Retest included in every pentest

Retest included: why a pentest without a retest is only half the job

A penetration test finds the weak spots in your systems. That is worth a lot, but it is not the finish line. The point was never a list of problems; it was problems that are actually fixed. Plenty of providers stop at the report and then charge you extra to confirm your fixes worked. So you pay more to answer the one question that mattered all along: is the risk really gone?

Here is what a retest is, why it matters, and why at Sectricity the retest and retest report always sit in the price, never sold on the side.

TL;DR

• A retest verifies that the vulnerabilities from your pentest were actually fixed and no new issues were introduced.
• At Sectricity the retest and retest report are always included in the fixed price, never a paid add-on.
• A pentest without a retest is only half the job: you know what was broken, not whether it is fixed.
• The retest report is formal proof for auditors, insurers and compliance frameworks.
• Because it is already included, there is no cost reason to skip or delay it.

What a retest actually is

A retest is a focused second round of testing, run after your team has fixed the findings from the original pentest. The ethical hackers go back to each reported vulnerability and check one thing: is it actually fixed? They confirm the fix does what it should and that patching it did not quietly open a new weakness somewhere else.

It closes a loop that stays open far too often. The original test tells you what is broken. The retest tells you whether it got repaired. Skip that second step and remediation is an act of faith, not a verified outcome.

Why remediation needs verification

Fixes go wrong more often than teams expect. A patch gets applied but only halfway. A config change fixes the issue in staging and never makes it to production. A well-meant fix closes one hole and opens another. None of that is rare, and none of it shows up unless someone tests again.

So a retest is not a nice-to-have. Find a vulnerability, never confirm the fix, and you are carrying risk you think is gone. The gap between assumed-fixed and verified-fixed is exactly where incidents live. A retest turns the assumption into evidence.

The retest report: proof, not just reassurance

Once the retest confirms your fixes hold, you get a retest report: formal documentation that the vulnerabilities from the original penetration test were retested and resolved. That report is the evidence for everyone who asks the hard questions. Auditors want proof the issues were closed. So do insurers. So do customers running a vendor security review. Compliance frameworks expect it.

A report saying vulnerabilities were found is a starting point. A report saying they were found, fixed and verified is what actually reassures the people leaning on your security. At Sectricity that report costs nothing extra.

Why we include it, and why that matters to you

Some providers price the retest separately, which quietly creates a perverse incentive: the more findings, the more you pay to verify the fixes. We reject that model. At Sectricity, the retest and the retest report are always included in the fixed price of every pentest. It is never a separate paid option or an add-on.

The reasoning is simple. A pentest without a retest is only half the job: you would know what broke without ever confirming it got fixed. Building the retest in means the price you agree covers the outcome you actually wanted, which is verified security rather than a list of problems. And since it is already in there, no budget line ever tempts you to skip the step that proves your fixes held.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a pentest retest?

A retest is a second round of testing, run after you have fixed the vulnerabilities found in the original penetration test. Ethical hackers confirm each fix actually works and that nothing new broke during remediation. It closes the loop between finding a problem and proving it is genuinely resolved.

Is the retest included in a Sectricity pentest?

Yes. At Sectricity the retest and the retest report are always included in the fixed price of every pentest, at no additional charge. It is never offered as a separate paid option or add-on. A pentest without a retest is only half the job, so we treat the retest as part of the work rather than an upsell.

Why is a retest important?

Finding vulnerabilities only helps if the fixes actually hold. Remediation often goes sideways: a patch is incomplete, a fix introduces a fresh weakness, or a change lands in one environment but not another. A retest confirms the risk is genuinely gone rather than assumed gone. Without it, you are trusting the fix worked without ever checking.

What is a retest report?

A retest report is formal documentation confirming that the vulnerabilities from the original pentest have been retested and resolved. It is the evidence auditors, insurers, customers and compliance frameworks look for when they want proof your security issues were not just found but genuinely closed. At Sectricity this report is included at no extra cost.

How long after the pentest should a retest happen?

The retest happens once your team has fixed the findings from the original report, so the timing tracks how fast the fixes go out. There is no fixed deadline, but sooner beats later: the longer a known vulnerability stays open, the longer you are exposed. And since the retest is already included, cost is never a reason to put it off.

Does every type of pentest include a retest?

The retest is a standard part of a Sectricity pentest and sits in the fixed price. A full application rewrite or a heavily changed scope counts as new testing rather than a retest, since there is genuinely new attack surface to assess. But for confirming that the fixes to an existing test actually work, the retest is always included.

Related services and resources

Every Sectricity pentest includes the retest and retest report in the fixed price. To see the full engagement, start with our

penetration testing service. For teams that want continuous testing rather than a one-off,

RedSOC on-demand pentesting keeps validation running all year.