Automated network penetration testing reveals vulnerabilities that traditional assessments often overlook.
Most organisations conduct an annual network penetration test, address the identified issues, and then move on. However, attackers are continuously probing networks daily, utilising publicly available tools to exploit common misconfigurations and overlooked vulnerabilities. A recent report, based on over 50,000 automated penetration tests performed with Vonahi Security’s vPenTest SaaS platform, highlights the inadequacy of once-per-year manual testing. The tests revealed recurring preventable gaps across numerous organisations, particularly allowing for Multicast DNS (mDNS) spoofing, NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS) spoofing, and Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR) spoofing. These network protocols rely on broadcast queries, enabling any device on the network to respond, which can lead to attackers tricking machines into connecting to rogue systems. These issues were prevalent in more than half of all assessments, primarily because these protocols are enabled by default and are often deemed low-priority in typical vulnerability scans.
The report also underscored that patch management remains a significant challenge for many organisations. Outdated Windows machines and known vulnerabilities, such as EternalBlue and BlueKeep, continue to emerge, indicating persistent struggles with patch management, legacy systems, and software compatibility issues. Misconfigurations also pose a critical problem, with Firebird servers using default credentials and weaknesses in Active Directory Certificate Services allowing attackers to gain elevated privileges. Many organisations fail to detect these issues early enough due to the limited scope and high costs of traditional penetration tests, which are often conducted just once a year. Between these tests, networks evolve, new systems are integrated, and misconfigurations frequently go unnoticed. The data indicates that these vulnerabilities are not confined to a single sector, as critical findings were observed across technology, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing, suggesting that root causes such as poor visibility, configuration drift, and inconsistent patching practices are widespread. Continuous testing is essential, as vPenTest simulates real-world attacker behaviour, performing comprehensive network penetration tests that identify internal misconfigurations, outdated protocols, and privilege escalation paths often overlooked in compliance-driven assessments. Addressing these issues does not necessitate cutting-edge solutions but requires consistency and visibility through frequent testing.
Categories: Network Vulnerabilities, Patch Management, Misconfigurations
Tags: Network Penetration Test, Vulnerabilities, Misconfigurations, mDNS Spoofing, NBNS Spoofing, LLMNR Spoofing, Patch Management, Legacy Systems, Continuous Testing, Security Assessments