Penetration Tester Interview Questions

Are you interested in the cybersecurity domain? Are you looking for a promising career in the cybersecurity space? If so, we’ve got your backs!

You can choose any career option, including the penetration tester role, without a second thought, as you will be equiped with the advanced knwoledge and practical learning as a fresher to advanced leaner. Want to know more about penetration tester interviews? Read on!

What Does a Penetration Tester Do?

A penetration tester is a qualified cybersecurity professional who identifies vulnerabilities in a system. They respond quickly to cyberattacks and counterattacks if needed. A penetration tester is also known as an ethical hacker.

The ethical hacker is responsible for identifying, monitoring and controlling the cyber threats in applications, systems and networks. The penetration tester prevents malicious attacks and protects privacy from hackers. The major objective of the penetration testers is to ensure security by uncovering vulnerabilities and preventing cyberattacks. 

The penetration testers work in various domains. They even work in the physical infrastructure. The penetration tests identify such malicious activities across the domains.

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The risk impact can be understood and eliminated, and defences can be held strong. The penetration testers align themselves with the security, administrative and developer teams to work towards a common goal, remedy and prevention. 

The interview for the penetration testers not only assesses the technical knowledge of a hacker but also the practical and conceptual knowledge, along with the skills.

Penetration Tester Interview Questions for Freshers

The penetration tester interview can range from the fresher-level to the experienced-level questions. All you have to do is systematically prepare for the interview with the right guidance. 

1. What is penetration testing?
2. Who is a penetration tester?
3. What is PoC?
4. What is an exploit?
5. Define ‘payload’. 
6. What is the core difference between vulnerability assessment and penetration testing? 
7. What are the different types of penetration testing? 
8. Why is penetration testing important? 
9. Define the CIA triad.
10. Define phishing.
11. What is malware? 
12. Define vulnerability assessment. 
13. Define ethical hacking. 
14. What is documentation in penetration testing? 
15. Explain social engineering. 
16. What is lateral movement? 
17. What are the different types of penetration testing tools?
18. What are the key differences between authorisation and authentication? 
19. Elaborate on brute force attacks.
20. What is privilege escalation? 

Instead of simply memorising the concepts, the penetration tester should understand the purpose and objectives of each concept. 

Intermediate-Level Questions

The analytical thinking and approach are given more importance in this stage. The candidates should show their skills and experience, along with the learning that comes with it. 

Technical and practical questions 

1. What is enumeration?
2. What is port scanning?
3. Define version identification. 
4. What is reconnaissance?
5. Explain the difference between active and passive reconnaissance. 
6. What are the major steps for penetration testing?
7. What is the difference between pivoting and tunnelling?
8. How is the detection avoided during the testing?
9. Elaborate on the best penetration testing tools.
10. What is privilege escalation in Windows and Linux?

Experience-based questions 

1. How to achieve a successful penetration test 
2. What are the core challenges faced during penetration testing? 
3. How to test internal networks
4. What are APIs?
5. What is password spraying?
6. How to validate vulnerabilities 
7. What is CVSS scoring?
8. Define vulnerability prioritisation. 
9. How to handle false positives

Advanced & Red Team Questions

Here is the list of advanced and red team questions for your future reference

1. Define active directory misconfiguration.
2. What is kerberoasting?
3. What are LOLBins?
4. How to test zero-day vulnerabilities 
5. What is a golden ticket? 
6. Define pass the hash.
7. What is EDR? 
8. What are penetration testing methodologies? 
9. Define bypassing antivirus. 
10. Define memory exploitation. 
11. Elaborate on the kernel level.

The knowledge in handling each tool is assessed by the interviewer.

Penetration Testing Methodologies (PTES, OSSTMM)

Methodology-based questions can be expected for a penetration tester interview

1. What are the different phases of PTES?
2. Define OSSTMM.
3. What is PTES?
4. Define RoE.
5. What are the core differences between PTES and OSSTMM?
6. What are pre-engagement interactions? 
7. Elaborate on the NIST penetration testing framework. 
8. Define intelligence gathering. 
9. Define vulnerability analysis. 
10. Define reporting strategies.
11. What is the scope definition? 
12. Define authorisation.
13. What is risk-based testing? 
14. Define ‘exploitation’ and ‘post-exploitation’. 
15. What is threat modelling?
16. What are pre-engagement interactions? 

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Web, Network & Cloud Penetration Testing Questions

Here is the list of interview questions related to web, network and cloud penetration testing for your reference

1. What is reflected XSS?
2. Define CSR. F?
3. What is session management and authentication? 
4. Define the various file uploading vulnerabilities. 
5. Define API security 
6. What is IDOR?
7. What is SSR? F?
8. What is SQL injection testing?
9. What is the OWASP Top 10?
10. What is stored XSS?
11. What are enumeration and port scanning?
12. Define ARP poisoning.
13. What is network pentesting?
14. What is VLAN hopping?
15. Define DNS poisoning. 
16. Define wireless testing.
17. Define MITM attacks.
18. What are shared responsibility models? 
19. What is metadata service abuse? 
20. What is serverless security? 
21. Define container security. 
22. What is Kubernetes security?
23. What is the relation between SNMP testing and the firewall 
24. What is cloud pentesting?
25. Define AWS.
26. Define packet sniffing.
27. Explain the concepts of cloud penetration testing.
28. What is Azure?
29. What is GCP security? 
30. Explain IAM misconfigurations.
31. What is cloud storage security?

Real-World Scenarios & Case Studies

The judgments and professionalism of the candidates will be tested in scenario-based interviews. 

1. What to do with testing systems without credentials?
2. How to manage a panicked client?
3. How to ensure legal compliance? 
4. What are ransomware attacks?
5. What are business-critical systems? 
6. Define insider threat simulation. 
7. What are the different steps after acquiring admin access?
8. How to safely test production systems?
9. What is a zero-day vulnerability?

Reporting & Documentation Questions

Penetration testers must have a strong hold on reporting and documentation. 

Documentation and communication 

1. What are redemption steps?
2. How to present findings to management 
3. What are the key reporting tools?
4. What is retesting? 
5. What are the key components of a penetration testing report?
6. What is a penetration testing report?
7. What is the vulnerability severity rating?
8. How to write executive summaries
9. Define validation. 
10. How to maintain confidentiality while handling sensitive data?

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Pro Tips to Crack the Penetration Tester Interview

Here are the key tips to crack the penetration tester interview. 

• Regular practice on hands-on labs
• Think from the perspective of an attacker. 
• Learn the nuances of cybersecurity. 
• Master the real-world scenarios.
• Learn networking. 
• Learn the fundamentals of penetration testing.
• Build a more authentic lab experience. 
• Work on the documentation skills.
• Stay updated with new trends in cybersecurity. 
• Follow the legal and ethical boundaries. 
• Learn the complex working systems in simple terms.

The Entri’s AI- Powered cybersecurity course will help you to get a grip on the cybersecurity industry. The learners will get an opportunity to explore the real-world scenario and learn from it easily.

Conclusion

Penetration tester interviews will focus on both the practical and theoretical aspects of ethical hacking. The technical expertise, along with the communication skills,  will be explored extensively. The structured methodological learning can help you to crack the interview with ease.

The aspiring penetration testers can rely on the entry app to gain insights and relevant expert training throughout their journey. The excellent mentorship and preparatory classes will help you to step into the world of cybersecurity with confidence.