passive-recon

Collects subdomains, favicon hashes, and historical URLs via passive OSINT sources.

2|1|Updated Aug 28, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/lycheer1126/xs-bigdan --skill passive-recon-lycheer1126
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: passive-recon
Source: https://github.com/lycheer1126/xs-bigdan/tree/main/knowledge/skills/passive_recon
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/lycheer1126/xs-bigdan --skill passive-recon-lycheer1126

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

💡 This Skill requires mmh3, requests.

What problem does it solve? During authorized security assessments, testers need to map a target's attack surface without sending any traffic to the target itself. This Skill gathers subdomains, technology fingerprints, and historical endpoints entirely from third-party public sources, leaving zero trace on the target infrastructure. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Subdomain Enumeration: Query crt.sh certificate transparency logs and SecurityTrails to discover subdomains, then filter for high-value assets like admin panels, APIs, and cloud storage. - Technology Fingerprinting: Compute favicon MurmurHash values and match them against known fingerprints (e.g., Tomcat, Spring Boot) to identify tech stacks even when server headers are masked. - Historical URL Mining: Pull Wayback Machine snapshots to recover old JavaScript files, API paths, and sensitive endpoints that may still be reachable. - Use Case: Before testing an authorized bug bounty target, run passive recon to build a list of subdomains, historical API endpoints, and IP intelligence from Shodan, then feed these results into the active recon phase. ## Quick Start Perform passive reconnaissance on the authorized target example.com and collect subdomains, Wayback URLs, and favicon fingerprints without contacting the target.

Frequently Asked Questions about passive-recon

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I enumerate subdomains without touching the target?

Query certificate transparency logs via crt.sh with a wildcard domain search and parse the JSON output with jq to extract unique name_value entries. SecurityTrails API provides an additional passive subdomain source with a free tier.

How to identify tech stack using favicon hash?

Download the target's favicon.ico, base64-encode it, and compute the MurmurHash3 value with the mmh3 Python library. Match the resulting integer against known fingerprint databases such as Shodan's favicon hash catalog to identify frameworks like Tomcat or Spring Boot.

What is the difference between passive and active reconnaissance?

Passive reconnaissance gathers data exclusively from third-party sources like certificate logs, archives, and search engines, sending zero packets to the target. Active reconnaissance directly probes the target with scans or requests, which is faster to yield detail but detectable.

Can Wayback Machine reveal deleted API endpoints?

Yes, the Wayback CDX API returns historical URLs for a domain, including old JavaScript files and API paths. Filtering for patterns like /api/, /v1/, or admin paths often surfaces endpoints that were removed from the current site but may still respond.

What are the limitations of passive subdomain enumeration?

Passive sources only contain subdomains that appeared in certificates, DNS history, or public indexes, so internal or rarely used hosts are missed. Results should be supplemented with active DNS bruteforcing when the engagement scope permits.