🚨 Real Case Study: Network Penetration Testing for an Italian Small Business

🔍 Overview: How a Simple Configuration Could’ve Led to a Full Network Compromise

At Pentest Testing Corp, we specialize in identifying hidden vulnerabilities in networks that many businesses—especially small enterprises—overlook.

In this real-world network penetration testing case study, we’ll walk through how our team discovered a critical vulnerability during an engagement with a small Italian company. The vulnerability involved the public exposure of the TR-069 remote management interface on their network hardware—something that, left unchecked, could have resulted in complete network compromise.

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🏢 Client: A Small Business in Italy

The client was a rapidly growing small business in Italy, expanding its digital footprint with remote workers, online systems, and cloud integrations. Although they had antivirus software and a basic firewall, they had never undergone a professional network penetration test.

The engagement was scoped to include:

• Internal and external network pentesting
• Router and IoT device analysis
• Firewall rule auditing
• Recommendations and remediation assistance

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🚨 The Vulnerability: TR-069 Interface Exposed to the Internet

During the external network enumeration phase, our team identified an open port—TCP 7547—which is commonly associated with TR-069 (Technical Report 069), a remote management protocol used by ISPs and network administrators to control routers and modems.

🔥 Why TR-069 Exposure is Dangerous

TR-069 is not inherently insecure, but exposing it to the public internet without authentication is a major risk. It can allow attackers to:

• Remotely control routers or modems
• Download configuration files
• Push malicious firmware updates
• Modify DNS settings to launch Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks
• Create persistent backdoors into the network

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🛠️ Our Technical Findings

Here’s a breakdown of what we discovered:

📌 Network Scan Example (nmap):

nmap -p 7547 -sV <client_ip>

PORT     STATE SERVICE VERSION
7547/tcp open  cwmp    Huawei Home Gateway TR-069

The scan revealed a CWMP (CPE WAN Management Protocol) service running on a Huawei gateway. No authentication prompt was present when querying the interface using curl.

📌 Proof-of-Concept Request:

curl http://<client_ip>:7547/ -v

The server responded with a SOAP-based TR-069 interface schema, indicating it was accessible and active.

🔓 Risk Rating:

Critical – Full remote access was possible, which could lead to:

• Credential leakage
• Traffic redirection
• Firmware modification
• Total network takeover

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⚙️ Remediation Steps Implemented

Immediately after confirming the vulnerability, our team:

1. Notified the client with a detailed risk report.
2. Helped them disable TR-069 on the router interface.
3. Configured firewall rules to block access to port 7547 from the public internet.
4. Updated device firmware to patch other potential vulnerabilities.
5. Implemented internal monitoring to detect similar misconfigurations.

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✅ Key Takeaway: Misconfigurations Are More Dangerous Than Zero-Days

This incident highlights a critical lesson in network security—you don’t need a zero-day exploit to breach a network. Many successful attacks occur due to default settings, open ports, and forgotten interfaces.

Even small businesses, which often assume they’re “too small to target,” can become victims due to:

• Insecure router configurations
• Legacy hardware
• Remote worker setups
• Poor segmentation and access control

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💼 What We Offer: Network and Web Penetration Testing Services

Looking to protect your business from similar issues? Our team offers comprehensive services, including:

🔗 Web Application Penetration Testing Services
🔗 Offer Cybersecurity Services to Your Clients

With over 250+ satisfied clients and a 4.9⭐ rating, we deliver:

• Risk-free engagements
• Actionable insights
• Transparent reports
• Post-engagement guidance

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📚 Related Reading

Explore other technical posts from our team:

• 🔗 OAuth Misconfiguration in Laravel
• 🔗 HTTP Parameter Pollution in Laravel
• 🔗 Prevent Buffer Overflow in React.js
• 🔗 Web Application Penetration Testing

If you’re building AI-enabled apps, securing your ML models and APIs is just as important. Explore our AI cybersecurity service →

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🧠 Final Thoughts

This real-world case study from a small business in Italy proves that network vulnerabilities aren’t limited to large enterprises. Exposed interfaces like TR-069 can open the door to catastrophic security breaches—but they’re entirely preventable with a professional network penetration test.

🛡️ Don’t wait for attackers to find your flaws—find them first.

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📩 Or contact us for a full security audit.

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