WEBSITE PENTEST
Identify vulnerabilities in your websites and web applications with CREST website penetration testing.
Trusted by leading organisations
What is web application penetration testing?
EXPOSING WEAKNESSES,
FORTIFYING DEFENCES
Web application penetration testing simulates an attack on a website or web application. By trying to exploit vulnerabilities in the application, pentesters can discover any weaknesses real-world attackers could exploit.
As more businesses move their applications and data online, web application penetration tests are becoming increasingly essential.
What are the benefits of website penetration testing?
Proactive security,
measurable peace of mind
A well-executed website pentest can help your organisation identify and fix security weaknesses before cyber attackers can gain unauthorised access to sensitive information or functionality.
Identifying the weaknesses that malicious individuals can exploit is the first step in determining how exposed your web applications are to attack.
We’ve tailored our CREST-approved web pentesting service to give you greater visibility of such flaws. Our experienced team includes technical consultants holding the CREST Certified Web Application Tester (CCT App) qualification. We conduct simulated attacks against your internal or external web applications, using their deep understanding of the tactics, techniques and procedures employed by malicious actors.
We can also conduct automated and manual penetration tests to assess API source code and backend application logic to find vulnerabilities contained within web applications.
This approach allows us to assess the security controls in place through the lens of a malicious actor and pinpoint the attack vectors they could use to compromise an application.
Types of website penetration test
Tailored approaches for
unmatched protection
There are two main types of website pentests, authenticated and unauthenticated, which cover assessing websites and supporting APIs.
Authenticated
Authenticated website penetration tests are conducted from the perspective of an authenticated user. They allow a more in-depth assessment of the web application. They help simulate attacks where an adversary has compromised user credentials. They can be further customised to use accounts with varying levels of permissions (roles). This can help us target and find broken access controls, and thoroughly assess functionality available to different user types.
Unauthenticated
Unauthenticated website penetration tests are performed without user credentials or where applications or APIs do not implement authentication mechanisms. These tests simulate real-world attacks from a cyber adversary targeting your web app. Because the authenticated functionality of the application is not usually tested with this approach, it is often considered less comprehensive.
Why your organisation needs a
website penetration test
Stay one step ahead
of cyber threats
In the digital age, web applications and their supporting infrastructure are critical to most businesses. They are crucial marketing tools which supply customers with information on the organisation’s services. They also provide valuable tools to internal teams and customers that help enhance collaboration, communication and productivity.
To fulfil this business-critical role, web applications store substantial amounts of sensitive data, including personally identifiable information about customers and commercially sensitive intellectual property or trading information. These make web applications a prime target for malicious actors.
A data breach – no matter how small – has the potential to cause significant financial, reputational and operational damage.
Common web application vulnerabilities
KNOW THE THREATS,
SECURE THE FUTURE
Website pentesting can find and fix common web application vulnerabilities before cyber criminals exploit them. This helps protect your organisation from data breaches, malicious attacks and other cyber security threats.
Our expert website pentesting team will identify and attempt to exploit common vulnerabilities, including those listed in the OWASP Top 10 of application security risks and those we regularly encounter during website penetration tests. These include:
Vulnerable and outdated components
Websites often employ a wealth of functionality provided through third-party libraries and dependencies. However, outdated components are more likely to have known security vulnerabilities. We can help ensure they’re up-to-date and secure.
Broken access controls
Broken access controls allow attackers to bypass an application’s authorisation processes and perform tasks as though they were privileged users. We can evaluate your API or website’s access controls to ensure that users can perform only the actions they’re authorised for.
Software and data integrity failures
Software and data integrity failures can make web applications vulnerable to system compromise, malicious code or unauthorised data disclosure without adequate validation. We can assess and mitigate application security weaknesses that cause inadequate integrity verification.
Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF)
SSRF attacks involve tricking a server into making a false request to another server and using the response to gain information – or take control of – the first server. While they are difficult to detect, we can monitor your network traffic to reveal and prevent suspicious activity.
Security logging and monitoring failures
Insufficient monitoring and logging of security incidents and suspicious user behaviour makes it difficult to detect attackers who have successfully exploited your web applications. We can help protect your applications against security logging and monitoring failures.
Identification and authentication failures
These failures occur when organisations haven’t properly implemented or configured their identification and authentication systems. We can find vulnerabilities and protect against attacks that try to exploit these authentication weaknesses.
Injection
Cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL or command injection are dangerous vulnerabilities that can lead to severe consequences, such as bypassing access controls, extracting confidential data or executing commands.
Security misconfiguration
Misconfigured web applications or security controls are common in IT environments. They create unnecessary vulnerabilities and weaknesses. We can assess and find misconfigurations to ensure your network, systems and patches are set up correctly.
