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Clear Infosec

Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing

Find and prove real risk before attackers do.

Combine the breadth of vulnerability assessment with the depth of hands-on penetration testing to validate real-world exposure across your networks, applications, and cloud.

Aligned to industry assessment frameworks

PTESOSSTMMMITRE ATT&CKOWASP Testing GuideNIST 800-115CSA CCMCAIQMITRE ATLASPTESOSSTMMMITRE ATT&CKOWASP Testing GuideNIST 800-115CSA CCMCAIQMITRE ATLAS

Overview

We assess your networks, applications, and cloud for vulnerabilities, then safely exploit what matters to prove real, exploitable risk, not theoretical findings. Testing is practitioner-led and mapped to PTES, OWASP, and NIST 800-115, with clear severity, business impact, and reproduction steps for every finding. Retest validation is included at no added cost.

Who it's for

Organizations that need proof of exploitable risk and audit-ready evidence, not just an automated scan.

Discuss your scope

Our perspective

Understanding Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing

Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing answer two different questions that buyers often confuse. Assessment asks what could be wrong across your networks, applications, and cloud. Penetration testing asks what an attacker can actually do with those weaknesses. We run both, then safely chain the flaws that matter into working exploits so you see genuine business impact, not a scanner dump. Every engagement follows a defined methodology (PTES, the OWASP Testing Guide, and NIST 800-115) so scope, depth, and evidence are consistent and repeatable.

Real intrusions rarely rely on a single critical bug. Attackers stitch together a weak password policy, an exposed admin panel, an unpatched service, and over-permissive access into a full path to your data. Automated tools miss that chaining, and they flood teams with false positives that bury the findings that count. Manual testing separates noise from real risk, validates each issue by hand, and shows the exact route from initial foothold to sensitive systems, mapped where useful to MITRE ATT&CK techniques.

Good output is more than a severity list. Each finding carries a clear severity rating, the business consequence in plain language, and step-by-step reproduction so your engineers can confirm and fix it without guesswork. Proof-of-concept accompanies exploitable issues so nobody debates whether a risk is theoretical. After you remediate, retest validation is included at no added cost, confirming fixes actually held rather than closing tickets on faith.

Signs you may need this

Scanner reports pile up but nobody proves what is actually exploitableA customer or regulator is demanding independent penetration test evidenceNew applications or cloud workloads are shipping without security testingPast findings were closed without any retest to confirm the fixUncertainty about whether current controls stop a real attacker

What we test

What we test across your environment

AI Systems

LLM applications, model endpoints, and AI features: prompt injection, insecure output handling, data leakage, and abuse, aligned to OWASP and MITRE ATLAS AI security guidance.

Web Applications

OWASP-aligned testing of authentication, access control, injection, and business-logic flaws.

Mobile Applications

iOS and Android testing across insecure storage, transport, API abuse, and reverse engineering.

APIs

REST, GraphQL, and SOAP testing for broken authorization, excessive data exposure, and injection (OWASP API Top 10).

Thick-Client Applications

Desktop and thick-client testing across local storage, IPC, binaries, and back-end communication.

Cloud Infrastructure

AWS, Azure, and GCP configuration, IAM, workloads, and cloud-native services.

Container & Kubernetes Security

Container image security, Kubernetes configuration, cluster access controls, and secrets, networking, and workload isolation.

External Network

Internet-facing infrastructure and perimeter, from an unauthenticated attacker's perspective.

Internal Network

Assumed-breach internal testing: lateral movement, privilege escalation, and Active Directory.

Attack Surface Discovery

External asset and exposure mapping to surface shadow IT and forgotten systems.

OSINT Analysis

Open-source intelligence on your organization, people, and technology footprint.

Dark Web Analysis

Monitoring breach corpora and dark-web sources for leaked credentials, data, and mentions.

Wireless

Wi-Fi and wireless testing for rogue access, weak encryption, and network segmentation.

