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$100-$200 worth 403 Bypass Techniques
Practical, Advanced and Real-world based Techniques to Bypass 403 Forbidden
Hi geeks, it4chis3c (Twitter) came-up with another bounty earning write-up in the Bug Bounty Hunting Series:
Bypassing 403 Forbidden: Advanced Techniques for Bug Bounties
Encountering a 403 Forbidden or Access Denied error can feel like hitting a brick wall. But in bug bounties, this often means you’re one tweak away from uncovering a hidden vulnerability. Below are advanced, real-world techniques to bypass 403s, complete with secret tips, tools, and why they work.
1. HTTP Method Tampering
Why it works: Servers often enforce access controls only on common methods like GET or POST. Switching to less-used methods (PUT, PATCH, DELETE, TRACE, etc.) can bypass misconfigured rules.
Try This:
curl -X TRACE https://example.com/admin --path-as-isFlags:
-X TRACE: Switch HTTP method.--path-as-is: Prevent URL normalization (critical for encoded paths).
Pro Tip: Test OPTIONS to list allowed methods. Use Burp Suite’s Intruder to brute-force methods.
2. Header Manipulation (X-Forwarded-For, Referer, etc.)
Why it works: Servers may trust headers like X-Forwarded-For to validate internal IPs or Referer for CSRF checks. Spoofing these can trick the server.
Real-World Examples:
Bypass IP Restrictions:
curl -H "X-Forwarded-For: 127.0.0.1" https://example.com/adminSpoof Referer:
curl -H "Referer: https://example.com" https://example.com/restrictedSecret Trick: Add X-Original-URL or X-Rewrite-URL headers to override paths (common in…
