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Zero to Pro The Ultimate Guide to CDX API for Your Bug Bounty Recon Journey: Let’s talk about the hidden part of Wayback
🔎 Why CDX API is a Game-Changer for You
Bug bounty hunters thrive on reconnaissance, and the Wayback Machine’s CDX API is one of the most powerful tools for historical data gathering. It allows researchers to retrieve archived URLs, old JavaScript files, forgotten API endpoints, and even subdomains — all without touching the target server. This makes it an invaluable resource for finding exposed credentials, outdated endpoints, and vulnerable functionalities that companies may have forgotten.
In this guide, we’ll cover advanced CDX API usage, automation tools, filtering techniques, and real-world applications to supercharge your bug bounty recon. 🚀
📌 You need to know that ‘What is the CDX API…..Right?’
The Capture Index (CDX) API is a feature of the Wayback Machine that provides structured access to archived records of websites. It helps bug bounty hunters retrieve past snapshots of web pages, which can reveal:
- Old API endpoints that may still be active
- JavaScript files containing exposed secrets
- Deprecated admin panels & authentication mechanisms
- Subdomains that no longer exist in DNS but are still functional
- Input fields vulnerable to XSS, SQLi, or SSRF attacks
🔗 CDX API Base URL:
https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx🔥 Now Let’s start with Some Advanced CDX API Commands for Recon
1️⃣ Retrieve All Archived URLs for a Target
curl "https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=*.example.com/*&output=text&fl=original&collapse=urlkey"📌 What it does: Fetches all unique URLs that have ever been archived for example.com.
