leftArrow

All Blogs

Pentesting

Vulnerability Scanning vs Penetration Testing: Understanding the Variance

Published Date: Jan 10, 2025
Vulnerability Scanning vs Penetration Testing

Quick Summary: Which one is the best option between penetration testing and vulnerability scanning for your organization to assess your defenses? It can be confusing to decide. Worry not! This blog will help you make a decision with a detailed comparison of these two methods. Check the comparison to know where each of them excels and what they lack to make a prudent decision.

Often, penetration testing and vulnerability scanning are thought of as the same service. But the reality is that these are two distinct methods with the same goal, to improve security posture and uncover weaknesses.

Organizations in confusion may choose one while they need the other. So, it is crucial to understand the difference between penetration testing and vulnerability testing.

Here you will get a full vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing comparison to know the differences and make the right decision.

Stop Hackers Before They Sabotage Your Assets with a Real Pentester-like Security Assessment Take a Demo

On This Page
  1. Understanding Vulnerability Scanning
  2. An Overview of Pen Testing
  3. Comparison of Vulnerability Scanning vs Penetration Testing
  4. Scale Up Security Testing with VAPT
  5. Conclusion

Understanding Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning, also referred to as vulnerability assessment, is an automated security testing method. It means this method uses automated tools to scan applications, networks, and systems for potential weaknesses or loopholes that impair security.

It offers a quick and convenient way to evaluate digital assets and uncover vulnerabilities. You can discover a myriad of vulnerabilities by scanning your assets for thousands of CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures).

Let’s look at the pros and cons of vulnerability scans.

Pros

  • Faster results, because it takes from a few minutes to a few hours in scanning.
  • Organizations can integrate it into their SDLC to test applications early.
  • Detect vulnerabilities before a hacker can find them and improve security posture.
  • Vulnerability scans can be leveraged for constant monitoring to avoid data breaches.
  • Detect common vulnerabilities like OWASP Top 10, CWE-25, etc.

Cons

  • It doesn’t offer in-depth insights into potential threats, and how they pose risks.
  • It can indicate a vulnerability when there isn’t any, leading to false positives.
  • Limited scope due to the predefined checks they are coded with.

A Brief Note on Penetration Testing

Penetration testing, also referred to as pen testing, is a kind of security audit that involves performing simulated attacks on the target. The attacks performed on a target (web app, network, or system) are authorized, meaning they are performed with the permission of the concerned organization.

Organizations are spending a lot of money on pentesting because they know how crucial it is to assess their defenses. Reports indicate that the pentest market will exceed 5 billion USD by 2031.

Unlike vulnerability scans, human intervention plays a crucial role in penetration testing as it is conducted by professionals or ethical hackers. The tester replicates the behavior of a real hacker to plan and conduct controlled attacks. Though the tester uses some tools, it is mostly a manual method.

They use known attack vectors like SQL injection, password cracking, and buffer overflow to try to exploit vulnerabilities and demonstrate weaknesses.

Here are the pros and cons of pentesting.

Pros

  • Pen testing provides extremely detailed information on security exploits and risks.
  • It is performed manually by a human, which reduces the chances of false positives.
  • It provides information on how a vulnerability can be exploited and its impact.

Cons

  • It is a resource-intensive and costly method.
  • Conducting this type of test requires a lot of time.

Minimize Costs and Eliminate Real Threats with Automated Pentesting Try Now

Differences Between Vulnerability Scanning and Penetration Testing

There are many differences between a vulnerability scan and a pentest, reflecting their unique features. We have covered the main differences below.

Speed of Testing

A key difference between vulnerability scanning and penetration testing is the speed of executing a test. Automated scanning is far better when it comes to testing speed because it takes only a few hours to complete a scan. On the contrary, pen testing is a lengthy and time-consuming process.

The automated process quickly discovers known vulnerabilities and minimizes the time needed to mitigate risks. Due to the fast-scanning speed, it becomes a feasible option for frequent scanning to continuously detect and remediate vulnerabilities. It eliminates the chances of cyber risks.

Human skills are involved in pen testing, which requires more thorough analysis than an automated scan. This deeper analysis takes time as the pen tester will manually evaluate the target and observe responses. This process can take many days, and it may differ based on different pen testing types.

Depth of Testing

Vulnerability assessment provides a snapshot of a target’s security status. It offers a quick analysis of common vulnerabilities based on known CVEs like misconfigurations and outdated software. However, it can miss complex logic vulnerabilities and raise false alarms.

Penetration testing prioritizes depth over speed. Hence, it offers a comprehensive analysis of the target. While vulnerability scans only discover known risks, it goes above and beyond by identifying and exploiting the vulnerabilities to determine their impact.

It offers a more precise assessment than vulnerability scanning because it tries to exploit vulnerabilities with simulated attacks. As a result, there is less chance of false negatives.

