CIS Controls Penetration Testing
Validate your CIS Controls implementation with hands-on penetration testing
What this engagement covers
The service
Our CIS Controls penetration testing validates that your implementation of the CIS Critical Security Controls actually stops real-world attacks. We test across all 18 control families with a focus on Control 18 (Penetration Testing) and map every finding to specific CIS Controls and sub-controls.
What we test
We assess your environment against the CIS Critical Security Controls framework including asset management, data protection, secure configuration, account management, access controls, log management, network defense, and incident response. We also validate system configurations against applicable CIS Benchmarks for your operating systems, cloud platforms, and network devices.
Scoping & Assessment Depth
Black Box Assessment
Zero-KnowledgeSimulates an external adversary targeting CIS Controls Penetration Testing with no internal credentials, source code, or architecture documentation. Assesses perimeter exposure, unauthenticated attack paths, and edge resilience.
Gray Box Assessment (Recommended)
CredentialedSimulates an authenticated user, tenant, or insider threat within CIS Controls Penetration Testing. We evaluate role segregation, authorization boundaries, privilege escalation, and business logic flaws across user tiers.
White Box / Source-Assisted
Full-KnowledgeConducted with direct access to architecture schematics, configuration files, and API/code documentation. Eliminates blind spots and provides exhaustive coverage of security mechanisms governing CIS Controls Penetration Testing.
Attack Surface & Vulnerability Vectors
Unmanaged Assets Not in Inventory
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Unmanaged Assets Not in Inventory across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
Configuration Drift from CIS Benchmarks
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Configuration Drift from CIS Benchmarks across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
Overly Permissive Access Controls
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Overly Permissive Access Controls across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
Missing or Incomplete Audit Logging
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Missing or Incomplete Audit Logging across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
Insufficient Network Segmentation
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Insufficient Network Segmentation across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
Undetected Lateral Movement
Rigorous testing and validation to uncover Undetected Lateral Movement across your CIS Controls Penetration Testing environment. We produce deterministic proof-of-concept exploits to verify exploitability without risking service stability.
How we run it
We map your CIS Controls implementation to real attack scenarios. We test whether your asset inventory catches rogue devices, whether your configurations match CIS Benchmarks, whether your access controls prevent unauthorized access, whether your monitoring detects our testing activities, and whether your incident response procedures activate appropriately. Every finding maps to a specific CIS Control, sub-control, and Implementation Group.
Enterprise asset discovery and inventory validation
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting enterprise asset discovery and inventory validation across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
CIS Benchmark configuration assessment
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting cis benchmark configuration assessment across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Account and access control testing
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting account and access control testing across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Data protection and encryption validation
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting data protection and encryption validation across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Network boundary and segmentation testing
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting network boundary and segmentation testing across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Security monitoring and log detection testing
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting security monitoring and log detection testing across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Vulnerability exploitation and lateral movement
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting vulnerability exploitation and lateral movement across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
Incident response trigger and escalation testing
Rigorous technical execution, boundary verification, and manual exploitation testing targeting incident response trigger and escalation testing across your cis controls penetration testing deployment.
What you receive
Findings land in your tracker as you go, not only in a PDF at the end. Retest is in scope, not a change order.
- CIS Controls mapping report with findings per control family
- CIS Benchmark validation results for in-scope systems
- Implementation Group gap analysis (IG1/IG2/IG3)
- External and internal penetration test findings
- Security monitoring and detection validation
- Prioritized remediation plan by control family
- Cross-reference mapping to NIST 800-53 and ISO 27001
- Executive summary for leadership and board reporting
What we usually find
The issues this engagement surfaces most often. Yours will differ, but this is the shape of it.
Who this is for
Auditor-Ready Compliance Crosswalk
| Framework | Control Section | Testing Evidence & Report Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| CIS Controls v8 | Control 18 (Penetration Testing) | Periodic external and internal penetration tests to validate defensive postures and identify misconfigurations. |
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 | CA-8, RA-5, SC-7 | Rigorous penetration testing and technical vulnerability assessment supporting federal compliance and continuous monitoring. |
| NIST Cybersecurity Framework | PR.AC, DE.CM, RS.AN | Technical testing verifying access controls, anomaly detection efficacy, and incident response mitigation capabilities. |
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | Control A.8.8 & A.8.20 | Management of technical vulnerabilities and network security verification through independent technical assessments. |
| SOC 2 Type II | CC4.1, CC7.1, CC7.2 | Technical testing evidence validating system boundaries, access restrictions, and vulnerability identification controls. |
Findings are mapped to CIS Controls v8, CIS Benchmarks, NIST 800-53, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2, so the report drops into an audit package rather than needing to be translated first. If you need the readiness work behind one of those, that is a separate engagement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers on scoping, methodology, compliance validation, and deliverables.
Our CIS Controls Penetration Testing service combines deep manual testing with automated verification. We cover: CIS Controls mapping report with findings per control family, CIS Benchmark validation results for in-scope systems, Implementation Group gap analysis (IG1/IG2/IG3), External and internal penetration test findings, Security monitoring and detection validation. Every engagement includes reproducible proof-of-concept exploits, developer-ready remediation guidance, and a free retest.
Yes. Findings are directly mapped to CIS Controls v8, CIS Benchmarks, NIST 800-53, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, SOC 2 control requirements. The resulting report is auditor-ready and formatted for immediate submission to SOC 2 CPAs, PCI QSAs, and enterprise vendor risk assessment teams.
Yes. Every Lorikeet Security engagement includes free retesting within 30 to 60 days to validate that your remediation patches successfully resolve the identified vulnerabilities before your final report is issued.
Typical active testing turnaround is 1-2 weeks, with critical findings reported immediately via your Talon portal so your engineering team can begin remediation without waiting for the final PDF.
Pricing starts from $8,000. We scope the engagement in one call based on your environment's surface area, user roles, and complexity, providing a transparent, fixed-price quote with no hidden change orders.
Scope it in one call
Tell us what is in scope and we come back with a fixed price and a start date. No discovery-call maze, no hourly estimate that moves.
