What Does a Penetration Testing Report Include?

The most important outcome of a professional penetration test is not merely the security vulnerabilities identified. The proper analysis, prioritization, and clear reporting of these findings are just as important as the testing process itself.

The reports prepared not only help technical teams address security vulnerabilities but also provide senior management with a clear overview of the organization’s current security level, the risks it faces, and the necessary improvements.

In a penetration testing service that complies with international standards, reporting should include both technical details and management-level assessments.

Executive Summary

Not every manager is required to review technical details. Therefore, the first section of professional reports includes a brief and clear executive summary aimed at decision-makers.

This section typically includes the following information:

• The purpose of the test
• Scope of the systems tested
• Test dates
• Methodology used
• General security assessment
• Number of critical findings
• Impact on business continuity
• Recommended priority actions

This summary enables managers without technical expertise to quickly assess the current risk level.

Technical Report

The technical report is the most comprehensive document detailing all security vulnerabilities identified during the penetration testing process.

The following information must be included for each finding:

• Name of the finding
• Risk level
• CVSS score
• Affected system
• Description of the vulnerability
• Exploit Scenario
• Proof-of-Concept (PoC)
• Screenshots
• Mitigation Recommendations
• References (OWASP, CWE, CVE, etc.)

The technical report serves as a fundamental reference source for IT teams and software developers.

Proof of Concept (PoC)

In professional penetration testing, simply stating that a "vulnerability was found" is not sufficient.

Every critical finding must be verified in as controlled and secure a manner as possible.

This verification process is called Proof of Concept (PoC).

The PoC includes:

• How the vulnerability was exploited,
• What steps were followed,
• What data can be obtained,
• The impact of the security vulnerability,

are all presented along with evidence.

This approach helps prevent false positives.

Risk Prioritization

Not all identified security vulnerabilities pose the same level of risk.

For example,

Exposing a server’s version information cannot be assessed with the same priority as unauthorized access to a customer database.

For this reason, findings in professional reports are generally classified according to the following risk levels:

• Critical
• High
• Medium
• Low
• Informational

This classification makes it easier for organizations to determine which vulnerabilities to address first.

Recommendations for Improvement

A penetration test report should do more than just list problems.

It should also provide actionable solutions for each finding.

For example:

• Applying security patches
• Correcting misconfigurations
• Enabling multi-factor authentication
• Strengthening authorization controls
• Implementation of secure coding practices
• Improving network segmentation

Thanks to these recommendations, technical teams can systematically reduce risks.

Presentation and Evaluation Meeting

Professional penetration testing services often do not end with the delivery of a report.

The team that conducted the test reviews the findings together with the relevant stakeholders.

During these meetings:

• Critical findings are explained.
• Risk levels are assessed.
• Questions from technical teams are answered.
• An improvement plan is developed.
• Priorities are set.

This process ensures more effective use of the report.

Re-Test (Validation Test)

After the organization has addressed the security vulnerabilities, professional service providers typically conduct a verification test (Re-Test).

At this stage:

• Findings identified previously are re-examined.
• It is verified that the vulnerabilities have indeed been patched.
• If necessary, the report is updated.
• The organization’s current risk status is reassessed.

This process is of great importance in verifying the effectiveness of the improvements made.

A Real-Life Scenario

An organization received a report containing approximately 120 security findings following a comprehensive penetration test.

While this number may seem alarming at first glance, a detailed analysis revealed the following distribution of findings:

• 2 Critical
• 9 High
• 34 Medium
• 51 Low
• 24 Informational

The technical team focused primarily on resolving critical and high-risk findings. Following approximately three weeks of remediation efforts, a retest confirmed that all critical findings had been resolved.

Thanks to this approach, the organization significantly increased its security level by directing its limited resources toward the areas posing the highest risk.

The Securesys Approach

At SecureSys, we do more than just provide a technical report at the end of every penetration testing project.

We provide our clients with:

• Executive Summary
• Detailed Technical Report
• Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Documentation
• Risk Prioritization Analysis
• Improvement Recommendations
• Presentation of Findings
• Re-Testing and Validation Service

By providing such comprehensive outputs, we support not only the identification of security vulnerabilities but also their effective resolution.

One of the most important elements in a penetration test report is the proper prioritization of security vulnerabilities. But what criteria are used to classify a finding as “critical” or “high”?