Grey Box Pentest Carry out a Grey Box Pentest by our experts

Ziwit Consultancy Service for your manual audits and pentests

The objective of a Grey Box Pentest is to simulate an attack by a cybercriminal with a certain level of knowledge about the system to be tested. This allows the tester to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a real cybercriminal.

What is a Pentest Grey Box?

A grey box penetration test, or Pentest Grey Box, is a type of IT security testing that falls somewhere between Pentest Black Box and Pentest White Box.

In a Black Box Pentest, the pentester has no information about the system to be tested, while in a White Box Pentest, the pentester has all the information about the system, including source code, configurations and manuals .

In a Pentest Grey Box, the pentester has some information about the system to be tested, but not all.

This may include information such as system architecture, security policies and applications used.

Grey box

Grey box penetration testing uses a wide range of tools and techniques to identify vulnerabilities in the system under test. These tools and techniques may include:

What is a Pentest Grey Box?Vulnerability scanners like HTTPCS Security: These tools scan the system to be tested for known vulnerabilities. Vulnerability scanners are an important tool for Pentest Grey Boxes because they can identify a large number of vulnerabilities quickly and easily.

What is a Pentest Grey Box?Manual testing: The auditor uses his skills and expertise to identify system vulnerabilities. Manual testing is often necessary to identify vulnerabilities that are not detected by vulnerability scanners.

What is a Pentest Grey Box?Automated testing: Automated testing uses scripts to test the system to be tested. Automated testing can be used to run complex test scenarios that would be difficult or impossible to test manually.

Advantages & Disadvantages of the Pentest Grey Box

Grey box penetration testing has several advantages over Black or White Box Pentests.

Advantages of the Pentest Grey Box

More realistic

Pentest Grey Boxes simulate an attack by a cybercriminal with a certain level of knowledge about the system to be tested. This allows the auditor to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a cybercriminal.

For example, a Black Box Pentest would not be able to identify a vulnerability that can be exploited by a cybercriminal who knows that the system uses a certain type of software.

More flexible

Pentest Grey Boxes can be tailored to the specific needs of the business or organization.

For example, a Pentest Grey Box can be configured to focus on a specific vulnerability type, such as SQL injection vulnerabilities.

This allows businesses and organizations to target their testing on the vulnerabilities that concern them most.

More effective

Pentest White Boxes require the auditor to have access to all information about the system to be tested, including source code, configurations and manuals. This can be difficult to achieve, especially for critical or sensitive systems.

Grey Box Pentests, on the other hand, can be carried out without having access to all this information.

This allows the tester to focus on the most critical vulnerabilities that are most likely to be exploited by a cybercriminal, such as SQL injection vulnerabilities or Buffer Overflow vulnerabilities.

For example, a White Box Pentest may take several weeks or even months to complete, as the tester must analyze the system's source code, configurations, and manuals.

A Grey Box Pentest, on the other hand, can be carried out in a few days or even a few weeks.

Disadvantages of the Pentest Grey Box

More complex & less effective than White Box Pentest

Grey box testing does not allow the vendor to discover all system vulnerabilities. This is because the tester does not have all the information about the system.

More expensive than Black Box Pentest

Pentest Grey Boxes can be more expensive than Pentest Black Boxes because they require more work on the part of the tester.

The auditor should research the system to be tested and use a combination of tools and techniques to identify vulnerabilities.

Why do a Pentest Grey Box by Ziwit?

An experienced, certified & qualified team

Ziwit has a team of experienced and qualified pentesters who use the latest techniques and tools. These pentesters are able to find vulnerabilities that automated tools might miss.

Ziwit and its audit team are certified by numerous organizations including the PASSI certification delivered by ANSSI.

A detailed report with recommendations

At the end of the pentest, Ziwit provides a detailed report on the results. This report includes a list of identified vulnerabilities, as well as recommendations for fixing them.

This report is a valuable tool for businesses. It allows businesses to understand the risks they are exposed to and take the necessary steps to improve their security.

Better understanding
of your security

A grey box pentest gives you a better understanding of your security posture. By identifying security vulnerabilities, you can better understand the risks your business is exposed to.

This understanding is essential for making security decisions. It allows you to prioritize the actions to take to improve your security.

Better risk management

By identifying and remediating security vulnerabilities, you can improve your company's risk management. This can help reduce the costs of cyberattacks and protect your business reputation.

Good risk management is essential for protecting your business. Ziwit's grey box pentest can help you improve your risk management by helping you identify and remediate security vulnerabilities.

An effective methodological approach

Ziwit uses a methodological approach to identify security vulnerabilities. This approach ensures that all aspects of your security are examined, including:

  • Network security.
  • Application security.
  • System security.
  • Data security.

This approach is based on industry standards and best practices. It allows pentesters to identify vulnerabilities comprehensively and systematically.

The process of a Pentest Grey Box

01

Planning & Meeting

Planning (or kick-off meeting) is a crucial stage of a grey box pentest. It ensures that the pentester understands the client's objectives, has the necessary information to conduct the tests, and respects the client's restrictions.

The kick-off meeting should cover the following:

Objectives of the pentest

The pentester must understand the client’s objectives for the pentest. These goals may include identifying vulnerabilities, complying with a security standard, or preparing for a cyberattack. The pentester should ask the client questions to clarify the pentest objectives and ensure that the client understands them.

Target information

The pentester must receive information about the target, such as network topology, running systems and applications, and sensitive data. This information is essential for the pentester to conduct effective testing. The client must provide the pentester with all information they can share.

Test plan

The pentester must present his test plan to the client. This plan must describe the techniques and tools that will be used for testing. The pentester must explain to the client why he chose these techniques and tools.

