Feature Flag Discovery

Feature flags, also known as feature toggles or feature switches, are conditional statements embedded within an application's codebase that control whether specific functionality is enabled or disabled at runtime. During the reconnaissance phase, attackers actively seek to discover these mechanisms as they can reveal hidden features, administrative capabilities, experimental functionality, or alternative application flows that may not be fully secured. By examining client-side code, intercepting API responses, or manipulating request parameters, adversaries can identify the names, states, and conditions of feature flags, potentially uncovering undocumented endpoints, premium features, or administrative interfaces that bypass normal authentication flows. This reconnaissance technique is particularly valuable as feature flags often expose developmental or testing functionality that hasn't undergone the same security scrutiny as production features, creating an expanded attack surface with potentially exploitable vulnerabilities.