Web Application Penetration Testing

Use automated tools and manual assessments to identify vulnerabilities like injection flaws, cross-site scripting, and authentication weaknesses.

Evaluate each vulnerability based on its potential impact and the likelihood of it being exploited, prioritising the most critical risks.

Provide detailed guidance on fixing identified vulnerabilities, enhancing security measures, and implementing best practices.

After remediation, conduct re-testing to ensure vulnerabilities have been adequately addressed and security measures are effective.

After completing the security testing, you will receive a detailed report outlining all identified vulnerabilities. The report will categorise each issue by severity and provide actionable recommendations for remediation. It serves as a critical tool for improving your security posture and ensuring that your website or application is resilient against potential threats.

Web applications are one of the most frequently targeted attack surfaces – they are internet-facing, handle sensitive user data, and often contain custom code that automated tools cannot fully assess. A web app pen test provides independent, evidence-based assurance that your applications are secure, helps you meet compliance requirements, and protects your users and your reputation.

At a minimum, web application penetration testing should be performed annually and after any significant change to your application – such as new features, authentication changes, API additions, or infrastructure migrations. Organisations in regulated industries such as financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce should consider more frequent testing. PCI DSS v4.0 requires penetration testing after any significant system change.

CyberLab’s consultants use a combination of industry-leading tools – including Burp Suite Pro for manual web app testing – alongside custom scripts and techniques developed in-house. Automated scanners are used as a starting point, but the majority of the assessment is manual, carried out by developer-trained consultants who understand application architecture, not just attack patterns.

Web application penetration testing should be conducted by CREST-accredited consultants with specific application security expertise. CyberLab’s team includes developer-trained testers certified to CREST CCT level, with experience across a wide range of application types, technology stacks, and regulated sectors including financial services, healthcare, and public sector.

OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) publishes the OWASP Top 10 – the globally recognised standard for the most critical web application security risks, including injection attacks, broken authentication, and security misconfigurations. CyberLab’s web application penetration testing is aligned with the OWASP Top 10, OWASP API Top 10, and OWASP MASVS for mobile applications, ensuring your testing covers the vulnerabilities most likely to be exploited by real attackers.

A vulnerability scan uses automated tools to identify known weaknesses based on a database of existing CVEs – it is fast, broad, and useful for ongoing monitoring. A web application pen test is a manual, expert-led assessment that goes further by actively exploiting vulnerabilities, chaining weaknesses together, and testing application-specific logic that automated tools cannot assess. A vulnerability scan tells you what is exposed; a pen test tells you what an attacker could actually do with it.

Timescales depend on the complexity and scope of the application. A straightforward web application with limited functionality typically takes three to five days. Larger applications with multiple user roles, complex business logic, extensive API coverage, or mobile app components may require ten days or more. CyberLab also offers next-day testing for urgent compliance deadlines or audit requirements – speak with our team to scope your engagement.

CyberLab’s web application penetration testing covers the full range of digital application types: public-facing websites, authenticated web applications, REST and SOAP APIs, GraphQL endpoints, and iOS and Android mobile applications. Each is assessed using the relevant OWASP methodology – OWASP Top 10 for web apps, OWASP API Top 10 for APIs, and OWASP MASVS for mobile. If you have multiple application types, we can scope a combined engagement covering all of them.