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[Home](/)[Knowledge Base](/docs)Understanding Pentest StatusesPentestingUnderstanding Pentest Statuses
==============================

What each pentest status means and what actions are available at each stage.

Pentest Lifecycle
-----------------

Every pentest passes through a series of statuses from creation to completion. Understanding these statuses helps you monitor progress and troubleshoot issues.

Status Definitions
------------------

### `pending_runner`

The pentest has been created and is waiting for an eligible self-hosted runner to claim it.

### `assigned`

A runner has claimed the job and is preparing preflight checks.

### `preflight_failed`

The runner could not satisfy preflight requirements such as container runtime availability, BYOK provider credentials, target reachability, or the pinned pentest image digest.

### `queued`

Legacy status from older managed queue flows. New self-hosted pentests normally start at `pending_runner`.

### `pending_verification`

Legacy status from the retired managed verification flow. New self-hosted pentests should not enter this state; cancel and restart the pentest.

### `provisioning`

Legacy managed-container status. Current self-hosted runners perform preflight locally and then move the scan to `running`.

### `running`

The agents are actively testing the target from your runner environment. You will see real-time agent messages and findings streaming to the dashboard. Running pentests have a maximum duration of 3 hours.

### `stale`

The runner job lease expired or the runner stopped heartbeating before the job reached a terminal state.

### `completed`

The pentest finished successfully. All findings have been saved and the final report has been generated.

### `failed`

Something went wrong during the pentest — for example, the target was unreachable or an internal error occurred. Partial results may be available. Check the pentest log for error details.

### `cancelled`

You manually cancelled the pentest before it completed. Partial findings discovered before cancellation are preserved.

Actions by Status
-----------------

- **pending\_runner** — cancel.
- **assigned** — cancel.
- **preflight\_failed** — cancel or retry after runner setup is fixed.
- **queued** — cancel.
- **pending\_verification** — cancel and restart as a self-hosted pentest.
- **provisioning** — cancel.
- **running** — watch live, cancel.
- **stale** — inspect runner health, then retry.
- **completed** — view findings, download report, retest findings.
- **failed** — view partial results, retry pentest.
- **cancelled** — view partial results, retry pentest.

Timeout Behavior
----------------

If a pentest reaches the 3-hour maximum, the runner stops the scan container, preserves partial results, and the scan is marked terminal. You can run a follow-up pentest to continue testing from where the previous one left off.

### Related Articles

[Starting a Pentest

How to initiate a pentest, choose a pentest package, and understand what each package means for depth and runtime.](/docs/starting-a-scan)[Retesting Findings

How to verify that vulnerabilities have been fixed by running targeted retests against specific findings.](/docs/retesting-findings)[Your First Pentest Walkthrough

A detailed, step-by-step guide covering exactly what to expect at every stage of your first APVISO pentest.](/docs/first-scan-walkthrough)

[Back to Knowledge Base](/docs)

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