Behind the Scenes of a Penetration Test: How We Uncover Hidden Vulnerabilities

In today’s dynamic threat landscape, it’s not enough to simply perform a scan and hope for the best. At Cyber AR, we believe in exposing what attackers cannot easily see—the weak links, hidden entry points, and mis-configured systems that only a deep, professional penetration testing process will reveal. In this blog, we walk you through our real-world approach to secure your business: how we scope the engagement, gather intelligence, analyse systems, exploit vulnerabilities, and deliver actionable remediation that protects your environment.

The Penetration Testing Journey

Penetration testing (also known as a pentest or security assessment) is more than running tools—it’s a structured, methodical process that mirrors how adversaries think and act. According to industry frameworks such as OWASP and PTES, a standard engagement typically includes phases like planning, reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation and reporting. ^[1]

1. Scoping & Pre-Engagement

Before any testing begins, we sit down with you to define goals, scope, and rules of engagement. We clarify which systems (networks, web apps, cloud services) are in-scope, which are out-of-bounds, and what level of testing (external, internal, API, cloud) is appropriate. This critical step ensures the test is safe, effective and aligned with your business objectives.

2. Reconnaissance & Intelligence Gathering

With scope agreed, we move into passive and active reconnaissance—gathering information from open sources (OSINT), analysing exposed services and mapping your external-facing attack surface. This phase lays the foundation for the rest of the penetration test.

3. Discovery & Vulnerability Analysis

Having gathered data, we begin scanning and analysis: identifying open ports, services, mis-configurations, out-dated software, weak authentication and insecure API endpoints. But we don’t stop at automated results—we dive deeper using manual techniques, looking for logic flaws, chained vulnerabilities and explosible paths. For instance: a mis-configured cloud storage bucket plus weak IAM might lead to data exfiltration.

4. Exploitation & Impact Simulation

This is where the test becomes real. We attempt to exploit identified vulnerabilities—safely and ethically—to replicate what an attacker might achieve. For example, chaining a SQL injection with privilege escalation, or exploiting a weak IAM configuration in a cloud environment. The goal is not just to find a vulnerability, but to demonstrate impact: data exposure, credential compromise, or lateral movement within your environment.

// Example of a simple proof-of-concept script in JavaScript
const target = "https://example-target.com/api/login";
const payload = { username: "admin' OR '1'='1", password: "irrelevant" };
fetch(target, {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify(payload)
})
.then(response => response.json())
.then(data => console.log("Login succeeded, session token:", data.token));

5. Post-Exploitation & Persistence

Once access is achieved, we explore how far the attacker could go: Can they maintain persistent access? Pivot within your network? Reach sensitive assets or business critical systems? This phase uncovers hidden risks that many superficial tests miss.

6. Reporting & Remediation Guidance

Finally, we compile our findings into a clear, actionable report. Each vulnerability is risk-rated, evidence is included (screenshots, logs), and remediation steps are outlined with priority context. Retesting is offered to verify fixes have been applied effectively. A great pentest ends with your organisation empowered to act, not just a list of flaws.

7. Clean-up & Retesting

After the test, we ensure your environment is restored to normal (no test scripts, no persistent hooks remain). Then, once you’ve applied fixes, we retest the relevant issues to validate your security improvements and ensure no new attack vector emerged.

Why Most Vulnerabilities Go Unnoticed

• Automated tools miss chained exploits—only a manual, adversary-centric approach uncovers complex attack paths.
• Mis-configurations accumulate over time—especially in cloud and hybrid environments where systems evolve rapidly.
• Assumption-based defences are weak—attackers exploit trust zones, legacy systems or forgotten admin accounts.
• Lack of adversarial thinking—mimicking real-world attacker behaviour reveals unexpected entry points.

Key Takeaways

1. A professional penetration testing engagement is a full lifecycle process—from planning through retesting.
2. The real value lies not just in finding flaws but in showing what an attacker could do.
3. Expertise, creativity and persistence are critical to uncovering hidden vulnerabilities that routine scans omit.

Conclusion

At Cyber AR, our penetration testing services combine deep technical expertise with realistic attacker simulation—uncovering hidden risks before they become breaches. If you’re ready to elevate your security posture, protect your business assets and gain actionable insights, let’s talk.

Need help with cybersecurity? Contact Cyber AR today for expert penetration testing and security services.

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1. OWASP Guide to Penetration Testing Phases. ↩