Web Pentesting Beginner Roadmap (2026): From Recon to Server-Side Attacks

A structured beginner roadmap for web penetration testing, covering six phases: reconnaissance (fingerprinting, directory brute forcing, OSINT), authentication assessment (credential attacks, MFA bypass, OAuth), session management (cookie security, JWT), authorization flaws (IDOR, broken access control), client-side vulnerabilities (XSS, CSRF), and server-side vulnerabilities (SQLi, SSRF, file uploads). The guide is designed as a consolidated methodology reference after completing an introductory web security course.