How to read a pentest report without getting lost
Skip the CVSS column. Start with the path that reaches a business system, then the owner and the due date.
ITSIGN Administrator · January 29, 2025 · 2 min read
Open the executive summary. If it cannot name a system your customers would recognise, send it back.
Then read the critical and high findings as stories: start here, then here, then you are in payroll. Assign an owner and a date. Schedule the retest before you file the PDF.
What to ignore
Duplicate plugin output. Informational TLS nits on an internal printer. Anything without a reproduction step.
We include a remediation workshop in penetration testing so the report does not die in a share.
Related reading
When a pentest is really for the insurance form
Be honest about the audience. Then still do the work so the form is not the only thing you get.
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Why the retest is the part you should not skip
A finding list without a retest is homework you never marked. Insurers and customers notice.
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Scoping a pentest without wasting money
Narrow the crown jewels. Write rules of engagement. Budget the retest. Everything else is theatre.
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