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name: recon-dir-scan description: Directory and file enumeration using ffuf, gobuster, dirsearch, and feroxbuster. Use this skill when user needs to discover hidden directories, enumerate files, find backup files, or map application structure through path fuzzing.

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:pass@target.com/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