recon-dir-scan

Directory and File Enumeration

Authorization Warning

IMPORTANT: Directory scanning without proper authorization may be detected as intrusion attempts. Always ensure you have:

• Written permission from the target application owner
• Defined scope of authorized testing
• Legal compliance with local regulations

Prerequisites

Required tools that must be installed on your system:

• ffuf - go install github.com/ffuf/ffuf@latest
• gobuster - go install github.com/OJ/gobuster/v3/cmd/gobusterdir@main

Optional tools:

• feroxbuster - cargo install feroxbuster
• dirsearch - pip install dirsearch
• dirb - Package manager installation

Quick Start

Most commonly used commands for directory enumeration:

Fast Directory Scan (ffuf)

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

Recursive Scan with Status Codes

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -mc 200,301,302 -recursion

Gobuster Quick Scan

gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Directory Fuzzing

When you need to discover directories and files:

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

Parameters:

• -w wordlist.txt - Wordlist path
• -u - Target URL with FUZZ keyword
• -t - Threads (default: 40)

Example:

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

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Scenario 2: Filter by Status Code

When you only want specific HTTP status codes:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -mc 200,301,302,403

Status Code Filters:

Code	Meaning
200	OK (valid page)
301,302	Redirects
403	Forbidden (directory exists, no access)
401	Authentication required

Negation filter (exclude codes):

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -mc 200,204,301,302,307,401,403 -mc 404

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Scenario 3: Recursive Scanning

When you need to scan discovered directories recursively:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -recursion -recursion-depth 2

Parameters:

• -recursion - Enable recursive scanning
• -recursion-depth - Maximum depth (default: 0)

Example:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -recursion -recursion-depth 3

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Scenario 4: File Extension Fuzzing

When searching for specific file types:

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

Multiple extensions:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -X .txt,.php,.bak,.old

Extension from wordlist:

# Format: extension:wordlist
ffuf -w extensions.txt:EXT -w words.txt:FUZZ -u https://target.com/FUZZ.EXT

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Scenario 5: Hidden File Discovery

When looking for backup, config, or hidden files:

# Hidden dotfiles
ffuf -w hidden_files.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ

# Backup files
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -X .bak,.backup,.old,.tmp,.swp

# Config files
ffuf -w config_files.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ

Common hidden files to check:

.git
.env
.env.local
.env.backup
config.php.bak
wp-config.php.bak
.gitignore
.htaccess

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Scenario 6: Virtual Host Discovery

When testing for virtual host routing:

ffuf -w vhosts.txt -u https://target.com -H "Host: FUZZ.target.com"

Parameters:

• -H - Add custom header
• FUZZ in header value - Replaced by wordlist entries

Example:

ffuf -w subdomains.txt -u http://192.168.1.100 -H "Host: FUZZ.example.com"

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Scenario 7: API Endpoint Discovery

When enumerating API endpoints:

ffuf -w api_endpoints.txt -u https://target.com/api/FUZZ

Common API patterns:

/api/v1/FUZZ
/api/v2/FUZZ
/graphql
/api/graphql
/rest/FUZZ

With HTTP methods:

ffuf -w endpoints.txt -u https://target.com/api/FUZZ -X GET,POST,PUT,DELETE

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Scenario 8: Parameter Fuzzing

When discovering hidden parameters:

ffuf -w params.txt -u https://target.com/page?FUZZ=test

Value fuzzing:

ffuf -w values.txt -u https://target.com/page?param=FUZZ

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Scenario 9: Gobuster Scanning

Alternative to ffuf using gobuster:

# Basic scan
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50

# With status filtering
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50 -k --status-codes 200,301,302,403

# Recursive
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50 -r

# With extensions
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 50 -x php,txt,html

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Scenario 10: Feroxbuster Scanning

Modern Rust-based directory scanner:

