Network Penetration Test
PCI DSS Compliance - Payment Gateway
External network penetration test on a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) environment, covering 100 public IPs within the Cardholder Data Environment (CDE) for an electronic payment gateway.
Project Overview
Industry
Payment Gateway
Test Type
External Black-box Network Test
Duration
2 weeks
Challenges & Objectives
Challenge
Strict isolation and protection of CDE according to PCI DSS, with potential misconfigurations in firewalls and network devices that could expose sensitive cardholder data.
Objectives
- Provide evidence for annual PCI DSS compliance (Requirement 11.3)
- Secure public-facing services and network perimeter
- Identify network misconfigurations and weak protocols
Methodology
External Black-box Testing
Simulating real-world external attacks on network perimeter
Port Scanning & Enumeration
Service enumeration and configuration analysis across 100 IPs
Vulnerability Assessment
Identifying misconfigurations and security weaknesses
PCI DSS Alignment
Align testing with PCI DSS Requirement 11.3
Key Findings (1 vulnerability)
Unauthenticated ADB (Port 5555)
A server in the CDE had ADB exposed without authentication. Could allow remote file access or command execution.
Recommendation
Disable ADB on network, add ACLs or firewall rules to block port 5555 from untrusted sources.
Value Delivered
PCI DSS Compliance
Achieved compliance with documented penetration testing evidence
Secured CDE
Timely remediation of critical misconfiguration protecting cardholder data
Strengthened Network
Improved operation and management of debug services