Pen test has the upper hand on vulnerability scans in:

  • Quality and depth of scanning help uncover vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss.
  • Evaluating existing defense mechanisms to determine if they can withstand a security incident.
  • Providing insights into how an attacker can take advantage of the weaknesses.

Testing Coverage

Another crucial difference between penetration testing and vulnerability testing is the coverage of assets in an IT ecosystem. Usually, vulnerability scanning offers a wider coverage of assets in its purview. Hence, it provides broader scans that uncover any existing weaknesses.

Besides, it combines with asset discovery tools that extend the coverage to various digital assets managed by an organization. Consequently, it offers a comprehensive analysis of an organization's security posture.

On the other hand, pen testing is a more thorough test focused on a specific asset or a set of assets. Therefore, it offers greater detail in threat assessment. Organizations typically use it for some mission-critical assets.

Human Intervention

The human element is also a deciding factor in vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing. As we have already discussed, vulnerability scanning is an automated method to evaluate a target, so human intervention is only limited to configuring the scanning tools.

However, humans play an important role in penetration testing. From creating test cases to picking the right tool and planning an attack, a human tester plays a vital role in pen testing. Besides, the tester will observe the results manually and execute controlled attacks.

Risk Assessment

Both penetration testing and vulnerability scanning help assess risks but with a different approach. A vulnerability scan will offer an overview of known security risks in your digital assets. It provides a quantitative analysis and presents vulnerabilities with the level of severity.

The severity level helps prioritize vulnerabilities to address the most critical risks first. On the contrary, penetration testing offers a qualitative assessment of the risks. So, it offers more than just identifying vulnerabilities, because it also defines the potential impact by actually exploiting them.

Ease of Implementation

Another factor to consider between vulnerability scans and penetration testing is the ease of implementation. Based on this, vulnerability scanning is comparatively easy to implement because you only require the right tool and a little configuration to start.

However, pen testing requires sophisticated knowledge to execute the tests. The pen tester also knows various attack techniques and vulnerabilities as well as is able to apply this knowledge creatively to discover loopholes.

Test Report

Reports generated at the end of a security audit are essential documents that offer insights into potential risks. They provide information about the vulnerabilities discovered in the test, severity level, and other details. When talking about vulnerability scanning, the reports offer key information like vulnerability type, risk score, and other surface-level details.

Penetration testing offers detailed reports with more context, such as how the vulnerability was exploited. It offers actionable reports due to the involvement of humans, providing concrete steps in hardening security and fixing issues.

Overall Cost

Vulnerability scanning is comparatively a budget-friendly option. The overall cost can range from $1,000 - $4,000 annually, depending on the frequency, scope, targets, and more. Besides, there are also some free and open-source tools. Plus, there isn’t significant labor cost because it uses automated tools.

On the opposite side, penetration testing is relatively expensive because you need skilled testers to perform it. The cost can be usually around $5,000 - $20,000 annually. Moreover, the pen tester can be a member of an in-house team, or your organization can hire an external service provider.

Scale Up Security Assessment with VAPT

Both vulnerability assessment and penetration testing have their own strengths and weaknesses. You cannot always expect 10-on-10 results from each of these methods as they have limitations. So, instead of getting into the fuss of vulnerability scanning vs penetration testing, you can combine them for the best results.

The combined force is known as VAPT which offers the advantages of both kinds of security auditing methods. You can leverage vulnerability scans and penetration tests to perform comprehensive security testing. VA will provide a quick overview of threats that can help continuously detect and fix vulnerabilities. It’s like a quick X-ray that can detect a fractured bone. Similarly, the VA offers visibility into vulnerabilities.

PT will offer in-depth insights and evaluate your digital assets from a hacker’s perspective. You can perform it quarterly, half-yearly, or annually. Combining them will help you address security risks more effectively, align with compliances, and strengthen your security posture. It’s like an MRI scan that offers more details about fractures, like damage to bone tissue that X-rays cannot detect.

Detect Vulnerabilities Most Precisely with AI-Powered Security Testing Scan and Detect Now

Uncover Risks Precisely with ZeroThreat

In a nutshell, the choice between vulnerability testing and pen testing comes down to the available resources and the level of detail you want. You can get the advantages of both with VAPT. Either way, you need the right tools to perform security audits that can offer quality security analysis.

ZeroThreat is an advanced AI-powered automated penetration testing tool and vulnerability scanner with cutting-edge features. It is designed for modern AppSec teams and uncovers vulnerabilities with 98.9% accuracy. You can use it to reduce manual penetration testing efforts by 90%.

With zero configuration, it takes no time to conduct security testing and scan web apps & APIs thoroughly. It can scan complex web apps like SPAs and detect out-of-band vulnerabilities. Take an overview of this tool to know how it helps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are DAST and pen testing the same?

No, DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) offers automated and continuous security insights by scanning the target for known vulnerabilities. On the other hand, pen testing is a manual analysis of security threats that offer deeper insights.

How are risk assessment, vulnerability assessment, and pen test different?

What do you mean by penetration and vulnerability tester?