Web application penetration testing
Find vulnerabilities in your web application before attackers do
We manually test web applications for exploitable security issues, focusing on real-world impact instead of simply handing you automated scanner output.
Manual testing for modern web applications
We test the parts of your application that matter most: authentication, authorization, data access, business logic, integrations, and high-risk user workflows.
Authentication & session security
Login flows, password reset, MFA, session handling, account takeover paths, and identity-related weaknesses.
Authorization & access control
Horizontal and vertical privilege escalation, broken object-level authorization, tenant isolation, and role bypasses.
Business logic flaws
Workflow abuse, payment or subscription bypasses, insecure state changes, race conditions, and application-specific attack paths.
What you receive
Clear, actionable output your engineering team can use to fix issues quickly and confidently.
- Prioritized findings
- Each issue includes severity, impact, reproduction steps, evidence, and remediation guidance.
- Executive summary
- A concise overview for leadership, customers, auditors, or compliance stakeholders.
- Retest
- After remediation, we verify that the reported issues have been addressed correctly.
- Letter of Attestation
- When needed, we provide a Letter of Attestation for auditors, customers, or compliance processes.
Rails expertise, any tech stack
We specialize in Ruby on Rails application security, but we test web applications built with any stack. The goal is always the same: understand how your application can be attacked and help your team reduce meaningful risk.
What is a web application penetration test?
A web application penetration test is a manual security assessment designed to find vulnerabilities in a web application before attackers can exploit them. Instead of only checking for known issues with automated tools, a penetration test looks at how the application actually works, how users interact with it, and how an attacker might abuse its features, workflows, and business logic.
The goal is not just to create a list of theoretical weaknesses. A good web application penetration test validates whether a vulnerability is exploitable, explains the real-world impact, and gives your engineering team practical guidance for fixing it. This makes the results more useful for both technical teams and business stakeholders.
Why web application penetration testing matters
Modern web applications often handle customer accounts, personal data, payments, documents, admin functionality, integrations, and internal business workflows. A single access control issue, authentication flaw, or business logic bug can lead to account takeover, data exposure, fraud, privilege escalation, or compliance problems.
Penetration testing helps you understand those risks before they are discovered by attackers, customers, auditors, or enterprise prospects. It is especially valuable for SaaS companies, applications that process sensitive data, teams preparing for SOC 2 or ISO 27001, and companies launching major new features.
What does a web application penetration test cover?
The exact scope depends on the application, but testing commonly includes authentication, password reset flows, multi-factor authentication, session management, authorization, role-based access control, tenant isolation, input validation, injection vulnerabilities, file uploads, sensitive data exposure, security headers, and the API endpoints used by the application.
We also spend time on application-specific risks. This includes business logic, workflow abuse, payment or subscription bypasses, unsafe state changes, race conditions, and combinations of smaller issues that could become more serious when chained together.
Manual testing vs automated vulnerability scanning
Automated scanners are useful, but they are not the same as a penetration test. Scanners are good at identifying some common issues and known patterns, but they usually cannot understand your business logic, user roles, authorization model, or the intent behind application workflows.
Manual web application penetration testing fills that gap. A tester can reason about how the application should behave, attempt to bypass controls, test edge cases, and determine whether a vulnerability creates meaningful business risk. This is where many of the most important findings are discovered.
What do you receive after the test?
At the end of the engagement, you receive a report with an executive summary, prioritized technical findings, severity ratings, reproduction steps, evidence, business impact, and remediation recommendations. After your team fixes the issues, we can perform a retest to verify the fixes and provide a Letter of Attestation when needed for customers, auditors, or compliance requirements.
How often should web applications be tested?
Most teams should test their web applications at least annually, and also after major releases, significant architecture changes, authentication or authorization changes, payment flow updates, or before important customer security reviews. Regular testing helps ensure your security posture keeps up with your product as it evolves.
