A comprehensive guide for ethical penetration testing, meticulously designed to cover all phases of a penetration test. This step-by-step checklist ensures thorough coverage from preparation to reporting, ideal for both novice and experienced testers.
- Pre-Engagement
- Information Gathering
- Vulnerability Analysis
- Exploitation
- Post-Exploitation
- Reporting
- Remediation Verification
- Specialized Testing Considerations
- Additional Resources
- Contributing
- Secure a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
- Obtain formal, written authorization for testing.
- Ensure legal compliance with all relevant laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
- Obtain appropriate insurance coverage (e.g., professional liability insurance).
- Establish additional confidentiality agreements if necessary.
- Collect comprehensive client and system information.
- Define the scope and rules of engagement clearly:
- Identify in-scope and out-of-scope systems and applications.
- Confirm any limitations or constraints (e.g., testing windows, sensitive systems).
- Agree on acceptable testing methodologies and tools.
- Establish safe testing periods to minimize business impact.
- Identify third-party systems and obtain necessary permissions.
- Set specific, measurable success criteria.
- Establish emergency contact and response protocols.
- Define data handling and storage protocols:
- Agree on how sensitive data will be stored, transmitted, and destroyed.
- Agree on communication channels and reporting frequency with the client:
- Set up regular check-ins and progress updates.
- Clarify testing schedule and time frame.
- Ensure the penetration testing team has the necessary skills and certifications.
- Perform WHOIS lookups and analyze domain registration information.
- Conduct DNS analysis and enumerate subdomains.
- Undertake passive information gathering (e.g., Shodan, Censys).
- Utilize Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques:
- Gather information from social media, public forums, and past breaches.
- Review job postings for insights into technologies and systems used.
- Examine code repositories (e.g., GitHub) for exposed code or credentials.
- Analyze SSL/TLS certificates for issuer details and expiration dates.
- Perform Google dorking to find potentially sensitive information.
- Conduct network and application scans (e.g., Nmap, Nessus).
- Identify and enumerate all subdomains.
- Perform web crawling for hidden or dynamic content.
- Map network topology and identify network devices.
- Identify technologies, platforms, and frameworks used in applications.
- Search for common vulnerabilities (e.g., default credentials, unpatched systems).
- Check for information leakage via metadata, HTML comments, etc.
- Assess opportunities and methods for social engineering:
- Monitor social media platforms for company-related disclosures.
- Gather employee and organizational information from public sources.
- Validate and prioritize findings from automated scans.
- Test for known vulnerabilities and possible exploits.
- Use vulnerability assessment tools to identify potential issues.
- Analyze applications for common flaws:
- SQL Injection (SQLi)
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
- Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
- Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR)
- Insecure deserialization
- Conduct fuzz testing to discover new vulnerabilities.
- Review server and application configurations for misconfigurations.
- Perform manual code reviews where feasible.
- Assess authentication and authorization mechanisms.
- Check for sensitive data exposure (e.g., in URLs, API responses).
- Examine session management for weaknesses like session fixation.
- Test for security misconfigurations in network devices (firewalls, routers).
- Evaluate encryption and cryptographic practices, including SSL/TLS configurations.
- Assess APIs for vulnerabilities such as improper authentication.
- Assess logging and monitoring controls for effectiveness.
- Examine third-party components and libraries for vulnerabilities.
- Verify adherence to industry standards (e.g., OWASP Top Ten, NIST).
- Assess compliance with the organization's security policies and procedures.
- Map findings to compliance requirements (e.g., PCI DSS, ISO 27001).
- Attempt to gain initial access through:
- Phishing campaigns (with explicit permission).
- Exploiting known vulnerabilities.
- Using default or weak credentials.
- Utilize exploit frameworks (e.g., Metasploit) responsibly and within scope.
- Perform privilege escalation on compromised systems.
- Exploit application logic flaws and business logic vulnerabilities.
- Explore lateral movements within the network.
- Attempt to access other systems and resources.
- Attempt to bypass security controls like WAF, 2FA, etc.
- Try to evade detection by security solutions (e.g., antivirus, IDS/IPS).
- Use custom or zero-day exploits cautiously and with explicit permission.