Outcomes

What you walk away with

A validated view of what an attacker can actually reach and do

Findings prioritized by real business impact

Reproduction steps and remediation guidance for every issue

Confirmed fixes through retest, included at no added cost

Our approach

How we deliver Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing

01

Scope & recon

Confirm targets, rules of engagement, and map the environment.

02

Discovery & enumeration

Identify hosts, services, and exposures across the attack surface.

03

Vulnerability analysis

Combine automated scanning with manual analysis to find real weaknesses.

04

Exploitation & validation

Safely exploit to confirm impact and eliminate false positives.

05

Report & retest

Prioritized findings with reproduction steps, then retest to confirm fixes.

When to choose this: Choose VAPT for breadth of vulnerability coverage and proof of exploitability. Choose Red Teaming to test whether your team detects and responds to a real, objective-driven attack.

Where this fits

Common situations we are called in for

01

Annual compliance requirement

A regulated organization needs independent penetration testing to satisfy PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, or client security questionnaires, with defensible evidence and reproduction for auditors.

02

Pre-launch application review

A team is about to ship a new web or API product and wants exploitable flaws found and proven before real users and attackers reach it.

03

Post-migration cloud validation

After moving workloads to the cloud, an organization needs its new identity, storage, and network configuration tested for exposure introduced during the move.

04

Merger or acquisition due diligence

A buyer needs an objective read on the security posture of an acquired environment before integrating it into their own network.

Manual, senior-led testing

Testing that validates what attackers can actually exploit

A scanner tells you what might be wrong. Our practitioners prove what is, and what it means for your business.

Senior testers, not scanners

Every engagement is led by experienced practitioners who think like attackers, not an automated tool running a checklist.

Real exploitability, not noise

We validate what an attacker can actually reach and do, and cut the false positives a scanner leaves behind.

Business logic and chained flaws

We find the authorization, workflow, and design flaws scanners miss, and chain them the way a real adversary would.

Proof, not theory

Findings come with proof-of-concept evidence and clear reproduction steps, so your team can see and fix the real issue.

Attack-path validation

We test the chain, not just the checklist

Real breaches rarely come from a single vulnerability. They come from a chain: a weak point that leads to access, that leads to escalation, that leads to your data. We map those attack paths across your systems, not just isolated findings.

  1. 1
    Establish an initial foothold from an exposed weakness
  2. 2
    Escalate privileges and move laterally across systems
  3. 3
    Chain misconfigurations, credentials, and trust relationships
  4. 4
    Reach the assets and data that matter to your business
  5. 5
    Document the full path so you can break it at the right point

The CLEAR Method

A structured methodology, from scope to retest

A structured 5-step lifecycle for practical, risk-focused engagements.

  1. 1
    C

    Context & Scoping

    • Define objectives, scope, and success criteria
    • Confirm rules of engagement and constraints
    • Align stakeholders and testing assumptions
    OutputApproved scope and engagement plan
  2. 2
    L

    Locate & Enumerate

    • Discover in-scope assets and attack surface
    • Map hosts, services, technologies, and exposures
    • Gather intelligence through passive and active enumeration
    OutputAttack surface inventory and target profile
  3. 3
    E

    Exploit & Evaluate

    • Validate weaknesses through controlled testing
    • Confirm exploitability and business relevance
    • Capture evidence while maintaining safe execution
    OutputValidated findings and proof of impact
  4. 4
    A

    Analyze & Advise

    • Analyze root causes, risk, and attack paths
    • Prioritize findings by severity and business impact
    • Provide practical remediation guidance
    OutputRisk analysis and prioritized recommendations
  5. 5
    R

    Retest & Report

    • Verify remediation through retesting
    • Confirm closure and residual risk status
    • Deliver final evidence, summary, and executive reporting
    OutputRetest results and final report

Built for Clarity

Structured, repeatable delivery from scope to report.

Ethical & Safe

Controlled validation with client-approved execution.

Risk-Focused

Findings prioritized by real-world impact and business relevance.

Actionable Reporting

Clear remediation guidance and retest validation included.

Retest validation included at no added cost.

