Application Penetration Testing: Find & Fix Vulnerabilities Before Attackers Do
Our AI-Enabled, CREST-certified ethical hackers simulate real-world attacks to uncover critical security flaws in your web, mobile, and API applications.
Protect your data, achieve compliance, and secure your brand.
Why Your Applications Are at Constant Risk
In today's digital landscape, your applications are the gateway to your most valuable asset: data. Every new feature, API endpoint, and third-party integration introduces potential vulnerabilities. Automated scanners are a good first step, but they can't detect complex business logic flaws or the chained exploits that lead to catastrophic breaches. The financial and reputational damage from a single incident can be devastating. You need to go beyond automated checks and adopt a proactive, attacker's mindset to truly understand and mitigate your security risks. That's where expert-led, AI-augmented penetration testing becomes not just a best practice, but a business necessity.
Why Partner with CIS for Application Security?
AI-Augmented Methodology
We combine the creativity of certified ethical hackers with the speed and scale of AI. Our proprietary tools and AI-driven analysis help us identify vulnerabilities faster and more accurately than traditional methods alone.
Developer-First Remediation
We're a CMMI Level 5 development company first. Our reports don't just list problems; they provide actionable, developer-friendly guidance, including code snippets and architectural recommendations, to fix vulnerabilities at their source.
Certified & Vetted Experts
Our security team holds top industry certifications like OSCP, CEH, and CISSP. Every expert is a full-time, in-house employee, ensuring consistency, accountability, and deep expertise for your project.
Comprehensive Compliance Mastery
We map our testing directly to your compliance needs, whether it's PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2, or GDPR. Our reports provide the clear evidence you need to satisfy auditors and stakeholders.
20+ Years of Enterprise Trust
Since 2003, we've been the trusted technology partner for startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. Our long history is a testament to our commitment to quality, security, and client success.
Beyond the OWASP Top 10
While we provide exhaustive coverage for common vulnerabilities, our real value lies in uncovering complex, business-logic flaws that automated tools and less experienced testers miss.
Integrated Remediation Support
Our engagement doesn't end with a report. We offer dedicated sessions with your development team to explain findings and provide guidance, ensuring vulnerabilities are not just found, but fixed correctly.
Secure, Transparent Process
With SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, our entire delivery process is built on a foundation of security. We provide a secure portal for all communications and deliverables, ensuring complete confidentiality.
Zero-Risk Engagement
We stand by our expertise. We offer a paid 2-week trial and a free-replacement guarantee for our talent, ensuring you get the value and peace of mind you expect from a world-class security partner.
Our Comprehensive Pen-Testing Services
Our AI-enabled services cover every layer of your application stack. We go beyond simple scans to provide a holistic assessment of your security posture, identifying weaknesses from the network layer to your application's business logic.
Web Application Penetration Testing
A deep-dive assessment of your web applications, focusing on the OWASP Top 10 and complex business logic flaws that automated tools miss.
- Identifies vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, XSS, and CSRF.
- Tests for authentication and authorization bypasses.
- Provides actionable reports with risk ratings and remediation steps.
Mobile Application Penetration Testing (iOS & Android)
We analyze your mobile apps for vulnerabilities in data storage, network communication, and platform-specific weaknesses, covering both iOS and Android platforms.
- Static and dynamic analysis of application binaries.
- Assesses insecure data storage and API endpoint vulnerabilities.
- Checks for certificate pinning, jailbreak/root detection bypass, and more.
API Penetration Testing (REST, GraphQL, SOAP)
APIs are a primary target for attackers. We test your APIs for the OWASP API Security Top 10, ensuring your data endpoints are secure from unauthorized access and abuse.
- Tests for Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) and mass assignment.
- Identifies injection flaws and improper assets management.
- Validates rate limiting and resource limiting controls.
Single Page Application (SPA) Security Testing
Modern frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js introduce unique security challenges. We specialize in testing SPAs for issues like client-side template injection and insecure data handling.
- Focuses on client-side security controls and vulnerabilities.
- Analyzes JWT implementation and session management.
- Tests for DOM-based XSS and other client-side injection flaws.
Authenticated Application Testing
We perform in-depth testing from the perspective of different user roles to uncover privilege escalation vulnerabilities and ensure robust access control enforcement.
