Book Image

CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide

By : Mike Chapple, David Seidl
Book Image

CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide

By: Mike Chapple, David Seidl

Overview of this book

The CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide: Exam PT0-001 offers comprehensive preparation for the newest intermediate cybersecurity certification exam. With expert coverage of Exam PT0-001 objectives, this book is your ideal companion throughout all stages of study; whether you’re just embarking on your certification journey or finalizing preparations for the big day, this invaluable resource helps you solidify your understanding of essential skills and concepts. The book shows how to perform security assessments on desktops, mobile devices, cloud, IoT, as well as industrial and embedded systems. You'll learn how to identify security weaknesses and manage system vulnerabilities. As you progress, you'll learn methods to ensure that existing cybersecurity practices, configurations, and policies conform with current best practices. You'll assess your knowledge by simulating cyber attacks to pinpoint security weaknesses in operating systems, networks, and applications. By the end of the book, you'll have all the resources you need to prepare for the exam - identify what you already know, learn what you don’t know, and face the exam with full confidence.

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CompTIA PenTest+ Study Guide
Mike Chapple | David Seidl
Oct, 2018 | 503 pages
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Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
2
About the Authors
About the Authors
3
Introduction
Introduction
4
Assessment Test
Assessment Test
5
Answers to Assessment Test
Answers to Assessment Test
6
Chapter 1 Penetration Testing
Chapter 1 Penetration Testing
What Is Penetration Testing?
Reasons for Penetration Testing
Who Performs Penetration Tests?
The CompTIA Penetration Testing Process
The Cyber Kill Chain
Tools of the Trade
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
7
Chapter 2 Planning and Scoping Penetration Tests
Chapter 2 Planning and Scoping Penetration Tests
Scoping and Planning Engagements
Key Legal Concepts for Penetration Tests
Understanding Compliance-Based Assessments
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
8
Chapter 3 Information Gathering
Chapter 3 Information Gathering
Footprinting and Enumeration
Active Reconnaissance and Enumeration
Information Gathering and Defenses
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
9
Chapter 4 Vulnerability Scanning
Chapter 4 Vulnerability Scanning
Identifying Vulnerability Management Requirements
Configuring and Executing Vulnerability Scans
Software Security Testing
Developing a Remediation Workflow
Overcoming Barriers to Vulnerability Scanning
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
10
Chapter 5 Analyzing Vulnerability Scans
Chapter 5 Analyzing Vulnerability Scans
Reviewing and Interpreting Scan Reports
Validating Scan Results
Common Vulnerabilities
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
11
Chapter 6 Exploit and Pivot
Chapter 6 Exploit and Pivot
Exploits and Attacks
Exploitation Toolkits
Exploit Specifics
Leveraging Exploits
Persistence and Evasion
Pivoting
Covering Your Tracks
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
12
Chapter 7 Exploiting Network Vulnerabilities
Chapter 7 Exploiting Network Vulnerabilities
Conducting Network Exploits
Exploiting Windows Services
Exploiting Common Services
Wireless Exploits
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
13
Chapter 8 Exploiting Physical and Social Vulnerabilities
Chapter 8 Exploiting Physical and Social Vulnerabilities
Physical Facility Penetration Testing
Social Engineering
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
14
Chapter 9 Exploiting Application Vulnerabilities
Chapter 9 Exploiting Application Vulnerabilities
Exploiting Injection Vulnerabilities
Exploiting Authentication Vulnerabilities
Exploiting Authorization Vulnerabilities
Exploiting Web Application Vulnerabilities
Unsecure Coding Practices
Application Testing Tools
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
15
Chapter 10 Exploiting Host Vulnerabilities
Chapter 10 Exploiting Host Vulnerabilities
Attacking Hosts
Remote Access
Attacking Virtual Machines and Containers
Physical Device Security
Attacking Mobile Devices
Credential Attacks
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
16
Chapter 11 Scripting for Penetration Testing
Chapter 11 Scripting for Penetration Testing
Scripting and Penetration Testing
Variables, Arrays, and Substitutions
Comparison Operations
String Operations
Flow Control
Input and Output (I/O)
Error Handling
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
17
Chapter 12 Reporting and Communication
Chapter 12 Reporting and Communication
The Importance of Communication
Recommending Mitigation Strategies
Writing a Penetration Testing Report
Wrapping Up the Engagement
Summary
Exam Essentials
Lab Exercises
Review Questions
18
Index
Index
19
Advert
Advert
20
End User License Agreement
End User License Agreement
Appendix Answers to Review Questions
Chapter 1: Penetration Testing
Chapter 2: Planning and Scoping Penetration Tests
Chapter 3: Information Gathering
Chapter 4: Vulnerability Scanning
Chapter 5: Analyzing Vulnerability Scans
Chapter 6: Exploit and Pivot
Chapter 7: Exploiting Network Vulnerabilities
Chapter 8: Exploiting Physical and Social Vulnerabilities
Chapter 9: Exploiting Application Vulnerabilities
Chapter 10: Exploiting Host Vulnerabilities
Chapter 11: Script for Penetration Testing
Chapter 12: Reporting and Communication

Reviewing and Interpreting Scan Reports

Vulnerability scan reports provide analysts with a significant amount of information that assists with the interpretation of the report. In addition to the high-level report examples shown in Chapter 4, “Vulnerability Scanning,” vulnerability scanners provide detailed information about each vulnerability that they identify. Figure 5.1 shows an example of a single vulnerability reported by the Nessus vulnerability scanner.

Screenshot shows scan report which contains sections like SSH weak algorithms supported, description, solution, see also, output, port and hosts, plugin details, and risk information.

FIGURE 5.1 Nessus vulnerability scan report

Let’s take a look at this report, section by section, beginning at the top left and proceeding in a counterclockwise fashion.

At the very top of the report, labeled A, we see two critical details: the name of the vulnerability, which offers a descriptive title, and the overall severity of the vulnerability, expressed as a general category, such as low, medium, high, or critical. In this example report, the scanner is reporting that a server’s Secure Shell...

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