Overview
Every Shannon pentest follows a consistent five-phase workflow designed to mirror how a professional penetration tester approaches security assessment. Each phase builds on the previous phase’s deliverables, creating a progressive analysis pipeline.Phase Diagram
Phase 1: Pre-Reconnaissance
Agent:pre-reconModel Tier: Large (Claude Opus)
Deliverable:
code_analysis_deliverable.md
Purpose
Build a comprehensive technical foundation by analyzing the application’s source code and running external reconnaissance tools.Activities
- Source Code Analysis
- External Reconnaissance
- Output Format
The pre-recon agent performs deep static analysis:
- Technology Stack Detection: Identifies frameworks, libraries, languages, and build tools
- Architecture Mapping: Understands application structure, entry points, and data flow
- Endpoint Discovery: Catalogs all API routes, controllers, and handlers
- Security Control Analysis: Identifies authentication, authorization, and validation mechanisms
- Dependency Analysis: Examines third-party libraries for known vulnerabilities
- Configuration Review: Analyzes environment variables, config files, and security settings
Duration
Typically 10-15 minutes depending on codebase size and complexity.Phase 2: Reconnaissance
Agent:reconPrerequisites:
pre-reconDeliverable:
recon_deliverable.md
Purpose
Perform live application exploration using the pre-recon intelligence as a guide. Map the actual attack surface by interacting with the running application.Activities
Browser Automation
Browser Automation
Using Playwright MCP, the recon agent:
- Navigates the application like a real user
- Tests authentication flows (login, registration, password reset)
- Maps all accessible pages and forms
- Identifies client-side validation logic
- Captures screenshots for documentation
- Records network requests and responses
Endpoint Validation
Endpoint Validation
Validates findings from source code analysis:
- Confirms which API endpoints are actually exposed
- Tests endpoint authentication requirements
- Identifies undocumented endpoints
- Maps parameter requirements
- Tests rate limiting and access controls
Authentication Testing
Authentication Testing
If authentication config is provided:
- Executes login flow (form, SSO, API, basic auth)
- Handles 2FA/TOTP if configured
- Tests session management
- Identifies privilege levels (user, admin, etc.)
- Maps authenticated vs. unauthenticated access
Attack Surface Mapping
Attack Surface Mapping
Creates a comprehensive attack surface map:
- All discovered endpoints with HTTP methods
- Form inputs and their validation
- File upload endpoints
- API parameter structures
- Cookies, headers, and tokens
- Error messages and stack traces
Duration
Typically 15-20 minutes depending on application complexity and authentication requirements.Phase 3: Vulnerability Analysis
Agents: 5 parallel specialized agentsPrerequisites:
reconDeliverables: 5 analysis files + exploitation queues
Purpose
Identify potential vulnerabilities through structured analysis. Each agent specializes in a specific OWASP vulnerability class.Parallel Execution
All 5 vulnerability analysis agents run concurrently in parallel to maximize speed. Each has its own isolated Playwright browser instance to prevent conflicts.
Vulnerability Agents
- Injection (injection-vuln)
- XSS (xss-vuln)
- Auth (auth-vuln)
- Authz (authz-vuln)
- SSRF (ssrf-vuln)
Focus: SQL Injection, Command Injection, NoSQL InjectionAnalysis Method:
- Data flow analysis from user inputs to database queries
- Command execution sink identification
- ORM/query builder usage analysis
- Input sanitization effectiveness
injection_analysis_deliverable.mdExploitation Queue: JSON file with:Concurrency Control
You can limit parallel execution to reduce API usage bursts:Duration
Typically 30-45 minutes total with all 5 agents running in parallel.Phase 4: Exploitation
Agents: 5 conditional parallel agentsPrerequisites: Corresponding vuln analysis agent
Deliverables: 5 exploitation evidence files (if vulnerabilities found)
Purpose
Execute real-world attacks to prove that hypothesized vulnerabilities are actually exploitable. Only findings that can be successfully exploited are reported.Conditional Execution
Exploitation Agents
- Injection Exploitation
- XSS Exploitation
- Auth Exploitation
- Authz Exploitation
- SSRF Exploitation
Agent:
injection-exploitExploitation Techniques:- SQL Injection with UNION queries
- Blind SQL injection (time-based, boolean-based)
- Command injection with shell metacharacters
- NoSQL injection operators
- Database content extraction
- Command execution output
- Error messages revealing database structure
- Screenshots of successful exploits
No Exploit, No Report
If an exploitation agent cannot successfully prove a vulnerability through actual exploitation, that finding is discarded as a false positive. Only proven exploits make it to the final report.
Duration
Typically 30-60 minutes total with all 5 agents running in parallel (only for vulnerability types with findings).Phase 5: Reporting
Agent:reportModel Tier: Small (Claude Haiku)
Prerequisites: All 5 exploit agents
Deliverable:
comprehensive_security_assessment_report.md
Purpose
Consolidate all validated findings into a professional, actionable penetration test report.Report Generation Process
Evidence Assembly
Concatenate all exploitation evidence files into a single document:
injection_exploitation_evidence.mdxss_exploitation_evidence.mdauth_exploitation_evidence.mdauthz_exploitation_evidence.mdssrf_exploitation_evidence.md
Report Generation
The report agent:
- Adds executive summary
- Categorizes findings by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
- Removes hallucinated or unverified content
- Formats for readability
- Adds remediation recommendations
Report Structure
- Complete database compromise
- User credential theft
- Data exfiltration
- Use parameterized queries exclusively
- Implement input validation
- Apply principle of least privilege to database user
Recommendations
- Immediate Actions (Critical/High severity)
- Short-term Improvements (Medium severity)
- Long-term Hardening (Low severity + general improvements)
Methodology
This assessment was conducted using Shannon, an autonomous AI penetration tester…Duration varies based on:
- Application complexity
- Codebase size
- Number of vulnerabilities found
- Concurrency settings (
max_concurrent_pipelines) - Model tier selection
Phase Dependencies
Next Steps
Agent System
Learn how specialized agents are defined and executed
Temporal Orchestration
Understand how workflows handle crashes and resume
Interpreting Reports
Guide to understanding Shannon’s pentest reports
Cost Optimization
Tips for reducing pentest costs and duration
