Roadmap

The Ultimate Career Roadmap: Full-Stack Development, Cybersecurity, and Bug Bounty

This roadmap is designed for high-level mastery, covering software development, network security, bug bounty hunting, penetration testing, and ethical hacking in a structured and professional manner.

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⚠ Notice:

This documentation contains structured roadmaps for various topics; however, it does not cover everything in full detail. Some advanced techniques, best practices, and additional learning materials may not be explicitly mentioned here.

To gain complete knowledge, make sure to refer to the official documentation links and resources provided within each roadmap. These links lead to in-depth guides, tools, and hands-on exercises essential for mastering the topics.

Always cross-reference with trusted sources, official documentation, and real-world practice platforms to ensure a thorough understanding.

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Phase 1: Core Foundations (Month 1-3)

Mastering programming, computer science, and networking lays the groundwork for software security.

1️⃣ Programming Proficiency

Technologies:

✅ JavaScript – Web security, automation, exploitation scripts ✅ Python – Malware development, exploit writing, scripting ✅ C/C++ – Reverse engineering, memory exploitation ✅ Bash & PowerShell – Automation, system administration, penetration testing

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 Memory Management (Heap, Stack, Pointers) – Essential for buffer overflow exploits 📌 Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA) – Optimizing brute-force security scripts 📌 Object-Oriented & Functional Programming – Secure and scalable software development 📌 Concurrency & Multi-threading – Building efficient security automation tools

Projects:

🛠 Custom Keylogger (Python & C) – Tracks user input securely 🛠 Multi-threaded Port Scanner (Python) – Fast network enumeration

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• LeetCode & CodeForces – DSA challenges

• HackerRank & CTFs – Coding challenges with security applications

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2️⃣ Computer Science & Networking

Technologies:

✅ Linux & Windows Internals – System security & privilege escalation ✅ Networking (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, OSI Model) – Web and network penetration testing ✅ Cryptography – Secure authentication and encryption

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 Process & Memory Management – Malware analysis, process injection 📌 Network Protocols (ARP, ICMP, TLS, SSH) – Deep packet analysis 📌 Symmetric & Asymmetric Cryptography (AES, RSA, ECC) – Secure communication 📌 TLS Handshakes, MITM Attacks – Web security exploitation

Projects:

🛠 Packet Sniffer (Python & Scapy) – Captures live network traffic 🛠 Steganography Tool (Python) – Hides messages in images

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• OverTheWire (Bandit & Narnia) – Linux security challenges

• TryHackMe – Linux & Networking labs

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Phase 2: Full-Stack Development & Web Security (Month 4-6)

To hack applications, you must first build them securely.

3️⃣ Frontend Development & Web Security

Technologies:

✅ HTML, CSS, Tailwind CSS – Secure UI development ✅ JavaScript (ES6+), TypeScript – Secure client-side scripting ✅ React.js & Next.js – Modern frontend development

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 DOM Manipulation & XSS Prevention – Mitigating cross-site scripting attacks 📌 CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) – Understanding security policies 📌 CSRF Token Implementation – Preventing unauthorized user actions 📌 Content Security Policy (CSP) – Preventing script injection attacks

Projects:

🛠 Secure Authentication System (React + JWT) – Protects against session hijacking 🛠 Custom Browser-based XSS Payload Injector – Demonstrates real-time XSS

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• Frontend Mentor – UI security challenges

• OWASP Juice Shop – Frontend security practice

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4️⃣ Backend Development & API Security

Technologies:

✅ Node.js & Express.js – Secure backend development ✅ Authentication (JWT, OAuth, SSO) – Implementing strong identity verification ✅ WebSockets – Secure real-time data exchange

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 SQL & NoSQL Injection Prevention – Securing databases against attacks 📌 Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) – Understanding attack vectors and mitigations 📌 Rate Limiting & API Security Best Practices – Mitigating DDoS attacks 📌 Secure File Uploads – Preventing malicious file execution

Projects:

🛠 API Rate Limiter (Node.js + Express) – Prevents excessive requests 🛠 Custom API Security Scanner (Node.js) – Detects vulnerabilities in APIs

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• Bugcrowd University – API security testing labs

• PortSwigger Web Security Academy – Advanced web security labs

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5️⃣ Database Security & Secure Data Storage

Technologies:

✅ SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL) – Preventing SQL injection vulnerabilities ✅ NoSQL (MongoDB, Redis) – Understanding NoSQL-specific security risks

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 Data Encryption (AES, SHA-256, bcrypt) – Securely storing user credentials 📌 Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) – Implementing fine-grained permissions 📌 Secure Backup Strategies – Preventing data leaks

Projects:

🛠 Hardened CRUD API with SQL Injection Protection 🛠 Vulnerable API for Security Testing

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• Damn Vulnerable Web App (DVWA) – SQL injection labs

• PentesterLab – Advanced security challenges

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Phase 3: Offensive Security & Penetration Testing (Month 7-9)

6️⃣ Web Application Security & Bug Bounty Hunting

Tools to Master:

✅ Burp Suite – HTTP interception and request manipulation ✅ Nmap & Shodan – Network reconnaissance and enumeration ✅ Nikto & Dirbuster – Web vulnerability scanning

Vulnerabilities to Learn & Exploit:

📌 XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) – Injecting malicious scripts 📌 SQL Injection (SQLi) – Extracting sensitive data 📌 CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery) – Exploiting state-changing actions 📌 SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery) – Accessing internal systems

Projects:

🛠 Automated XSS Scanner (JavaScript & Python) 🛠 Burp Suite Extension for Custom Security Testing

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• HackerOne & Bugcrowd – Live bug bounty challenges

• OWASP WebGoat – Hands-on penetration testing

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7️⃣ Network Penetration Testing

Tools to Master:

✅ Metasploit – Exploit framework for penetration testing ✅ Wireshark – Packet sniffing and traffic analysis ✅ Hydra & John the Ripper – Password cracking tools

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 Privilege Escalation (Linux & Windows) – Gaining unauthorized system access 📌 Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks – Intercepting network traffic 📌 Active Directory Attacks – Exploiting enterprise environments

Projects:

🛠 Automated Network Scanner & Exploiter 🛠 Custom Wordlist Generator for Brute-Forcing

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• Hack The Box & TryHackMe – Penetration testing labs

• CTFtime – Competitive hacking events

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Phase 4: Reverse Engineering & Exploit Development (Month 10-12)

8️⃣ Reverse Engineering & Malware Analysis

Tools to Master:

✅ IDA Pro & Ghidra – Disassembling and analyzing binaries ✅ OllyDbg & x64dbg – Debugging and binary patching ✅ Radare2 – Advanced reverse engineering

Key Topics & Practical Usage:

📌 Buffer Overflow Exploits – Crashing and taking control of applications 📌 Shellcode Development – Writing custom exploits 📌 Malware Reverse Engineering – Analyzing trojans and rootkits

Projects:

🛠 Custom Keylogger with Advanced Obfuscation 🛠 Exploit Development for Buffer Overflow

🎯 Skill Validation Platforms:

• Exploit-DB & Offensive Security CTFs

• Root-Me Reverse Engineering Labs

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🚀 By the end of this roadmap, you will be a:

✅ Bug Bounty Hunter & Security Researcher ✅ Full-Stack Developer with Security Expertise ✅ Ethical Hacker & Penetration Tester ✅ Cybersecurity Engineer & DevSecOps Specialist