Vulnerability Scanning GPEN Practice Questions (Page 3)

Questions 11–15

1. 11expert · hard

   A client asks a penetration tester to explain why a vulnerability scan might miss certain vulnerabilities that a penetration test would find. The client is considering using only vulnerability scans to save costs. Which explanation best addresses the client's concern?

   • AVulnerability scans are always unauthenticated and therefore cannot detect any vulnerabilities that require credentials.
   • BVulnerability scans are passive and cannot interact with the target to confirm vulnerabilities.
   • CVulnerability scans are only useful for external networks and cannot assess internal systems.
   • DVulnerability scans are limited to known signatures and cannot detect logic flaws or chained exploits that require human analysis.
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2. 12foundation · easy

   Which factor is most important when prioritizing vulnerabilities for remediation based on scan results?

   • AThe number of times the vulnerability appears in the scan report
   • BThe severity rating combined with the asset's business criticality and exploitability
   • CThe order in which the vulnerabilities were discovered
   • DThe name of the vulnerability as listed in the CVE database
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4. 13expert · hard

   A penetration tester has completed a vulnerability scan and identified several critical vulnerabilities in a client's environment. The client's management team wants a report that prioritizes remediation based on business impact, but the IT team wants a detailed technical report with all findings. The tester needs to satisfy both audiences. What is the best approach?

   • ACreate a single report that includes all technical details and a brief executive summary at the beginning.
   • BCreate two separate reports: an executive summary for management and a technical report for IT.
   • CCreate a single report that only includes the critical findings and omit the lower-severity ones.
   • DCreate a single report that is entirely technical and let the IT team explain it to management.
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5. 14foundation · easy

   Which statement best describes the primary purpose of vulnerability scanning in the penetration testing process?

   • ATo verify the effectiveness of security controls by simulating a full attack chain
   • BTo actively exploit identified weaknesses to gain access to target systems
   • CTo provide a real-time alerting mechanism for ongoing intrusions
   • DTo identify and enumerate potential security weaknesses in systems and applications
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6. 15application · medium

   After running a vulnerability scan, a penetration tester reviews the report and sees a 'Critical' finding for a remote code execution vulnerability in a web server. The tester manually verifies the vulnerability by attempting the exploit in a controlled manner and finds that the server is actually patched. What should the tester do next?

   • AKeep the finding as critical because the scanner reported it, and include it in the executive summary.
   • BRemove the finding from the report because it is a false positive.
   • CChange the severity to 'Low' and include it in the report without further explanation.
   • DDocument the finding as a false positive in the report, explain the validation method, and note that the server is patched.
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