Make It Hurt (a Little): Why Showing Real Impact in Pentest Findings Matters
“Cool alert box, bro. Now what?”
If you've ever been on a penetration test, chances are you've landed a juicy finding like reflective XSS, clicked around a bit, and dropped that classic alert('XSS!') as your proof-of-concept. Technically valid? Absolutely. Compelling to a developer? Eh… not so much.
It’s time we talk about showing impact! Not just popping OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, but popping minds.
Alert Fatigue is Real
For many developers, the humble JavaScript alert() box is like getting a giant Amazon package, tearing it open in excitement, and finding a single roll of tape inside.
Technically useful? Sure.
Emotionally disappointing? Absolutely.
That’s not to say your alert('XSS') didn’t require effort. But if your goal is to drive remediation, motivate prioritization, or spark a "holy crap, we need to fix this NOW" moment, you need more than a text alert pop-up.
Make It Real: BeEF Hooks and XSS With Teeth
Take reflective XSS. Instead of saying, “here’s an alert, please patch your app,” why not show them what an attacker could really do?
Hook that session into BeEF (Browser Exploitation Framework) and demonstrate:
Live control of the victim’s browser.
Fake Adobe Flash Player updates to install malware.
Fake login prompts to harvest creds.
Suddenly that harmless input field becomes a full-blown command & control channel. The difference in perceived impact is night and day.
Other Findings That Deserve Better POCs
Let’s walk through a few other classic findings where the impact can be made a lot more real with just a little creativity.
IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference)
Typical POC: Changing a user_id=123 to user_id=122 and showing a JSON response.
Better Impact Demo:
Log in as a lower-privileged user and show access to admin data.
Pull down private invoices, PII, or session tokens from another user.
Chain with session fixation or hijacking for an even scarier scenario.
SSRF (Server-Side Request Forgery)
Typical POC: Returning internal metadata from AWS.
Better Impact Demo:
Scan the internal network from the web server and show open ports.
Exploit cloud credential endpoints if applicable.
Use it to pivot into an internal admin panel and pull credentials or backups.
Open Redirects
Typical POC: Redirecting to evil.com.
Better Impact Demo:
Build a phishing flow with a spoofed login page.
Capture credentials via the redirected destination.
Show OAuth token theft using an open redirect.
CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery)
Typical POC: Static HTML form that submits a change.
Better Impact Demo:
Craft a real-life scenario like resetting a user’s email or phone.
If no CSRF token is required for an API, demonstrate full account changes via curl.
Show this working while the user is logged in, in a real browser.
The Psychology of Pain
When people see a demo that feels dangerous, they’re more likely to remember it and fix it. It’s the difference between:
“Yeah, we’ll patch that next sprint.”
…and…
“Wait, our app can do what?!”
Developers aren’t heartless, they just have limited time. If you want your findings fixed, make them feel urgent.
Final Thoughts: Go Beyond the Checkbox
We’re not saying you need to turn every report into a Hollywood thriller, but a little storytelling, and a little drama goes a long way.
So next time you're tempted to toss in an alert(1) and move on, ask yourself:
What would BeeF do?
TL;DR:
Skip boring POCs and show impact that matters.
Demonstrate how attackers would exploit the bug in the real world.
Developers prioritize what they understand.