In this chapter, we pointed out several key areas necessary for target exploitation. At the beginning, we provided an overview of vulnerability research that highlighted the requirement for a penetration tester to hold the necessary knowledge and skills, which in turn become effective for vulnerability assessment. Then, we presented a list of online repositories from where you can reach a number of publicly-disclosed vulnerabilities and exploit codes. In the final section, we demonstrated the practical use of an advanced exploitation toolkit called the Metasploit framework. The exercises provided are designed purely  to explore and understand the target-acquisition process through tactical exploitation methods. Additionally, we interpreted the insights into exploit development by analyzing each step of the sample exploit code from a framework, to help you understand the basic skeleton and construction strategy.

In the next chapter, we will discuss the process of privilege-escalation and maintaining access using various tools and techniques and how it is beneficial once the target is acquired.