Infrastructure Risk Assessment from Pentest Findings

1. A pentest identifies that backup systems lack encryption. What is the primary risk?

Backup data exposure if stolen

Increased backup size and storage cost

Slower backup and restore operations

Incompatibility with backup software

2. Which control best protects against privilege escalation vulnerabilities identified in a pentest?

Application whitelisting

Host-based intrusion detection

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

All of the above provide layered defense

3. A pentest finds that security patches are not consistently applied across infrastructure. What process improvement is needed?

Vulnerability scanning only

Automated patch management with testing

Manual patch reviews by security team

Patch deployment only during maintenance windows

4. When a pentest reveals an insecure direct object reference (IDOR) vulnerability, what remediation approach is most effective?

Obfuscate object identifiers

Implement access control checks on every request

Hide object IDs from API responses

Rotate object identifiers regularly

5. A pentest identifies that database backups are stored on the same network as production. What risk exists?

Backup restoration failures

Ransomware could encrypt both production and backups

Increased backup performance

Reduced storage costs

6. Which framework best guides prioritization and remediation of pentest findings?

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

OWASP Top 10

CIS Controls

All of the above provide useful guidance

7. A pentest reveals that API endpoints lack rate limiting. What attack is most likely?

Man-in-the-middle attack

Brute force or denial-of-service attack

Cross-site scripting

SQL injection

8. When documenting pentest findings for executive stakeholders, what should be prioritized?

Technical details of each vulnerability

Business impact and risk to operations

Recommended tools for remediation

Detailed exploitation techniques

9. A pentest discovers missing security headers in web application responses. Which header prevents clickjacking attacks?

Content-Security-Policy

X-Frame-Options

Strict-Transport-Security

X-Content-Type-Options

10. Which logging and monitoring improvement best supports incident response after pentest findings?

Archive all logs for compliance

Implement SIEM with real-time alerting

Increase log verbosity on all systems

Store logs on the compromised system

11. Which CVSS metric component best represents the effort required for an attacker to exploit a vulnerability?

Attack Vector

Attack Complexity

Privileges Required

User Interaction

12. When reviewing pentest findings on authentication, which is the strongest control against credential compromise?

Complex password requirements

Multi-factor authentication

Account lockout policies

Password expiration every 30 days

13. A pentest reveals excessive permissions granted to service accounts. What principle should guide remediation?

Least privilege access

Defense in depth

Separation of duties

Role-based access control

14. Which compensating control best mitigates risk when a critical legacy system cannot be patched?

Increase monitoring and logging

Isolate the system with network segmentation

Install additional antivirus software

Disable unnecessary network services

15. A pentest identifies weak TLS configurations allowing downgrade attacks. What is the recommended fix?

Enforce TLS 1.2 or higher with strong cipher suites

Disable SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 only

Implement certificate pinning on all clients

Use self-signed certificates for internal traffic

16. When prioritizing pentest findings, which factor should NOT influence your risk ranking?

Asset criticality and business impact

Exploit availability in public databases

Color preference of the vulnerability report

Current threat actor activity

17. A pentest discovers that administrative credentials are stored in plaintext configuration files. What is the best remediation?

Change all passwords immediately

Implement a secrets management solution

Encrypt configuration files with file-level encryption

Move credentials to a dedicated secure vault

18. Which network segmentation approach best reduces lateral movement risk after a pentest identifies weak internal controls?

Flat network with host-based firewalls

Zero-trust architecture with micro-segmentation

DMZ with single perimeter firewall

VLANs with minimal access controls

19. A pentest reveals an unpatched SQL injection vulnerability on a public-facing web server. What is the primary remediation priority?

Apply the latest security patch immediately

Implement input validation and parameterized queries

Both A and B, with B as long-term defense

Isolate the server and schedule maintenance

20. When reviewing pentest findings, what does a CVSS score of 7.5 typically indicate?

Critical risk requiring immediate action

High risk needing prioritized remediation

Medium risk for standard patching

Low risk suitable for deferred fixes

Infrastructure Expert Reviewing Pentest Findings for Risk Quiz