During a penetration test, the tester has completed the reconnaissance phase and identified a vulnerable web application. The tester now wants to confirm the vulnerability can be exploited to gain access to the server. What should the tester do next?

Conduct a vulnerability scan to confirm the finding

Clean up any traces of the reconnaissance activity

Attempt to exploit the vulnerability in a controlled manner

Report the vulnerability to the client immediately

A security team is planning a vulnerability scan of a large enterprise network. The scan must be completed within a maintenance window of four hours. The network has multiple segments, and some segments contain critical systems that cannot be disrupted. What is the most effective approach?

Scan all segments simultaneously with high intensity to meet the deadline.

Prioritize scanning segments based on risk, starting with internet-facing systems, and use low-intensity settings for critical segments.

Scan only the critical segments to ensure they are covered.

Extend the maintenance window to allow a full scan.

After a penetration test, the tester has identified a critical vulnerability in a custom web application. The development team is unfamiliar with the vulnerability and needs clear guidance on how to fix it. What should the tester provide in the report?

A screenshot of the exploit in action

Only the CVSS score and a link to a generic CVE

A detailed description of the vulnerability, including the affected code and remediation steps

A recommendation to rewrite the entire application

A security team needs to identify unpatched software on a fleet of Windows servers. The team has administrative credentials and wants to minimize network traffic. Which approach is most effective?

Run an authenticated vulnerability scan using the provided credentials.

Manually check each server via remote desktop.

Run an unauthenticated port scan to identify open ports.

Run a network-based application scan against common services.

GIAC Security Essentials

Domain 5Objective 4

Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing GSEC Practice Questions (Page 3)

Part of the Security Operations and Incident Response domain, which makes up ~16% of our current practice bank. GIAC (SANS) does not publish an official question count, but from its 240-minute exam (~95–160 total, ~15–26 in this domain), expect 4–7 from this objective — we provide 48 practice questions to prepare you well beyond it. (estimate)

48questions here

10free pages

8concepts

Questions 11–15

11application · medium
During a penetration test, the tester has completed the reconnaissance phase and identified a vulnerable web application. The tester now wants to confirm the vulnerability can be exploited to gain access to the server. What should the tester do next?
Select an answer first
12expert · hard
A security team is planning a vulnerability scan of a large enterprise network. The scan must be completed within a maintenance window of four hours. The network has multiple segments, and some segments contain critical systems that cannot be disrupted. What is the most effective approach?
Select an answer first
13application · medium
After a penetration test, the tester has identified a critical vulnerability in a custom web application. The development team is unfamiliar with the vulnerability and needs clear guidance on how to fix it. What should the tester provide in the report?
Select an answer first
14application · medium
A security team needs to identify unpatched software on a fleet of Windows servers. The team has administrative credentials and wants to minimize network traffic. Which approach is most effective?
Select an answer first
15application · medium
A penetration tester is performing a test on a client's network. The tester has completed the exploitation phase and gained access to a server. The tester now wants to understand the extent of the compromise and identify other systems that can be accessed. What phase of the penetration test is the tester in?
Select an answer first

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