Metasploit Revealed: Secrets of the Expert Pentester

Vulnerability assessment versus penetration testing

Vulnerability assessment and penetration testing are two of the most common words that are often used interchangeably. However, it is important to understand the difference between the two. To understand the exact difference, let's consider a real-world scenario:

A thief intends to rob a house. To proceed with his robbery plan, he decides to recon his robbery target. He visits the house (that he intends to rob) casually and tries to gauge what security measures are in place. He notices that there is a window at the backside of the house that is often open, and it's easy to break in. In our terms, the thief just performed a vulnerability assessment. Now, after a few days, the thief actually ...