Pentest restrictions

The customer can impose restrictions on the pentest. These restrictions may include prohibiting testing of certain systems or applications or the use of certain techniques. The pentester should discuss these restrictions with the client and ensure they understand them.

02

Recognition & Information Collection

The recognition phase is a crucial step in a grey box pentest. It allows the pentester to understand the target and identify potential vulnerabilities.

By collecting information about the target, the auditor can improve the effectiveness of penetration testing and identify more potential vulnerabilities.

Objectives of the reconnaissance phase

The objectives of the reconnaissance phase are as follows:

  • Understand the target: The pentester must understand the network topology, running systems and applications, sensitive data, security policies, etc.
  • Identify critical assets: the pentester must identify the most important systems and applications for the target, as well as the most sensitive data.
  • Identify potential vulnerabilities: The pentester should identify known vulnerabilities in systems and applications running on the target, as well as potential vulnerabilities that social engineering could exploit.
  • Plan penetration tests: the information collected during the reconnaissance phase allows the pentester to plan penetration tests effectively, targeting the most vulnerable systems and applications.

Recognition techniques

The pentester can use a variety of techniques to gather information about the target, such as:

  • Online Search: Searching for information about the target on the Internet, including news articles, social profiles and websites.
  • Port Scan: Using a port scanner to identify open ports on target systems.
  • Search for known vulnerabilities: Use of a database of known vulnerabilities to identify vulnerabilities present on the target.
  • Social Engineering: Using social engineering techniques to obtain sensitive information from target users.
  • Network Traffic Analysis: Scans the target's network traffic to identify running systems and applications, as well as open ports.
  • Source code analysis: Analysis of the source code of the target's web applications to identify potential vulnerabilities.
  • Audit Log Analysis: Analysis of target audit logs to identify suspicious activities.

03

Exploitation

The exploitation phase of a grey box pentest is the phase during which the auditor attempts to exploit the vulnerabilities that he identified during the reconnaissance phase.

This phase is the most important of the penetration test, because it helps determine whether the vulnerabilities are indeed exploitable and whether they can be used to compromise the target.

During the exploitation phase, the pentester uses a variety of techniques to exploit vulnerabilities, including:

  • Exploits: Exploits are programs or scripts that exploit a specific vulnerability.
  • Manual techniques: The auditor can also exploit a vulnerability manually, using technical knowledge and specific tools.

The pentester will work to compromise the target at various levels, from outside the network to inside the operating system. It will also strive to maximize the privileges obtained, in order to be able to access more resources and perform more important actions.

At the end of the exploitation phase, the pentester must be able to provide a detailed audit report, which lists the vulnerabilities exploited, the techniques used, the privileges obtained and the actions carried out.

Examples of exploitation techniques

  • Exploitation of a configuration vulnerability: An auditor could exploit a configuration vulnerability of a firewall to gain access to an internal network, such as using a default password for the administrator account of the firewall.
  • Exploitation of a software vulnerability: A pentester exploits a vulnerability in a web application to take control of a user account, such as SQL injection, which allows an attacker to execute code on the web server.
  • Exploitation of a hardware vulnerability: An expert could exploit a vulnerability in a router to gain access to a wireless network. A common hardware vulnerability is a buffer vulnerability, which allows an attacker to execute code on the router.

Élaboration

The operating phase of a pentest grey box is a complex and delicate phase. The pentester must be creative and persistent in finding ways to exploit vulnerabilities. He must also be careful not to cause irreversible damage to the target.

The operating phase of a pentest grey box is a complex and delicate phase. The pentester must be creative and persistent in finding ways to exploit vulnerabilities. He must also be careful not to cause irreversible damage to the target.

  • Have a good understanding of the vulnerabilities it is trying to exploit. He must know the technical details of the vulnerability, as well as known exploitation techniques.
  • Use a variety of tools and techniques to exploit vulnerabilities. It should not rely solely on a single tool or technique.
  • Be careful not to cause irreversible damage to the target. He must use tools and techniques that are non-destructive.

04

Report

The reporting phase is a crucial step in the grey box pentest. During this phase, the pentester writes a report that describes the identified vulnerabilities and provides recommendations for fixing them.

The purpose of the reporting phase is to provide the organization with a complete understanding of the vulnerabilities identified and the actions to be taken to correct them.

The report must be clear, concise and easy to understand. It must include the following information:

  • A list of all vulnerabilities that have been identified, with their severity
  • A description of each vulnerability.
  • Recommendations to fix each vulnerability.
  • Evidence of the impact of identified vulnerabilities, such as screenshots or video recordings.

The reporting phase is an important phase of the grey box pentest. It allows the organization to take steps to correct identified vulnerabilities and improve its security posture.

05

Monitoring & Counter-Audit

The monitoring phase is an essential step to guarantee the effectiveness of the pentest grey box. By following the report's recommendations, businesses can improve their security posture and protect themselves against cyberattacks.

In order to validate the correction of the vulnerabilities identified during the penetration test, the client may request a counter-audit, at no additional cost.

The counter-audit allows our experts to verify that the corrections have been applied, and that the philosophy of the correction has been understood by the teams.

Examples of possible Pentest Grey Box

Test the security of a web application

The pentester may have access to the source code of the application, but not to all the information necessary to fully understand how it works. It may use hacking tools and techniques to try to find and exploit vulnerabilities in the application.

Testing the security of a computer network

The auditor can have access to a network topology and information about the systems and equipment connected to the network. It can use this information to identify vulnerabilities in the network and try to exploit them to gain access to systems and data.

Test user access privileges

The pentester can log into a system with a normal user account and try to access resources or features that should not be accessible to that type of account. He may also try to escalate his privileges to gain higher access.

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