Cryptographic failures
Weak configuration of TLS/SSL on a website’s or API’s supporting infrastructure can lead to encrypted data becoming compromised if not adequately secured. We can find and address any cryptographic failures or encryption weaknesses.
Insecure design
Insecure design relates to the lack of security controls integrated into the application during its development cycle. We can evaluate and test potential coding weaknesses to ensure your code is robustly designed, to prevent known attack methods.
Our other penetration testing services
CREST-approved
penetration testing services
As well as website penetration testing, our team provides the following penetration testing services:
Website penetration testing
Assesses your web applications and APIs for security vulnerabilities that may be exploited to compromise your applications. We use comprehensive OWASP testing methodologies and leading tools to provide assurance that your applications are secure.
Mobile application penetration testing
Mobile application pentesting provides an in-depth review of your applications’ security to ensure data is protected. Our team has deep experience in assessing iOS, Android and Windows platforms, and many mobile development frameworks such as React Native, Flutter and Xamarin.
Cloud penetration testing
Cloud penetration testing attempts to find misconfigurations that may expose your cloud systems and data to attack. It’s performed against environments hosted by a cloud service provider, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure.
Vulnerability assessment
Our vulnerability assessment service evaluates your systems to identify, categorise and prioritise security weaknesses across your organisation. By analysing your infrastructure at scale, we ensure vulnerabilities are identified and addressed before they can be exploited.
IoT penetration testing
Internet of Things (IoT) penetration testing uncovers vulnerabilities in IoT devices, networks, and ecosystems, protecting against cyber threats. Simulating real-word attacks, we assess firmware, protocols, and configurations. This ensure secure, resilient IoT implementations.
All penetration testing services
Our penetration testing services are ideal for businesses who have commercial or regulatory requirements to complete testing, as well as businesses who prioritise cyber security and need independant technical assurance.
Frequently asked questions
What steps are involved in a website penetration test?
Our CREST-certified website pentesters will assess the target web application or API, following the methodology defined within the OWASP web security testing guide, which covers all aspects of application security. Through this, they can find and exploit vulnerabilities within the target application that could be used during an attack.
Which website pentest is better, authenticated or unauthenticated?
Authentication protects application functionality and sensitive information. Authenticated web penetration testing provides greater assurance as we can evaluate your applications’ full functionality. We can also find additional issues, such as broken access controls and authentication vulnerabilities.
How long does a website penetration test take?
This depends on the agreed scope of the pentest. Factors include the application size under review, the number of forms or web pages, and whether we perform any pentesting from an authenticated perspective.
Will a website penetration test disrupt our users?
Our skilled pentesters follow strict guidelines and legal and technical standards to ensure minimal disruption to your business while performing a website penetration test. If you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us; we’ll be happy to discuss them with you. If the web application or API under review is business critical and you have concerns regarding disruption, it may be possible to assess a development or staging environment.
Is Sentrium a CREST-approved provider?
Yes! Sentrium is a CREST-approved penetration testing provider. We’re proud to provide services that achieve CREST’s extremely high standard of quality and professionalism, which is recognised internationally.
What happens after the website penetration test?
The pentester(s) assigned to the project will compile a detailed report containing the identified vulnerabilities, what risk(s) they pose and recommendations on how to remediate them. Once we’ve delivered the report, our team will be available for a conference call to discuss the report in detail and answer any questions you may have.
What is a website penetration test?
Website penetration testing is designed to test your web applications’ configuration and supporting components to identify cyber security vulnerabilities that may allow unauthorised access to sensitive information. Our security experts use the latest techniques and tools to simulate attacks performed by malicious actors to find vulnerabilities.
Who conducts a website penetration test?
Our highly skilled CREST-registered penetration testers perform website penetration testing to simulate attacks using the same tools and techniques used by malicious adversaries.
Why do I need an API penetration test?
Typically, an API supports a web application and may be hosted separately. APIs can provide multiple endpoints that handle user requests, such as changing passwords or inserting data records. They are a critical part of web applications, and their security controls should be treated as such.
How much does a website penetration test cost?
This depends on the size of scope and how many days it will take to complete the penetration testing.
Contact us for a quote where we can help you with any requirements or questions you may have about your web application or API.
What is CREST?
CREST is an international not-for-profit accreditation and certification body representing and supporting the technical information security market. Companies can choose to become a CREST member and apply for CREST-accredited services. The application requires a rigorous assessment of companies’ processes, data security and service methodologies to ensure they’re executed to best practice standards.
Why should I use a CREST-approved pentesting company?
Working with a CREST-approved penetration testing provider ensures you’re in safe and experienced hands. You should have the confidence that your penetration test is thorough and comprehensive. Your provider must conduct a technically accurate test that covers the required scope of your IT controls to ensure your primary security concerns are assessed.