# Basic scan
feroxbuster -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt

# With recursion and status codes
feroxbuster -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -C 404 --depth 3

# Scan multiple URLs
feroxbuster -u https://target.com -u https://target2.com -w wordlist.txt

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Tool Selection Guide

Scenario	Recommended Tool	Command
Quick scan	ffuf	ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ
Recursive scan	ffuf	ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -recursion
Large wordlist	gobuster	gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -t 100
Multi-target	feroxbuster	feroxbuster -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt
Hidden files	ffuf	ffuf -w files.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ
API discovery	ffuf	ffuf -w api.txt -u https://target.com/api/FUZZ

Tool Comparison:

Tool	Language	Speed	Features	Best For
ffuf	Go	Very Fast	Highly flexible, filtering	Most scenarios
gobuster	Go	Fast	Simple, reliable	Quick scans
feroxbuster	Rust	Fast	Multi-target, recursion	Large assessments
dirsearch	Python	Medium	Built-in wordlists	Beginners

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Common Wordlists

Wordlist	Size	Description	Location
common.txt	~4,600	Common dirs/files	SecLists
raft-medium-directories	~30,000	Medium coverage	SecLists
raft-large-directories	~60,000	Large coverage	SecLists
directory-list-2.3-medium	~220,000	Comprehensive	DirBuster
apache.txt	~5,000	Apache defaults	SecLists
api-endpoints.txt	~500	API discovery	Custom

SecLists paths:

/usr/share/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/
/usr/share/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/api/
/usr/share/seclists/Discovery/Web-Content/raft/

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Advanced Techniques

Rate Limiting

Avoid detection by slowing requests:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -rate 100

User-Agent Rotation

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ \
  -H "User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Googlebot/2.1)"

Authentication

# Basic auth
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://user:[email protected]/FUZZ

# Header-based auth
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer TOKEN"

Cookie/Session Based

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ \
  -H "Cookie: session=YOUR_SESSION_TOKEN"

Output Matching

Filter by response content:

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ \
  -mr "admin"  # Match response containing "admin"

ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ \
  -ms 1520    # Match specific response size

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Output Formats

Save Results

# ffuf JSON output
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -o results.json

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

# Gobuster output
gobuster dir -u https://target.com -w wordlist.txt -o results.txt

Resume Scanning

# ffuf resume
ffuf -w wordlist.txt -u https://target.com/FUZZ -resume-ffuf

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Tips and Best Practices

1. Start small - Use smaller wordlists first for quick wins
2. Filter aggressively - Use -mc to reduce noise
3. Check response sizes - Same size pages often indicate false positives
4. Verify manually - Always check interesting results manually
5. Rate limiting - Avoid blocking with appropriate delays
6. Combine wordlists - Multiple wordlists for better coverage
7. Check parameters - Don't forget to fuzz query parameters
8. Look for 403s - Forbidden responses reveal valid paths

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Resources

Scripts

• scripts/ffuf_results_parser.py - Parse and filter ffuf JSON results
• scripts/merge_wordlists.py - Merge and deduplicate multiple wordlists
• scripts/status_code_analyzer.py - Analyze response patterns

References

• references/ffuf_guide.md - Comprehensive ffuf reference
• references/gobuster_guide.md - Gobuster usage documentation
• references/wordlist_guide.md - Wordlist selection and creation

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Scenario: Persistent Storage of Directory Scan Findings

When you need to persist directory scan findings to the database:

# Manual entry after discovering directories
python .claude/skills/recon-dir-scan/scripts/dir_scan_storage.py \
  --host-ip 192.168.1.100 \
  --url "https://example.com" \
  --path "/admin" \
  --status 200 \
  --size 1234 \
  --subsystem "Web Application"

Parameters:

• --host-ip - Target host IP (required)
• --url - Base URL (required)
• --path - Discovered path (required)
• --status - HTTP status code (optional)
• --size - Response size (optional)
• --tool - Tool used (default: ffuf)
• --subsystem - Subsystem name (optional)

Database location: ./data/results.db

Related skills: results-storage - Query data, generate reports

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Assets

• assets/common-dirs.txt - Common directory names
• assets/common-files.txt - Common file names
• assets/hidden-files.txt - Hidden and backup files
• assets/api-endpoints.txt - Common API endpoints