For modern Bug Bounty Hunters and Pentesters, speed and efficiency are paramount. We are excited to dive deep into vorteX, a powerful, advanced reconnaissance tool developed with Async Python that promises to streamline your workflows, providing a fast and efficient Command Line Interface (CLI) solution.
The vorteX project, hosted by SriRameshNaiduKusu on GitHub, stands out as The Ultimate Recon Tool, leveraging asynchronous capabilities to significantly boost the speed of traditionally time-consuming recon processes.
Core Capabilities: What VorteX Offers
VorteX is designed to be a comprehensive, all-in-one solution for initial penetration testing and bug hunting phases. Its features are built to cover the essential aspects of target mapping:
- Subdomain Enumeration: It performs Async DNS Bruteforce to identify subdomains associated with a target.
- Directory & File Fuzzing: Using Async Requests, it efficiently fuzzes targets to discover hidden files and directories.
- Parameter Discovery: A specific feature dedicated to finding parameters on a given URL.
- Web Crawler Functionality: The built-in web crawler is robust, offering several specialized functions:
- Third-Party Link Finder.
- JavaScript File Discovery.
- JS Endpoint Extraction.
New Features Spotlight: Automation and Insight
The latest versions of vorteX include key enhancements that focus on integrating the tool into existing workflows and providing immediate, deep insights.
1. Technology Fingerprinting (-tech)
This is a new feature designed to provide instant analysis of discovered URLs. When enabled (it works with both Subdomain Enumeration and Directory Fuzzing), technology fingerprinting will detect the server, Content Management System (CMS), and frameworks running on the discovered targets. The results from this analysis are conveniently saved in a file named fingerprint_results.txt.
- Example Usage: To run a simple technology fingerprint against a URL, you would use:
vorteX -url https://example.com -tech.
2. STDIN Support for Seamless Tool Chaining
VorteX now supports input from standard input (stdin), which is a critical feature for penetration testers who rely on piping outputs from one tool directly into the input of another. This allows the creation of powerful, one-line commands.
- Example Chaining Scenario: You can combine subdomain discovery, live server checking, and vorteX fuzzing/fingerprinting into one command: Find subdomains $\rightarrow$ check for live web servers $\rightarrow$ fuzz and fingerprint them with vorteX.
subfinder -d example.com -silent | httpx -silent | vorteX -fuzz -w /path/to/wordlist.txt -tech - Example Using a Local File: You can also pipe URLs from a local file directly into vorteX for discovery tasks:
cat my_urls.txt | vorteX -js
Getting Started: Installation and Usage
VorteX is developed 100.0% in Python and is available under the MIT license.
Installation Steps
To get started with vorteX, follow these straightforward commands:
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/SriRameshNaiduKusu/vorteX.git - Navigate to the directory:
cd vorteX - Install the tool:
pip install .
Note on Environment Management: If you encounter the error message "error: externally-managed-environment", use the following command instead to install the tool:
pip install . --break-system-packages
Key Command-Line Options
You can view all available options using vorteX -h. Some critical flags include:
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-d DOMAIN | Target domain for subdomain enumeration (e.g., example.com) |
-url TARGET | A single target URL (if not piping from stdin) |
-w WORDLIST | Wordlist to use (required for -d, -fuzz, -paramfuzz) |
-o OUTPUT | Output file to save primary results |
-T THREADS | Number of threads (default: 20) |
--depth DEPTH | Crawling depth (default: 2) |
--headers HEADERS | Custom headers for requests (e.g., "User-Agent:Custom") |
Detailed Usage Examples
VorteX allows fine-grained control over various reconnaissance tasks:
- Subdomain Enumeration + Tech Fingerprinting:
vorteX -d example.com -w /path/to/subdomain-wordlist.txt -o subdomains.txt -tech - Directory Fuzzing + Tech Fingerprinting:
vorteX -url https://example.com -w /path/to/directory-wordlist.txt -fuzz -o directories.txt -tech - Parameter Discovery (Advanced): This example demonstrates specifying the method, headers, and output format (JSON) for parameter discovery:
vorteX -paramfuzz -url https://example.com/search -w /path/to/param-wordlist.txt --method GET --headers "User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0" --format json -o params.json - JavaScript File & Endpoint Discovery:
vorteX -js https://example.com --depth 3 -o js-links.txt
Essential Security Disclaimer
It is crucial to adhere to ethical hacking guidelines when using this tool.
This tool is intended for security testing and educational purposes only. Do not use this tool against targets without proper authorization. Ensure you have explicit permission before initiating any reconnaissance activities.