Application Security
Web Application Penetration Testing
Deep manual assessment of your web applications — beyond automated scans, into real business logic.
What is Application Security?
Web applications are the most common initial attack vector in modern breaches. Our Application Security service goes far beyond running an automated scanner against your application — our operators manually probe business logic, authentication flows, session management, and API integrations to find the vulnerabilities that scanners are fundamentally incapable of discovering.
We test against the OWASP Top 10 as a baseline but our assessments routinely go beyond it: uncovering insecure direct object references, privilege escalation within multi-tenant applications, race conditions in financial transaction processing, and authentication bypasses that only emerge through deep manual exploration.
Every web application assessment includes an authenticated test phase (as a standard user) and optionally a privileged user phase (as an admin or elevated-role user), giving you comprehensive coverage of what a compromised account at each tier can access.
Why it matters
- OWASP estimates 75% of attacks target web applications — the largest single attack surface for most organisations
- Automated DAST tools find fewer than 20% of real application vulnerabilities; manual testing finds the rest
- Business logic flaws — unauthorised discounts, account takeover, data leakage between tenants — cannot be found by any scanner
- A single vulnerable endpoint can expose your entire customer database, not just the system it runs on
- Application breaches carry significant regulatory consequences under GDPR, DPDPA, and PCI-DSS
Our methodology
1. Application Mapping & Threat Modelling
We spider and manually map the entire application surface — all endpoints, authentication states, input fields, file uploads, API calls, and third-party integrations. We produce a threat model identifying the most critical attack scenarios for your specific application.
2. Automated Baseline Scan
Burp Suite Pro active scan establishes a baseline of known vulnerability classes. Results are reviewed manually to eliminate false positives before any further work.
3. Manual Deep-Dive Testing
Our operators manually test every identified attack surface: injection vectors, authentication and session logic, access controls, business logic flows, file handling, cryptographic implementations, and third-party component vulnerabilities.
4. Exploitation & Reporting
Confirmed vulnerabilities are exploited to demonstrate real impact — showing exactly what data a real attacker could access or modify. Findings are mapped to OWASP Top 10 and CWE identifiers for your development team.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need access to our source code?
Source code access is optional. We offer both black-box (no code access) and grey-box (with code access) assessments. Grey-box testing is more comprehensive and efficient — it eliminates guesswork around code paths — but black-box reflects what an external attacker would actually face.
Do you test APIs as part of a web application assessment?
Yes. Modern web applications are API-first, and we fully test all REST, GraphQL, or SOAP APIs that the application exposes. For organisations with dedicated, standalone API platforms, our separate API Security service provides deeper API-specific coverage.
How do you handle our staging vs production environment?
We prefer to test in a staging environment that mirrors production. Where this isn't possible, we agree explicit rules of engagement for production testing — including read-only constraints and testing window restrictions — to protect live data.
Can you test single-page applications (React, Vue, Angular)?
Yes. SPAs present a different attack surface to traditional web apps — more API surface, client-side logic, and localStorage exposure. Our operators are experienced with modern JavaScript frameworks and the testing techniques specific to them.
What OWASP Top 10 items do you cover?
All 10 categories from the current OWASP Top 10 (2021), plus additional OWASP testing guide checks beyond the Top 10. We also cover the OWASP ASVS Level 2 checklist on request.
Deliverables
Executive Summary
Risk posture, critical findings, and recommended prioritisation for leadership
OWASP-Mapped Technical Report
Each finding mapped to OWASP Top 10, CWE, and CVSS v3.1 scores with PoC screenshots
Remediation Guidance
Developer-friendly remediation advice with code-level examples where applicable
Vulnerability Evidence Package
Burp Suite project file, request/response captures, and PoC scripts
Retest Report
Post-fix verification of all critical and high findings
Industries served
Start your engagement
Talk to a certified operator about scoping a Application Security assessment for your environment.
Contact UsView Sample ReportRelated services
Ready to test your Application Security posture?
All engagements are led by certified operators with unlimited retests until every critical finding is resolved.