CoreQ Academy4.1 Given a scenario, analyze output to prioritize and prepare attacks.
With limited time, testers focus on the attacks most likely to succeed against the most valuable assets, and prepare them carefully to stay in scope and avoid damage.
Target prioritization
- High-value asset identification
- Finding the assets that matter most: domain controllers, databases with customer data, payment systems.
- Descriptors and metrics
- Standard scores and identifiers used to prioritise.
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score
- Severity 0-10 from intrinsic characteristics of a vulnerability.
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
- The public identifier of a specific vulnerability.
- Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)
- The category of weakness (e.g. CWE-89 SQL injection) behind vulnerabilities.
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)
- Probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild in the next 30 days; useful alongside CVSS.
- End-of-life software/systems
- Unsupported systems with unpatched flaws.
- Default configurations
- Default settings and credentials often left in place.
- Running services
- Exposed services form the practical attack surface.
- Vulnerable encryption methods
- Weak protocols and ciphers that enable interception.
- Defensive capabilities
- EDR, monitoring and response that affect which approach is realistic and how noisy you can be.
Capability selection
- Tool selection
- Choosing tools suited to the target and the client's risk tolerance.
- Exploit selection and customization
- Picking an exploit for the exact version and adapting it safely.
- Code analysis
- Reading exploit code to understand what it does and remove harmful behaviour.
- Documentation
- Recording plans and actions for reporting and safety.
- Attack path
- The chain of steps from entry to objective.
- Low-level diagram creation
- Detailed diagrams of hosts, services and trust relationships along the path.
- Storyboard
- A step-by-step plan of the attack sequence, useful for reviews and reporting.
- Dependencies
- Prerequisites for each step (credentials, network access, timing).
- Consideration of scope limitations
- Confirming every planned action stays within the agreed scope and rules.
- Labeling sensitive systems
- Marking fragile or critical systems to avoid or handle with care.
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Original CoreQ Academy material, mapped to objective 4.1 of the publicly available CompTIA PenTest+ PT0-003 exam objectives (Exam objectives V3, document version 5.0). Not affiliated with or endorsed by CompTIA. Contains no exam questions.