This project demonstrates a vulnerability assessment performed against a Metasploitable2 virtual machine within a controlled laboratory environment. The assessment focused on identifying exposed network services, enumerating service versions, and detecting potential security vulnerabilities using Nmap and its NSE (Nmap Scripting Engine).
The objective was to understand how security professionals discover attack surfaces, identify weaknesses, and provide actionable remediation recommendations.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Scanner | Kali Linux |
| Target | Metasploitable2 |
| Hypervisor | VMware Workstation |
| Network | Host-Only Lab Environment |
- Nmap
- Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE)
- Kali Linux
- VMware Workstation
- Metasploitable2
Verified communication between the scanner and target system.
ping 192.168.201.X
Identified open TCP ports exposed by the target host.
nmap 192.168.201.X
Enumerated running services and identified software versions.
nmap -sV 192.168.201.X
Executed vulnerability detection scripts against identified services.
nmap --script vuln 192.168.201.X
The assessment identified several security weaknesses commonly found in intentionally vulnerable environments.
| Finding | Severity |
|---|---|
| vsFTPd 2.3.4 Backdoor | Critical |
| Logjam SSL/TLS Weakness | High |
| SQL Injection Indicators | High |
| Slowloris Denial-of-Service Exposure | Medium |
| Severity | Count |
|---|---|
| Critical | 1 |
| High | 2 |
| Medium | 1 |
| Low | 0 |
- Disable unnecessary services.
- Remove legacy protocols such as Telnet.
- Restrict access to administrative services.
- Replace FTP with SFTP or FTPS.
- Enforce encrypted management protocols.
- Update vulnerable software versions.
- Apply vendor security patches regularly.
- Implement firewall-based access controls.
- Limit service exposure to authorized hosts only.
- Perform regular vulnerability assessments.
- Monitor systems for configuration drift and newly disclosed vulnerabilities.
This assessment successfully identified exposed services, software weaknesses, and potential attack vectors within the target environment. The findings demonstrate the importance of vulnerability management, service hardening, and continuous security monitoring as part of an organization's overall security strategy.
The complete assessment report is available in the repository:
Vulnerability Assessment Report
This project was conducted in an isolated laboratory environment using intentionally vulnerable systems for educational, research, and defensive security purposes only.