We got a 40-page penetration testing report — any sample reports to compare it against?

Ümit B***26 days ago·38 messages·2.7K views#penetration test #security report #vulnerability audit #cybersecurity

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26 days ago#1

We are a London-based B2B cross-border e-commerce and logistics software company with 25 employees. To sign a deal with a new enterprise client, we were required to have an independent penetration test conducted. We hired a security firm on the market and paid 3,500 GBP for the test. Following the assessment we received a 40-page PDF report.

The problem is that 25 pages of the report are just raw screenshots from an automated scanning tool and generic definitions about TLS certificates. We couldn't find a concise summary we could present to our board or the client. Since this is the first time we've ever received a penetration test report, we can't tell whether this document is truly high-quality and up to industry standards.

Where can we find good, sanitized or older sample penetration testing reports? What sections are absolutely essential in a professional report, and what are the dead giveaways of a poor one?

Yiğit N***Member

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26 days agoMost Helpful#2

Short answer: What you have is most likely not a true penetration test, but the raw output of an automated vulnerability scan. At least half of a quality penetration testing report should consist of manual findings explaining how the identified vulnerabilities were verified by a human expert, how the system could be breached, and what the business risk entails.

When evaluating a good penetration testing report, you should look for these four core sections: 1) Executive Summary: A 1-2 page section written in language a non-technical management team and your client can understand, summarizing the overall security posture and business risk. 2) Scope and Methodology: A clear framework outlining which IPs, domains, and API endpoints were tested, along with the benchmarked standards. 3) Verified Finding Details: Step-by-step screenshots or request-response logs showing the exact steps an attacker would take to exploit each vulnerability. 4) Actionable Remediation Guidance: Clear, code- or configuration-level recommendations explaining how your developers can patch the issue.

The dead giveaways of a weak report are: unvetted false positives generated by automated scanners, pages dedicated to treating low-level issues like TLS version warnings or cookie flags as critical vulnerabilities, and generic text copy-pasted across every finding. You can review numerous sanitized, free sample report templates on the websites of international cybersecurity organizations.

Yiğit A***VeteranCommunity member

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26 days ago#3

If there's no proof of exploit in the report, that test simply didn't happen. For example, if they claim to have found a SQL Injection, they have to show step-by-step how they extracted benign data from the database. They can't just drop the tool's vulnerability detected alert and call it a day.

Damla Y***ExpertCommunity member

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25 days ago#4

We fell victim to a similar report two years ago for 2,500 GBP. Our client's security auditor rejected it on sight, stating it was merely a vulnerability scan, not a penetration test. We ended up having to redo the engagement with another specialist.

Zerrin G***MemberCommunity member

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25 days ago#5

3,500 GBP is pretty much on the lower limit for a comprehensive manual test in the UK market. At that price, they usually just run a tool and spit out a report. A genuine test requires at least 3-5 man-days of manual effort, and the invoice reflects that.

AslıMember

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25 days ago#6

Send the report back to the firm and ask for two things: first, a one-page risk and impact summary for management; second, actionable steps so your dev team can verify the fixes. If your contract includes a manual testing clause, they are obligated to rectify this.

Kemal S***Member

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24 days ago#7

What exact term is used for the service in your contract? Vulnerability scan or penetration test? Unfortunately, these two services get mixed up a lot in the industry, and if the contract says vulnerability scan, it'll be tough to dispute.

Filiz Ö***Member

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24 days ago#8

don't be fooled by page count at all. i mean a clean, hand-crafted 15-page report that hits the bullseye is ten times more valuable than an 80-page automated scanner dump.

İbrahim Y***Expert

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24 days ago#9

It would be in your best interest to request a revision from your security provider before handing this report directly to your enterprise client. An experienced enterprise auditor will instantly recognize the automated scan output, which will damage your credibility.

Correction: I misremembered the figure, it was a bit lower.

İlker K***VeteranCommunity member

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24 days ago#10

Check these three things to audit the report you have: 1) Are false positives filtered out, or did they dump every single warning into the report? 2) Are risk scores tailored to your business context? 3) Can your developer actually understand how to fix the code when reading it?