Reference Registry — Offensive Security

Purpose

This note standardizes references for the offensive-security branch.

Use it to: - keep recon notes tied to strong practical sources - help Codex choose consistent references - avoid generic recon content with weak sourcing - keep the branch centered on discovery, enumeration, validation, and operational handoff while leaving room for broader offensive-security topics

Source of truth rule

For offensive-security notes, this registry is the primary source of truth.

Use it together with: - <a href="offensive-security/index.html">Offensive Security / Recon Index</a> - networking and attack-surface registries when notes overlap strongly

Reference selection policy

Source priority

official or primary project documentation
practical reconnaissance methodology
testing guides and structured frameworks
high-signal research
secondary sources only when they add clear value

Per-note target

minimum 2 references
ideal 3 references

Labeling

Use: - Foundational - Testing / Lab - Research / Deep Dive - Official Tool Docs

Offensive / recon topic map

recon

Preferred references: - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/ - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery recon 101 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-a-deep-dive-in-active-passive-reconnaissance - Foundational: OSINT Framework — https://osintframework.com/

passive-recon

active-recon

Preferred references: - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery recon 101 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-a-deep-dive-in-active-passive-reconnaissance - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 105 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-5-additional-active-reconnaissance - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/

public-asset-discovery

Preferred references: - Foundational: OSINT Framework — https://osintframework.com/ - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 104 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-4 - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/

company-mapping

Preferred references: - Foundational: OSINT Framework — https://osintframework.com/ - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery recon 101 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-a-deep-dive-in-active-passive-reconnaissance

tech-stack-fingerprinting

Preferred references: - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 104 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-4 - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/ - Testing / Lab: PortSwigger information disclosure — https://portswigger.net/web-security/information-disclosure

enumeration

subdomain-enumeration

Preferred references: - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 102 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/recon-series-2 - Foundational: OSINT Framework — https://osintframework.com/ - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/

host-and-port-discovery

Preferred references: - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 103 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-3-host-and-port-discovery - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Network Scanning — https://nmap.org/book/toc.html - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/

scope-validation

service-validation

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Network Scanning — https://nmap.org/book/toc.html - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 104 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-4

recon-to-testing-handoff

Preferred references: - Foundational: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/ - Testing / Lab: PortSwigger API testing — https://portswigger.net/web-security/api-testing - Testing / Lab: PortSwigger access control — https://portswigger.net/web-security/access-control

cloaking-and-security-evasion

Preferred references: - Foundational: OWASP Automated Threats to Web Applications — https://owasp.org/www-project-automated-threats-to-web-applications/ - Testing / Lab: OWASP WSTG latest — https://owasp.org/www-project-web-security-testing-guide/latest/ - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery recon 101 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-a-deep-dive-in-active-passive-reconnaissance

nmap-timing-and-evasion

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Reference Guide — Timing and Performance — https://nmap.org/book/man-performance.html - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Reference Guide — Firewall/IDS Evasion and Spoofing — https://nmap.org/book/man-bypass-firewalls-ids.html - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 103 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-3-host-and-port-discovery

packet-fragmentation-and-decoy-scans

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Reference Guide — Firewall/IDS Evasion and Spoofing — https://nmap.org/book/man-bypass-firewalls-ids.html - Research / Deep Dive: Ptacek & Newsham — Insertion, Evasion, and Denial of Service (1998) — https://insecure.org/stf/secnet_ids/secnet_ids.pdf - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 103 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-3-host-and-port-discovery

masscan-internet-scale-scanning

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Masscan README and man page — https://github.com/robertdavidgraham/masscan - Research / Deep Dive: Erratasec — Masscan: the entire internet in 3 minutes — https://blog.erratasec.com/2013/09/masscan-entire-internet-in-3-minutes.html - Research / Deep Dive: Durumeric et al. — ZMap (USENIX Security 2013) — https://zmap.io/paper.pdf

rustscan-and-nse-pipeline

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: RustScan repository and docs — https://github.com/RustScan/RustScan - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Scripting Engine — https://nmap.org/book/nse.html - Research / Deep Dive: ProjectDiscovery Reconnaissance 103 — https://projectdiscovery.io/blog/reconnaissance-series-3-host-and-port-discovery

AD-specific topics (kerberoasting, as-rep-roasting, bloodhound-attack-path-analysis, dcsync-and-ntdsdit-extraction) were promoted to their own branch on 2026-05-10. See Reference Registry — Identity and Active Directory for those entries.

idle-scan-and-ipid-side-channels

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Reference Guide — Idle Scan — https://nmap.org/book/idlescan.html - Research / Deep Dive: Antirez — Dumb scan / new TCP scan method (Bugtraq, 1998, original disclosure) — https://seclists.org/bugtraq/1998/Dec/79 - Research / Deep Dive: Ensafi et al. — Detecting Intentional Packet Drops on the Internet via TCP/IP Side Channels (USENIX Security 2015) — https://www.usenix.org/conference/usenixsecurity15/technical-sessions/presentation/ensafi

nse-vuln-category-audit

Preferred references: - Official Tool Docs: Nmap Scripting Engine — Categories — https://nmap.org/book/nse-usage.html#nse-categories - Official Tool Docs: NSE script library — vuln category index — https://nmap.org/nsedoc/categories/vuln.html - Research / Deep Dive: David Bianco — The Pyramid of Pain — https://detect-respond.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-pyramid-of-pain.html

Registry usage rules

choose the smallest set of strongest references for the exact note
prefer one methodology source plus one practical source where possible
keep recon notes focused on discovery, validation, and transition into testing

Reference system