- Simulates attacks from authenticated, malicious internal or external users.
- Identifies horizontal and vertical privilege escalation flaws.
- Ensures data segregation between tenants in multi-tenant applications.
Cloud Security Penetration Testing (AWS, Azure, GCP)
We assess your cloud environment for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and overly permissive IAM policies that could lead to a compromise.
- Reviews S3 bucket, Azure Blob, and GCP Storage permissions.
- Tests for vulnerabilities in serverless functions (Lambda, Azure Functions).
- Identifies insecure security group configurations and network exposure.
External & Internal Network Penetration Testing
Our experts simulate attacks on your network infrastructure to identify exploitable services, weak configurations, and pathways an attacker could use to move laterally.
- Scans for open ports, vulnerable services, and missing patches.
- Attempts to exploit identified vulnerabilities to gain access.
- Tests internal network segmentation and access controls.
Container & Kubernetes Security Assessment
We test your containerized environments for vulnerabilities in Docker images, insecure cluster configurations, and weaknesses in orchestration platforms like Kubernetes.
- Scans container images for known vulnerabilities (CVEs).
- Assesses Kubernetes RBAC policies and network policies.
- Tests for container escape vulnerabilities and insecure runtime configurations.
Firewall & Security Appliance Rule-Base Review
A misconfigured firewall can render other security controls useless. We review your firewall rulesets to identify gaps, overly permissive rules, and inefficiencies.
- Analyzes firewall and WAF configurations for security best practices.
- Identifies redundant, shadowed, or overly permissive rules.
- Ensures your security appliances are configured to effectively block threats.
Wireless Network Penetration Testing
We assess the security of your corporate and guest wireless networks, attempting to bypass controls, intercept traffic, and gain unauthorized access.
- Tests for weak encryption, rogue access points, and insecure configurations.
- Attempts to crack wireless passwords and bypass network access controls.
- Evaluates guest network segmentation from the corporate network.
Secure Code Review
A line-by-line analysis of your source code to identify security flaws, logic errors, and vulnerabilities that are difficult to find with dynamic testing alone.
- Combines automated SAST tools with expert manual review.
- Identifies insecure coding patterns and hardcoded secrets.
- Provides precise, file-and-line-number specific remediation guidance.
Social Engineering & Phishing Simulation
We test your most critical security asset: your employees. Our controlled phishing and social engineering campaigns assess your team's security awareness and response procedures.
- Crafts targeted phishing campaigns to test employee awareness.
- Simulates vishing (voice phishing) and physical access attempts.
- Provides metrics and training recommendations to improve your human firewall.
Red Team Operations
A goal-oriented, adversarial simulation that tests your organization's overall detection and response capabilities against a persistent, sophisticated attacker.
- Simulates a real-world Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).
- Tests people, processes, and technology in a holistic manner.
- Provides invaluable insights into your security operations center (SOC) effectiveness.
IoT & Embedded Device Testing
We assess the security of your connected devices, from firmware analysis and hardware inspection to testing the supporting cloud infrastructure and mobile applications.
- Performs firmware extraction and reverse engineering.
- Tests for hardware-level vulnerabilities like JTAG and UART access.
- Analyzes communication protocols for weaknesses.
DevSecOps Consulting & CI/CD Pipeline Security
We help you integrate security into every stage of your development lifecycle, from code commit to deployment, enabling you to build and ship secure software faster.
- Integrates SAST, DAST, and SCA tools into your CI/CD pipeline.
- Helps establish secure coding standards and developer training.
- Automates security checks to provide rapid feedback to developers.
Our 5-Step Penetration Testing Methodology
1. Scoping & Intelligence Gathering
We work with you to define clear objectives, rules of engagement, and the scope of the test. Our team then performs passive and active reconnaissance to map your attack surface, just like a real attacker.
2. Threat Modeling & Vulnerability Analysis
Using the gathered intelligence, we model potential threats and use a combination of AI-powered tools and manual techniques to scan for and identify potential vulnerabilities across the defined scope.
3. Exploitation & Post-Exploitation
This is where our expertise shines. We attempt to safely exploit identified vulnerabilities to confirm their impact. We then test for post-exploitation possibilities, such as privilege escalation and lateral movement.
