

  • An authorized target (a system you own, a bug bounty program target, or a lab environment such as DVWA or WebGoat)
  • A proxy tool such as Burp Suite or OWASP ZAP
  • Basic understanding of HTTP and web application architecture

Responsible Use

All payloads and techniques in this repository are for authorized testing only. Review the responsible use notice before proceeding.