Aligned to PTES · OSSTMM · MITRE ATT&CK · OWASP Testing Guide · NIST 800-115 · CSA CCM / CAIQ · MITRE ATLAS

Reporting

What's in your report

Clear evidence for every audience, from the board to the engineers who fix the issues.

Executive summary

A clear, non-technical view of risk and business impact for leadership and the board.

Technical detail

Full findings with severity, affected assets, and the evidence behind each issue.

Proof of concept

Reproduction steps and proof for every validated finding, so nothing is left ambiguous.

Prioritized remediation

Practical guidance your engineers can act on, ordered by real business impact.

Attack-path narrative

How individual weaknesses connect into exploitable paths, and where to break them.

Retest validation

We retest your fixes and confirm closure, included at no added cost.

Assurance & compliance

Aligned to the standards your auditors expect

Our testing is mapped to recognized standards and produces the audit-ready evidence your stakeholders and regulators expect.

  • Methodology aligned to PTES, OWASP, and NIST 800-115
  • Audit-ready evidence for ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, and HIPAA
  • Reporting that supports GDPR and regulatory obligations
  • Retest validation and remediation support included

What every engagement delivers

Evidence, priorities, and measurable progress

Executive Risk View

Board-ready summary of exposure, priorities, and business impact.

Prioritized Remediation Roadmap

Clear next steps mapped to risk, ownership, and urgency.

Audit-Ready Evidence

Reports, findings, control status, and supporting documentation.

Program Maturity Improvement

Retesting, tracking, awareness, and measurable security progress.

Aligned to PTESOSSTMMMITRE ATT&CKOWASP Testing GuideNIST 800-115MITRE ATLAS

How we engage

Four ways to work with us

  1. 1

    Assessment-Led Services

    Offensive security, validation, and testing engagements.

  2. 2

    Advisory & Program Services

    Risk, compliance, vCISO, and security program support.

  3. 3

    Recurring Managed Services

    MDR, DFIR, SOC, and implementation support.

  4. 4

    CLEAR Product-Led Platforms

    CLEAR GRC and PHiSH3R extend delivery with evidence and scale.

Why choose us

Why teams choose us for Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing

Manual, senior-led testing

Experienced testers find the business-logic and chained flaws scanners miss.

Proof, not noise

Every finding comes with a proof-of-concept and reproduction steps, false positives removed.

Retest included

We re-test your fixes and confirm closure at no added cost.

Credentials & experience

Certified experts, across regulated industries

Representative client segments

BankingInsuranceHealthcareRetaileCommerceHospitalityTechnologySaaSLegalProfessional ServicesRegulated Environments

Representative team credentials

CISSP CISM CISA CRISC CCISO CDPSE CIPP/E ISO 27001 LA ISO 42001 LA ISO 22301 LA CCSP CCSK AZ-500 SC-100 SC-200 AWS Security Specialty GCP Security Engineer CKS OSCP OSWE OSEE eWPTX v2 eMAPT eCPPT CRTP CEH CompTIA Security+ CISSP CISM CISA CRISC CCISO CDPSE CIPP/E ISO 27001 LA ISO 42001 LA ISO 22301 LA CCSP CCSK AZ-500 SC-100 SC-200 AWS Security Specialty GCP Security Engineer CKS OSCP OSWE OSEE eWPTX v2 eMAPT eCPPT CRTP CEH CompTIA Security+

FAQ

Common questions

Black-box, grey-box, or white-box?

Whichever fits your goals, from an unauthenticated outside view to a fully credentialed, source-informed test.

Do you test production safely?

Yes. Testing is controlled and agreed in the rules of engagement, with safeguards to avoid disruption; staging is an option where preferred.

How long does a test take?

It depends on scope, typically one to three weeks of testing, confirmed after scoping.

Is retesting included?

Yes, closure validation and retesting are included at no added cost.

Let's scope your vulnerability assessment & penetration testing engagement.

Practitioner-led delivery, platform-backed evidence, and retest validation included at no added cost.

Contact us

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