Web Application Assessment

Web Application Assessment

The Web Application Assessment strives to evaluate the current security posture of the perimeter network by testing the security controls within the application and assessing that your application is protected against most of today’s software dangers. Our team focuses on applications that have an increased likelihood of encountering threats from determined attackers and is essential for applications that handle substantial business-to-business transactions, business-critical operations, sensitive operations, or process other sensitive assets where integrity is a vital aspect of corporate protection.

Coastline’s team will attempt to gain unauthorized access to information and/or services beyond the intent of the application(s) and will work to verify that the application’s security protections are in place and effective. Testing of the application(s) will identify vulnerabilities associated with encryption, authentication, authorization, session management, application logic, web server configuration and numerous other critical areas of concern. Coastline’s pen-testing team analyzes the application from a variety of perspectives and user roles including the following (if applicable):

penetration testing and cyber security consulting services

How We Do It

Coastline’s methodology includes authenticated and non-authenticated testing and follows the OWASP Top 10 Web Security Testing Guide to validate strong security controls within code quality, handling of sensitive data, and interaction with the current environment. The goal of role-based testing is to verify the logic and authorization controls of an application. Though automated scans may be used, most web application penetration testing efforts are conducted manually.

Our Process

We first attempt to break into the application itself and gain access to users’ accounts or the application’s administrator functionality. If unsuccessful in acquiring a valid account, we will ask for a valid temporary username and password—this will allow us to perform an attack from an authenticated user’s perspective. Once gaining access and a better understanding of the application’s network code, Coastline’s consultants will begin to investigate any areas of concern. Coastline’s web application assessment also includes testing the target web application for common problems resulting from input validation problems such as Script Injection, Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection, Buffer Overflow Checks, and format string attacks, as well as other subtle problems such as authentication and authorization defects and session management flaws. Coastline then analyzes if it is possible for a trusted user to elevate privileges and gain access to protected information. 

Please see the list below which highlights just a few of the types of common issues that will be evaluated by Coastline during the web application assessment:  

  • Broken access control mechanisms
  • Broken authentication mechanisms
  • Session management issues
  • Privilege escalation vulnerabilities
  • Role enforcement issues
  • Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF)
  • Input validation/injection Flaws 
  • Improper error handling
  • Insecure storage
  • Information disclosure issues
  • Insecure web server configurations [e.g., Directory Indexing, Cross-Site Tracing (XST), WebDAV, verbose error messages]
  • Application information disclosure
  • File upload/download issues
  • Directory traversal
  • Local and Remote File Includes (LFI and RFI); and
  • Application Logic flaws.
penetration testing and cyber security consulting services

What To Expect

Throughout the web application testing process, Coastline ensures transparency by providing the Client with a clear outline of the steps, processes, and methodologies employed. Our team meticulously documents and reports successful breach attempts, exploitable vulnerabilities, and other relevant data discovered during the assessment.

Upon completion of our web application assessment, we will provide you with a detailed report of the findings as well as best practice recommendations to enhance the security around your web application. The deliverable will provide the Client with valuable information on the current state of the security that exists within the organization, the presence of vulnerabilities, and additional information on the level of risk each vulnerability represents.