- Document each step of the exploitation process meticulously.
- Maintain detailed logs of all actions for accountability and analysis.
- Ensure all exploitation steps are reproducible and verifiable.
- Identify and access critical data stores.
- Analyze the potential business and technical impacts of exploited vulnerabilities.
- Evaluate the likelihood of real-world exploitation based on findings.
- Implement strategies for maintaining access, if necessary and authorized.
- Remove all tools, scripts, and artifacts used during testing.
- Ensure no backdoors, test accounts, or persistence mechanisms remain.
- Verify that systems are restored to their pre-testing state.
- Confirm that no sensitive data was altered or left exposed.
- Adhere to secure data handling and processing procedures.
- Check for clear-text credentials and sensitive data in memory.
- Simulate data exfiltration, if within the agreed scope.
- Document all system alterations comprehensively.
- Create a detailed technical report documenting tools, techniques, and procedures used.
- Include evidence such as screenshots and logs.
- Provide clear, actionable remediation recommendations.
- Assign risk ratings to all identified vulnerabilities.
- Follow industry-standard reporting formats (e.g., PTES, NIST guidelines).
- Include a detailed methodology section explaining the testing approach.
- Provide references to relevant industry standards and best practices.
- Prepare an executive summary for stakeholder review.
- Include both technical details and high-level overviews for different audiences.
- Ensure the report is classified appropriately and sensitive data is secured.
- Offer a prioritized action plan with clear timelines for remediation.
- Conduct a read-out meeting with the client to discuss key findings.
- Suggest a timeline for follow-up assessments or retesting.
- Allow a designated period for the client to remediate identified issues.
- Conduct retests to verify the effectiveness of fixes.
- Update the report with verification results and any new findings.
- Validate that security controls are now functioning as intended.
- Document any unresolved security issues.
- Recommend strategies for ongoing monitoring and improvement.
- Assist in identifying root causes to prevent future vulnerabilities.
- Recommend improvements to policies, procedures, and security practices.
- Propose integrating security into the software development lifecycle.
- Advise on the need for security awareness and training programs.
- Propose a schedule for regular future security audits.
- Provide guidance on implementing a vulnerability management program.
- Firmware analysis for vulnerabilities.
- Assess communication protocol security (e.g., MQTT, CoAP).
- Perform hardware security testing (e.g., JTAG, UART interfaces).
- Evaluate over-the-air (OTA) update security.
- Check default configuration and hardcoded credentials.
- Assess RF communication security (e.g., Bluetooth, Zigbee).
- Review physical security controls.
- Analyze Docker security configurations.
- Assess Kubernetes cluster security.
- Perform container image scanning for vulnerabilities.
- Implement runtime security monitoring.
- Review service mesh configurations.
- Evaluate container orchestration security.
- Secure container registries.
- Secure source code management systems.
- Assess build pipeline security.
- Protect artifact repositories.
- Secure deployment processes.
- Evaluate Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security.
- Implement secrets management best practices.
- Enforce pipeline access controls.
- Conduct cloud configuration reviews.
- Assess Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies.
- Secure storage services (e.g., S3 buckets, Blob storage).
- Review network security groups and firewall settings.
- Evaluate serverless function security.
- Test for misconfigurations in cloud environments.
- Assess cloud-specific vulnerabilities and exploits.
-
OWASP Testing Guide
- A comprehensive guide to testing the security of web applications.
- OWASP Testing Guide
-
NIST SP 800-115
- Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment.
- NIST SP 800-115
-
Cloud Penetration Testing Resources
- AWS Penetration Testing Guidelines
- Azure Penetration Testing
- Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Penetration Testing
-
Mobile Security Testing
- OWASP Mobile Security Testing Guide
- A detailed guide for testing mobile applications' security.
- OWASP MSTG
- OWASP Mobile Security Testing Guide
We welcome and value contributions. Please feel free to submit pull requests or issues for improvements.
- Ensure contributions align with industry standards and best practices.
- Provide clear and concise descriptions of suggested changes.
Note: This checklist is intended for authorized penetration testing conducted with proper consent and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
By following this comprehensive guide, penetration testers can ensure a thorough approach to security assessments, aligning with industry standards.
