Service

Web Application
Penetration Testing

> sqlmap -u "https://target.co.uk/search?q=test" --batch --level=5_

You wouldn't open a high street shop and leave the back door unlocked. Your web application is your shop front — except it faces 4 billion potential visitors. We find the unlocked doors before someone else walks through them.

The most expensive line of code is the one nobody tested.

Here's an uncomfortable asymmetry: the average cost of a web application penetration test is a fraction of your annual IT budget. The average cost of a data breach in the UK is £3.4 million. That's not a security decision — it's a maths problem. And the maths is embarrassingly one-sided.

Every form field, every API endpoint, every authentication flow in your web application is a potential entry point. Automated scanners will find the obvious issues — the ones script kiddies find too. What they won't find are the business logic flaws, the chained vulnerabilities, the subtle authorisation bypasses that a skilled attacker will exploit to turn your application into their application.

Our web application penetration testing goes far beyond running a scanner and handing you a PDF. We think like the attackers who target your specific industry, your specific technology stack, and your specific business logic. Because that's exactly what they'll do.

The Rory Sutherland Principle

People don't buy penetration testing because they enjoy spending money. They buy it because the regret of not testing is catastrophically larger than the cost of testing. This is loss aversion working in your favour — the smartest security investment is the one that makes the worst day of your career simply never happen. Think of it as the cheapest insurance policy you'll ever take out, except this one actually prevents the fire.


Every crack in the digital shopfront.

We test your web applications against the OWASP Top 10 as a baseline — then go significantly further. Because attackers don't stop at the top ten, and neither do we.

Injection Attacks
SQL injection, NoSQL injection, LDAP injection, OS command injection, and template injection. We test every input vector — form fields, headers, cookies, URL parameters — for injection vulnerabilities that could give an attacker direct access to your database or operating system.
Authentication & Session Management
Brute force protection, password policies, multi-factor authentication bypasses, session fixation, session hijacking, token predictability, and insecure "remember me" implementations. If there's a way to become someone else, we'll find it.
Authorisation & Access Control
Insecure Direct Object References (IDOR), privilege escalation, horizontal and vertical access control bypasses, forced browsing, and missing function-level access controls. Can a standard user access admin functionality? We'll find out.
Business Logic Flaws
The vulnerabilities no scanner can find. Can a user apply a discount code twice? Can they manipulate a workflow to skip a payment step? Can they access another customer's data by changing an ID? Business logic flaws are unique to your application — and they require human creativity to discover.
File Upload & Processing
Unrestricted file uploads, malicious file execution, path traversal via filenames, image processing vulnerabilities (ImageTragick), and server-side file inclusion. If your application accepts files, it needs to be tested — thoroughly.
XSS, CSRF & SSRF
Cross-Site Scripting (stored, reflected, DOM-based), Cross-Site Request Forgery, and Server-Side Request Forgery. These three attack classes can steal sessions, impersonate users, and pivot into your internal network — all from a single crafted request.

How we break in.

Our testing follows a structured methodology rooted in OWASP and PTES, enhanced by the real-world attack experience of our testers. We don't just run tools — we think like the people who want your data.

Testing Phases
01_RECON # Spidering, endpoint discovery, tech fingerprinting
02_MAPPING # Application flow, role matrix, entry point catalogue
03_AUTOMATED_SCAN # Burp Suite Pro, Nuclei, custom scripts
04_MANUAL_TESTING # OWASP Top 10 + business logic + auth/authz
05_EXPLOITATION # Proof-of-concept development, impact demonstration
06_REPORTING # CVSS-scored findings, remediation guidance, debrief

Testing approaches

We offer three approaches depending on your objectives and the maturity of your application:

Approach What We Know Best For
Black Box Nothing but the URL. We approach your application exactly as an external attacker would — no credentials, no documentation, no insider knowledge. Realistic external threat simulation. Tests your application's resilience against unauthenticated attackers.
Grey Box User credentials for each role, basic documentation, and API specs. The most efficient approach for maximising coverage. The sweet spot. Tests both unauthenticated and authenticated attack surfaces within a fixed timeframe. Our most popular approach.
White Box Full source code access, architecture diagrams, admin credentials, and database schemas. Maximum depth. Ideal for critical applications handling financial data, healthcare records, or sensitive personal information.

A pen test is a snapshot. Threats are a film.

A penetration test tells you where you stand today. But your application changes with every deployment, every dependency update, every new feature. Attackers don't wait for your next annual test — they probe continuously.

For continuous monitoring, see our SOCinaBox managed SOC service — 24/7 threat detection, log analysis, and incident response that keeps watching long after the pen test report is filed.

Defence in Depth

Combine annual web application penetration testing with continuous monitoring from SOCinaBox. The pen test finds the structural weaknesses. The SOC catches the exploitation attempts in real time. Together, they create a security posture that's dramatically harder to breach than either alone.


Explore more.


Your application is live. Is it safe?

Every engagement starts with a free, no-obligation scoping call. We'll assess your application, define the scope, and give you a clear quote — no surprises, no pressure. The only cost you should worry about is the cost of doing nothing.