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Internal Network Penetration Testing Services

Internal network penetration testing is a security assessment that simulates an attacker who already has a foothold inside your network, to find how far they could escalate privileges, move laterally, and reach your critical systems, before a real intruder does Bluefire Redteam runs assumed-breach internal network penetration testing focused on Active Directory, identity, and lateral movement, with exploit-validated findings, developer-ready remediation, and a scoped quote within 24 hours. New to this? Read our in-depth internal network penetration testing guide.

Internal Network Penetration Testing at a glance

  • What we test: Active Directory, Kerberos, SMB and NTLM relay, LLMNR/NBT-NS poisoning, privilege escalation, lateral movement, credential reuse, domain controller compromise, and segmentation
  • Model: assumed breach, we start from the position of a compromised workstation or insider
  • Access needed: network access from an in-scope internal segment, or a standard domain user for grey-box
  • Production-safe: rate-limited, destructive techniques excluded by default
  • Deliverable: exploit-validated findings, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, developer-ready fixes, free retest
  • Turnaround: scoped quote in 5 hours

Trusted by global organisations

Why We Test From Inside (Assumed Breach)

Most real breaches do not stop at the perimeter, they start with one phished user or one compromised laptop, then move inward. An internal network penetration test that only scans from the edge misses the part that actually matters: what an attacker can do once they are in. We test from an assumed-breach position, the way a real intrusion unfolds, and prove whether a single foothold can become full domain compromise.

compromise assessment

What We Test in Your Internal Network

Active Directory security

The heart of most internal compromises. We test privileged group membership, delegation (unconstrained, constrained, resource-based), ACL abuse, GPO weaknesses, and paths to Domain Admin.

Kerberos attacks

Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, delegation abuse, and ticket attacks that turn a standard user into a privileged one.

SMB and NTLM relay

SMB signing enforcement, NTLM relay, and coercion techniques that allow authentication to be captured and reused for lateral movement.

Network poisoning

LLMNR, NBT-NS, and mDNS poisoning to capture credentials and hashes from internal traffic.

Privilege escalation

Local and domain escalation through misconfiguration, credential exposure, service abuse, and missing hardening such as LAPS.

Lateral movement and credential reuse

Pass-the-hash, pass-the-ticket, and credential reuse across systems, mapping how far a single compromise spreads.

Segmentation validation

Whether network segmentation actually contains an attacker, including validation of separation between sensitive environments such as a PCI Cardholder Data Environment (CDE).

Detection and response

Whether your EDR, SIEM, and SOC detect internal reconnaissance, escalation, and lateral movement, including in-memory and living-off-the-land techniques.

Data exfiltration

Whether sensitive data can be moved out over commonly permitted channels such as HTTP and DNS.

Our Internal Network Penetration Testing Process

Every engagement follows a structured methodology designed to reflect realistic attacker behaviour while minimizing operational risk.

Scoping and rules of engagement.

Define in-scope segments, starting position (external foothold or assumed breach), objectives, and safety controls.

Map hosts, Active Directory, authentication services (Kerberos, LDAP, SMB, RPC), and trust relationships.

Privilege escalation, Kerberos and relay attacks, credential harvesting, and lateral movement toward defined objectives.

Assess reachable data, domain-level control, and whether segmentation to sensitive environments holds.

Exploit-validated findings mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, business-impact ratings, and developer-ready fixes. See our full penetration testing services

To confirm every fix holds.

Internal Network Penetration Testing Checklist

  • Active Directory: privileged group membership reviewed, delegation minimised
  • Kerberos: no Kerberoastable service accounts with weak passwords, AS-REP roasting closed
  • SMB signing enforced; NTLM relay and coercion mitigated
  • LLMNR/NBT-NS disabled
  • LAPS deployed; no shared local admin passwords
  • Lateral movement limited; credential caching minimised
  • Segmentation enforced around sensitive environments (for example PCI CDE)
  • EDR and logging cover internal reconnaissance and lateral movement
  • Egress controls limit exfiltration over HTTP and DNS

Want the full checklist? Download the Internal Network Penetration Testing Checklist (PDF) 

Real Internal Network Penetration Test Results

In a recent assumed-breach internal network penetration test for an organisation operating a PCI Cardholder Data Environment, our team identified a critical Unconstrained Kerberos Delegation misconfiguration on domain controllers, a realistic path to full Active Directory domain compromise, and demonstrated data exfiltration over DNS. Read the full internal network penetration test case study.

Internal vs External Penetration Testing

 

 External Network TestingInternal Network Testing
Starting positionOutside the perimeter, no accessInside the network, assumed breach
Question answeredCan an attacker get in?How far can they go once in?
Primary targetsPublic IPs, VPN, exposed servicesActive Directory, file shares, internal apps
Typical critical findingExposed service or exploitable perimeter hostPath to Domain Admin
Best forValidating perimeter defencesValidating segmentation, AD hardening, detection

Most organisations need both. If you only run external testing, you know whether the front door is locked — but nothing about what happens after someone gets through it.

What You Receive

  • Executive summary — business risk in plain language, including how quickly domain compromise was achieved
  • Attack narrative — the full path from initial foothold to Domain Admin or crown-jewel access
  • Prioritised findings — ranked by exploitability and real impact, not raw CVSS
  • MITRE ATT&CK mapping — so your SOC can convert findings into detections
  • Detection gap analysis — which techniques your EDR and SIEM missed
  • Remediation roadmap — sequenced and realistic for production networks
  • Free retest of remediated findings

Sample report available under NDA.

Internal Penetration Testing Cost

Engagement ScopeTypical Cost
Single site, up to ~250 hosts$2K – $10K
Multi-site or ~250–1000 hosts$10K – $15K
Large enterprise / multi-domain$15K – $20K+

Key Benefits of Our Azure Penetration Testing Service

Stop domain takeover

Find the AD and Kerberos paths that turn one foothold into Domain Admin.

Contain the blast radius

Prove whether segmentation actually holds around sensitive systems.

Validate detection

Measure whether your SOC catches internal lateral movement.

Compliance assurance

PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, SOC 2, with findings mapped to requirements. Pair with our red team services for full adversary simulation.

Reporting for every audience

Board-ready risk narrative and developer-ready remediation.

Internal Penetration Testing Services - FAQ

  • A security assessment that simulates an attacker already inside your network, to find how far they could escalate privileges, move laterally, and reach critical systems.
  • Testing that starts from a compromised position (a workstation or a standard domain user), focusing on what an attacker does after initial access, rather than spending the engagement getting in.
  • Yes. Active Directory and Kerberos are the primary internal attack surface, and the focus of most engagements, including Kerberoasting, delegation abuse, and paths to Domain Admin.
  • Yes. We validate whether segmentation actually separates sensitive environments such as a PCI Cardholder Data Environment from the rest of the network.
  • Network access from an in-scope internal segment, or a standard domain user account for grey-box testing to simulate a compromised employee.
  • No. Testing is rate-limited, destructive techniques are excluded by default, and anything potentially disruptive requires explicit approval and a scheduled window.
  • It depends on the number of hosts, Active Directory complexity, and objectives. Most engagements run one to two weeks. Request a scoped quote.

Find Out How Far an Attacker Could Get Inside Your Network

Get a scoped internal network penetration testing plan and quote within 5 hours, reviewed by a senior operator. Assumed-breach, exploit-proven, with a free retest included.

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