Cisco Network Penetration Testing
Switches and routers get installed and then left for a decade. We pen test the network from a port in your office: what the switch tells us, what VLAN hopping reaches, and whether the management plane answers from a user subnet. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £2,550, scoped in 24 hours.
- Unlimited retesting
- No rescheduling or cancellation fees
- Fixed quote within 24 hours
“I would highly recommend EJN Labs to any organisation seeking reliable, detailed, and well-managed penetration testing services, particularly for government or enterprise-level projects.”
Imran SaghirProject Lead, SquareOne“There wasn’t another company we could find that could deliver what we needed in the timeframe we needed. The client loved it, and we got instant ROI from the engagement.”
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriApplication testing is routine and network device testing is not, so switches and routers accumulate old firmware, legacy management protocols and configurations that were correct for a network that no longer exists.
Why the network layer is rarely tested
We start from a live network port, because that is what an attacker gets after walking into a meeting room or compromising one workstation. Discovery protocols volunteer a surprising amount, dynamic trunking can still be negotiated on estates that never disabled it, and VLAN separation is often less complete than the diagram suggests.
The management plane is the other half. Telnet and SNMP with default community strings persist far longer than anyone admits, and a router whose management interface answers from the user VLAN is a short path to controlling traffic.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
VLANs, MANAGEMENT + DISCOVERY
What we actually pen test on a Cisco estate
Manual pen testing across IOS and ASA versions, VLAN and segmentation verification, management plane exposure, discovery protocol abuse and identity integration.
Device versions and known vulnerabilities
IOS, IOS-XE, NX-OS and ASA versions established and matched against known exploited vulnerabilities, with verification of anything reachable in your configuration.
VLAN and segmentation verification
Traffic tested between segments the design claims are separated, dynamic trunking negotiation, native VLAN handling, private VLAN enforcement, and whether a user port can reach management or server VLANs.
Management plane and protocols
Telnet, SSH, HTTP and SNMP exposure, community strings and credential strength, whether management is reachable from user networks, AAA configuration and local fallback accounts.
Discovery and legacy protocols
CDP and LLDP disclosure, Smart Install exposure, spanning tree manipulation, DHCP and ARP spoofing resistance, and first hop redundancy protocol abuse.
Identity and access control
802.1X and ISE integration where used, whether unauthenticated devices can reach the network, MAC authentication bypass configuration, and guest network separation.
Configuration hygiene
Password storage and type, unused and shadowed access control entries, logging and NTP configuration, configuration backup exposure, and whether changes would be detected.
METHODOLOGY
Cisco Network Penetration Testing: From Scope to Attestation
CREST-aligned methodology built on OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, OWASP ASVS, NIST SP 800-115, and PTES. Each finding maps to all four standards plus your specific compliance regime.
Reconnaissance
Application mapping, technology fingerprinting, content discovery, parameter enumeration, authentication-flow analysis, role-matrix construction.
Vulnerability Assessment
Authenticated and unauthenticated automated scanning across every user role, plus targeted manual checks for known weakness patterns.
Manual Exploitation
Hands-on testing by a CREST-certified pentester. Business-logic exploitation, chained vulnerabilities, privilege escalation, impact validation.
Reporting + Retest
Executive summary, technical report with CVSS scores and reproduction steps, walkthrough call, free retest after remediation, attestation letter.
CREDENTIALS
Verified Accreditations Auditors Accept
Every credential below is independently verifiable. UK procurement teams, FCA supervisors, ISO 27001 / SOC 2 auditors, and cyber insurance underwriters all recognise these standards.
GET YOUR QUOTE
Get a CREST Cisco network pen test quote in 24 hours
A fixed-price quote back in one business day, from a named CREST assessor. No sales pipeline, no chasing.
- CREST and IASME accredited. Testing your auditors and clients already recognise.
- Fast-track testing within 24 hours where required. Free retest of every fix included.
- Live findings via your client portal, not a four-week PDF.
- Fixed price from £3,500 for a single-role, single-app scope, agreed up front. Most engagements run £5,000 and up. No day-rate surprises.
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriUnder NDA Further named references available on a scoping call.
- We reply within one business day with a fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
- You approve the scope and we book a start date, usually within 24 hours.
- Live findings land in your client portal as we test, with a free retest of every fix.
Get your fixed pen test quote in 24 hours
Quote request received
We will reply within one business day with your fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
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or book a 20-min scoping call first
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COMPLIANCE READY
Reports Mapped to Every Framework
Findings are explicitly tagged to the relevant control reference. Your audit team submits the report directly without translation work.
