June 15, 2026
what is HTTP ?
During pen test, every pentester need to understand each http request and response well for better understand of target functionality
infinite_sree
Author
mental model is a good, beginner-friendly way to understand HTTP requests without memorizing every header.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is an application-layer protocol used for communication between a client (browser, mobile app, API client) and a server
Mental model:
Method url/path httpversion
Headers
BodyMethod url/path httpversion
Headers
BodyExample:
PUT /users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"name": "John"
}PUT /users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"name": "John"
}what is method?
Each method tell the server what action to be performed at particular resource. Lets' say GET method, tells the get the particular data from the resource.
what is url/path?
URL stand for uniform resource locator in that host
what are Headers?
Headers are key-value pair carry additional information about the request and response. Tells the server how to handle the client and server message.
Example: Content-Type: application/json =>tells server what type of it is sending
Status Code
1xx Informational
2xx Success
3xx Redirect
4xx Client Error
5xx Server Error