What is Web Application Penetration Testing?
Why Conduct a Web App Pentest?
Conducting a penetration test of your web application provides invaluable insights into the potential threats that may compromise the cybersecurity of your app and its end users. Here is what you will get after conducting a project with our team:
Validate your existing security controls
Our tests will test the effectiveness of your app’s existing security controls in preventing and detecting attacks. By simulating an attacker, our experts will identify gaps in your defenses and provide remediation measures to improve your ability to prevent attacks.
Understand the potential impact of an attack on your Web App
Our tests will identify and measure vulnerabilities that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive data, administrative features, or damage your reputation. By understanding exactly what could happen during an attack, organizations can prioritize their security efforts and allocate resources effectively.
Identify & fix of all existing vulnerabilities
Our team will help you identify all existing vulnerabilities in your web application and its underlying hosting infrastructure, whether it’s cloud-based or in-house. The test will result in prioritized remediation steps to help reduce your overall risk exposure.
Improve your Web application's security
Our services will provide detailed information on how an attacker can breach your Web App, what data or critical systems they could target and how to protect them. With this information, our team will provide you with tailored recommendations to improve your application’s security posture and protect it against potential threats.
Comply with regulatory requirements
Many regulatory frameworks require web application penetration testing as part of their compliance requirements. Our tests will help your organization meet these requirements effortlessly, by providing an official attestation that your risks have been successfully mitigated following remediation testing.
Enhance your development practices
Gain a deeper understanding of development processes that might inadvertently introduce security risks, allowing you to develop more secure applications and features in the future.
Our Web Application Penetration Testing Services
Website
Penetration Testing
Test your website's security.
Web Application
Penetration Testing
Test your cloud-hosted applications.
SaaS
Penetration Testing
Test your software-as-a-service.
"Pentest for Startups" Program
Manual vs. Automated Web Application Penetration Testing
While it can be a great starting point for organizations unable to conduct frequent manual testing, application security risks cannot be sufficiently mitigated by relying on automated testing solutions alone.
Here are examples of high/critical vulnerabilities that can only be identified through manual testing:
Business logic flaws
These vulnerabilities occur when an attacker manipulates the application’s logic to achieve unintended results. Due to the application-specific nature of these flaws, automated tools often struggle to detect them, making manual testing crucial for identifying and mitigating these risks.
Privilege escalation
This vulnerability enables attackers to elevate their access level from a lower privilege to a higher one, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data or functionality. Automated tools might not be effective in identifying customized implementations, making manual testing a necessary component.
Access control bypass
This vulnerability occurs when an attacker gains unauthorized access to restricted resources by bypassing access control mechanisms. As automated tools may not catch all instances of access control bypass, manual testing is vital to uncover these risks.
Authorization bypass
A vulnerability that allows an attacker to circumvent the authorization process to access restricted resources without proper permissions. Automated tools might not be able to detect complex bypass scenarios, which is why manual testing is essential.
Non-authenticated access
A vulnerability that allows unauthorized users to access protected resources without providing valid authentication credentials. Automated tools may have difficulty detecting specific scenarios in which authentication is bypassed, highlighting the need for manual testing.
Session management flaws
Vulnerabilities related to the improper handling of user sessions, making it possible for attackers to hijack or manipulate user sessions. Automated tools may not be able to identify every possible session management issue, requiring manual testing to ensure comprehensive security.
Learn More About Automated vs Manual Web Application Security Testing
OWASP Best practices
- Injection flaws
- Security misconfiguration
- Insecure Direct Object Reference
- Cross-site request forgery
- Authentification and session management
- Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
- Missing function level access control
- Sensitive data exposure
- Unvalidated redirects and forwards
- Components with vulnerabilities
When Should You Perform a
Web Application Penetration Test?
- After significant changes to the application or infrastructure
- When adding new, sensitive features or functionality
- Following a security incident or breach
- As part of a regulatory or compliance audit
- Prior to an M&A transaction or other major business event
- In response to new vulnerabilities identified in technologies used
Our Web Application Penetration Testing Process
If your organization has not gone through a penetration test before, you may not know what to expect. Even if you have, maybe you are wondering what Vumetric’ stages of penetration testing are. Here is a high-level break down of each step of our proven process:
Project Scoping
Duration: ~ 1-2 days
Activities: We learn about your specific needs and objectives.
Outcome: Business proposal, signed contract.
Kick-off / Planning
Duration: ~ 1 hour
Activities: We review the scope of work, discuss requirements and planning.
Outcome: Scope validation, test planning.
Penetration Testing
Duration: ~ 2-3 weeks
Activities: We execute the test in accordance with the project scope.
Outcome: Detailed penetration test report, presentation.
Remediation Testing
Duration: Up to 1 month
Activities: We test and validate vulnerability fixes.
Outcome: Remediation report, attestation.
Need to Conduct a Penetration Test of Your Web Application?
Frequently Asked Questions
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TECHNOLOGIES
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