security-cheatsheets/infosec/pentesting-methodology.md
2025-04-15 00:10:05 -06:00

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Penetration Testing Methodology Cheatsheet

Phase Activity Tools/Commands Notes
Reconnaissance
OSINT gathering Collect public information theHarvester, Maltego, Shodan theHarvester -d target.com -l 500 -b google
Subdomain enumeration Find subdomains Sublist3r, Amass, crt.sh amass enum -d target.com
DNS information Gather DNS records dig, nslookup, DNSrecon dig any target.com
Email harvesting Find email addresses theHarvester, Hunter.io theHarvester -d target.com -b linkedin
Social media intel Analyze social presence Social-Analyzer social-analyzer --username "target"
Scanning
Network scanning Discover hosts/services Nmap, Masscan nmap -sS -A -T4 target.com
Vulnerability scanning Identify vulnerabilities Nessus, OpenVAS, Nexpose nmap --script vuln target.com
Web application scanning Find web vulnerabilities Nikto, OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite nikto -h target.com
Port scanning Identify open ports Nmap, Rustscan rustscan -a target.com -- -sV
Service enumeration Identify running services Nmap scripts nmap -sV -sC target.com
Enumeration
Web content discovery Find hidden content Gobuster, dirsearch, ffuf gobuster dir -u target.com -w wordlist.txt
API enumeration Discover API endpoints Swagger-scanner, ffuf ffuf -w paths.txt -u target.com/FUZZ
Network shares Identify accessible shares enum4linux, smbmap enum4linux -a target.com
SNMP enumeration Gather SNMP information snmpwalk, onesixtyone snmpwalk -v2c -c public target.com
User enumeration Identify valid users Kerbrute, smtp-user-enum kerbrute userenum -d domain.com userlist.txt
Vulnerability Assessment
CMS scanning Test CMS vulnerabilities WPScan, CMSmap, Droopescan wpscan --url target.com
SSL/TLS testing Check SSL configuration SSLyze, testssl.sh sslyze target.com:443
Password attacks Test password security Hydra, Medusa, Hashcat hydra -l admin -P passwords.txt target.com http-post-form
Misconfigurations Find security misconfigs Nuclei, grype nuclei -u target.com -t misconfiguration/
Default credentials Check default passwords Default Cred Scanner Test common username/password combinations
Exploitation
Web exploitation Exploit web vulnerabilities Burp Suite, sqlmap sqlmap -u "target.com/page?id=1" --dbs
Buffer overflows Exploit memory corruption Immunity Debugger, PEDA Customize exploit code for target
Privilege escalation Gain higher privileges LinPEAS, WinPEAS ./linpeas.sh
Lateral movement Move across network Mimikatz, CrackMapExec crackmapexec smb 192.168.1.0/24
Password cracking Break password hashes Hashcat, John the Ripper hashcat -m 1000 hash.txt wordlist.txt
Post-Exploitation
Persistence Maintain access Empire, Covenant Create backdoor accounts
Data exfiltration Extract sensitive data PowerShell scripts, exfil tools Test DLP controls
Pivoting Use compromised host Metasploit, chisel meterpreter> portfwd add -l 3389 -p 3389 -r target
Covering tracks Remove evidence Log manipulation Clear event logs, remove artifacts
Evidence collection Document findings Screenshot tools, logs Document all successful attacks
Reporting
Vulnerability validation Verify findings Manual testing Eliminate false positives
Risk assessment Rate vulnerability impact CVSS calculator Determine risk levels
Remediation planning Suggest fixes Best practice guides Provide actionable recommendations
Report writing Document methodology Templates, markdown Include executive summary
Evidence presentation Present attack path Network diagrams Show attack chains

Common Ports & Services

Port Service Common Vulnerabilities
21 FTP Anonymous access, default credentials, cleartext auth
22 SSH Weak passwords, outdated versions, key mismanagement
23 Telnet Cleartext communications, outdated service
25 SMTP Open relay, user enumeration, outdated software
53 DNS Zone transfers, cache poisoning, DNSSEC issues
80/443 HTTP/HTTPS XSS, SQLi, broken authentication, outdated software
135 MSRPC Authentication bypass, RCE vulnerabilities
139/445 SMB/CIFS EternalBlue, null sessions, weak permissions
1433/1434 MSSQL Weak SA password, excessive privileges
3306 MySQL Weak credentials, outdated versions
3389 RDP BlueKeep, default/weak credentials