ISO 27001:2022
Annex A.8.8 management of technical vulnerabilities plus A.5.15-5.18 and A.8.2-8.5 access control validation.
SOC 2 Type I & II
CC6 logical access, CC7 system operations, CC8 change management evidence.
PCI DSS
Requirement 11.4 application penetration testing across cardholder data environments, including ecommerce penetration testing for online retail platforms.
FCA SYSC
SYSC 4.1.1R, 6.1.1R, 13 mapped to each finding for FCA-regulated firms.
UK GDPR
Article 32 effectiveness testing, customer-data security controls, ICO-acceptable evidence.
Cyber Essentials Plus
Direct certification through our IASME body status, single-vendor delivery.
PRICING
Transparent Cisco Network Penetration Testing Pricing
Pricing depends on app complexity, user-role count, business-logic depth, and integration surface. The day count flexes; the included deliverables stay the same across all engagements.
2 to 3 testing days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Around 5 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote3 to 5 testing days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Around 8 to 12 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote5 to 7 testing days
Multi-tenant platform, complex authorisation matrix, integration-heavy applications. Around 15 to 20 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quotePart of Technologies We Pen Test. These are examples of the stacks we publish pages for, not a complete list. If yours is not here we still test it. Related pages:
BY SECTOR
Cisco Network Penetration Testing for Your Sector
Sector-specialist scoping for UK businesses with sector-specific compliance regimes and threat models.
Fintech & FCA-Regulated
FCA SYSC, Open Banking FAPI 1.0, PSD2 SCA, payment-flow scrutiny, KYC/AML testing.
Fintech sector pageSaaS Companies
SOC 2 Type I & II evidence, multi-tenant boundaries, role escalation, customer-tenant isolation.
SaaS sector pageLaw Firms
SRA Cyber Standard, privileged data, conveyancing fraud defence, partner-tier procurement.
Law firm sector pageHealthcare
NHS DTAC, DSP Toolkit v6, UK GDPR Article 32, EHR systems, telehealth platforms.
Healthcare sector pageInsurance
FCA / PRA Operational Resilience, cyber underwriting, claims data, broker portals.
Insurance sector pagePublic Sector
CCS / G-Cloud framework, NCSC-aligned, citizen-facing services, PSN-compliance scrutiny.
Public sector pageWHY EJN LABS
What You Get From Cisco Network Penetration Testing
Six concrete differentiators competitors don’t all match.
CREST-Certified Testers, Verifiable
Every test by a CREST-certified pen tester (CRT, CCT APP, CCT INF where applicable). Verify our company status at crest-approved.org.
24-Hour Startup, Where Required
From signed scope to active testing in a single business day for incident response, audit deadlines, or regulator-driven timelines.
Live Findings, Not 4-Week PDFs
Critical issues reported during testing through your client portal. Your team remediates while testing continues.
Audit-Ready Reports
Executive summary plus full technical report with CVSS scores and explicit framework mappings (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, FCA SYSC).
Free Retests, Standard
Verify remediation of every finding before close-out. Letter of attestation for audit submission included. Most competitors charge £1,500-£3,000 per retest.
UK-Based CREST Testers
Every engagement performed by vetted, UK-based CREST-certified testers, matched to your needs, security clearance, and compliance scope.
FAQ
Frequently Asked
Do you need to be on site?
It is the best way to test a switched network, and we cover the UK. Where on-site is impractical we can work from a device you place on the network, or scope the test around remotely reachable elements and say clearly what that misses.
Will testing disrupt the network?
No. We avoid spanning tree and redundancy protocol manipulation on production unless you specifically want it tested and schedule it. Discovery, segmentation and management testing carry no disruption risk.
Is this the same as internal network penetration testing?
Related and narrower. Internal network testing targets the hosts and the directory. This targets the network infrastructure itself, the switches, routers and their configuration, which most internal tests treat as scenery.
Do you cover Meraki?
Yes, on the same basis, with the emphasis moving to the cloud dashboard, API keys and template configuration. Tell us what you run and we will scope it.
Does this satisfy PCI DSS segmentation testing?
It is the right test for it. Where a cardholder environment is in scope we verify the segmentation claims directly and write the evidence for a QSA.
20+ CREST-accredited testing services in one place
Web, mobile, API, cloud, AI, infrastructure, red team. Pick the test that fits your environment.
Get a fixed price for your network review
Tell us roughly how many sites and devices, whether on-site testing is possible and whether a cardholder environment is in scope. Fixed-price quote within one business day.
