# CIS Controls v8 18.5 — Perform Periodic Internal Penetration Tests

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/18-5-perform-periodic-internal-penetration-tests
- Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [CIS Critical Security Controls v8](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8) › Control 18 — Penetration Testing
- Last updated: 2026-06-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**CIS Controls v8**·Control `18.5`·medium·Component: **Identify**

## What this control requires

> Perform periodic internal penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. The testing may be clear box or opaque box.
> 
> — CIS Controls v8, Control 18.5

### In plain English

Perform periodic internal penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. In practice, this means you can prove you perform periodic internal penetration tests-level controls on a defined cadence.

## Why it matters

The CIS Controls are an industry-vetted, prioritised defence: skipping a safeguard widens the attack surface that the safeguards above and below it assume is closed. Audit frameworks (FedRAMP, PCI DSS, HIPAA) all cite CIS as evidence of due care.

## What an auditor looks for

A CIS-aligned reviewer wants to see (a) which Implementation Group you are targeting, (b) a documented owner for the safeguard, and (c) a tooling or process artefact (config, scan output, ticket) that proves the safeguard runs on the cadence the control demands.

Within **Identify**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control 18.5) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Code Review Testing

**Pipeline.** Require at least one human reviewer plus passing CI (lint, type, unit, security scan) before merge — protected branches enforce this.

#### Policy Management

**Docs.** Keep each policy in version-controlled Markdown alongside the code that implements it; ship a signed PDF snapshot at each annual review and link the SHA into the SoA.

### Operational checklist

-   **Perform.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** periodic internal penetration tests.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Policy Document.** A signed and version-controlled policy / standard / procedure document.

Signed policy or standard documents the safeguard. Focus: Perform Periodic Internal Penetration Tests.

## Common pitfalls

-   Policies that no engineer has read; the version in Confluence drifts from the version that's actually being enforced.

## How it maps to other frameworks

Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit.

-   [**ISO/IEC 27001:2022 A.8.33** — Test information](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022/a-8-33-test-information)

## Related controls in CIS Controls v8

-   [**Control 18.2** — Perform Periodic External Penetration Tests](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/18-2-perform-periodic-external-penetration-tests)
-   [**Control 18.1** — Establish and Maintain a Penetration Testing Program](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/18-1-establish-and-maintain-a-penetration-testing-program)
-   [**Control 7.5** — Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Internal Enterprise Assets](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/7-5-perform-automated-vulnerability-scans-of-internal-enterprise-assets)
-   [**Control 7.6** — Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Externally-Exposed Enterprise Assets](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/7-6-perform-automated-vulnerability-scans-of-externally-exposed-enterprise-assets)
-   [**Control 2.2** — Ensure Authorized Software is Currently Supported](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/2-2-ensure-authorized-software-is-currently-supported)
-   [**Control 5.5** — Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/5-5-establish-and-maintain-an-inventory-of-service-accounts)

## References

-   [Center for Internet Security — CIS Controls v8](https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/v8)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control 18.5`

Topics: governance riskcode review testingpolicy management

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.