4. Analysis & Reporting
We deliver a comprehensive report detailing all findings, ranked by risk. The report includes an executive summary for leadership and detailed technical write-ups with proof-of-concept and remediation steps for your technical teams.
5. Remediation & Re-testing
Our team provides a debriefing session to discuss findings and answer questions. After your team has implemented fixes, we perform a re-test of the identified vulnerabilities to verify that they have been successfully remediated.
Don't Wait for a Breach to Find Your Weaknesses.
A single vulnerability can cost you millions in fines, lost revenue, and reputational damage. Proactively secure your applications with our expert-led penetration testing services.
Secure Your Application TodayReal-World Impact: Our Success Stories
The Challenge: Unseen Risks Threatening Growth
The client needed to prove their platform's security to attract larger merchants and pass a mandatory SOC 2 audit. Their development team was focused on features, and their automated scanners were not detecting subtle, business-logic vulnerabilities in their complex payment and payout APIs.
Key Challenges:
- Passing a stringent SOC 2 Type 2 audit.
- Securing multi-tenant data to prevent cross-client data exposure.
- Identifying flaws in complex, multi-step transaction APIs.
- Lacking in-house expertise to simulate sophisticated attacks.
Our Solution: AI-Augmented API Assessment
CIS conducted a comprehensive web and API penetration test, focusing on authorization and business logic.
Our Approach:
- Mapped all API endpoints and user roles to identify authorization gaps.
- Used AI-powered fuzzing to test for unexpected inputs in transaction parameters.
- Manually uncovered a critical Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) flaw allowing transaction manipulation.
- Provided developer-centric reports with code examples for remediation in their Node.js environment.
The Challenge: Protecting Sensitive Patient Data (PHI)
The client's platform, including a web portal and mobile apps for doctors, handled highly sensitive Protected Health Information (PHI). They needed to conduct a rigorous penetration test to satisfy HIPAA security rule requirements and assure their hospital clients of their security posture.
Key Challenges:
- Ensuring strict HIPAA compliance across all applications.
- Securing PHI stored on mobile devices and in transit.
- Testing complex user roles (doctor, nurse, admin, patient).
- Validating the security of third-party API integrations.
Our Solution: HIPAA-Focused Mobile & Web Pen-Test
We performed a multi-faceted assessment covering their web platform, internal APIs, and both iOS and Android mobile applications.
Our Approach:
- Conducted static and dynamic analysis on the mobile apps, identifying insecure local data storage of PHI.
- Discovered a series of privilege escalation flaws allowing one doctor to access another's patient records.
- Tested for certificate pinning bypass to intercept and analyze mobile API traffic.
- Provided a detailed report mapping each vulnerability to specific HIPAA Security Rule controls.
The Challenge: Securing Transactions and Achieving PCI DSS Compliance
As a high-volume marketplace, the client had to adhere to the strict Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). They needed an external penetration test to validate their security controls and identify any weaknesses that could expose customer payment data.
Key Challenges:
- Meeting the penetration testing requirements of PCI DSS 11.3.
- Protecting customer PII and payment information.
- Securing a complex application with numerous third-party scripts.
- Preventing fraudulent activities like account takeover.
Our Solution: PCI DSS-Scoped Application Assessment
Our Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) led a penetration test focused on the client's Cardholder Data Environment (CDE).
Our Approach:
- Focused testing on the entire checkout and payment processing workflow.
- Identified a stored XSS vulnerability in the product review section that could be used to steal session cookies.
- Tested for SQL injection in backend administrative interfaces.
- Provided a formal Attestation of Scan Compliance (AOSC) report suitable for their PCI audit.
Technologies & Tools We Master
Our experts are proficient with industry-standard tools including Burp Suite Professional, Metasploit, Nmap, Wireshark, and more.
What Our Clients Say
"The level of detail in the final report was exceptional. CIS didn't just find vulnerabilities; they explained the business impact in a way our board could understand and provided clear, actionable steps our developers could immediately implement. A true security partner."
"We engaged CIS for a mobile application pen-test ahead of a major product launch. Their team was professional, communicative, and their findings were critical. They helped us launch with confidence, knowing our customer data was secure. Highly recommended."
"As a FinTech, compliance is non-negotiable. CIS's penetration test was a key piece of our successful SOC 2 audit. They understood our regulatory landscape and delivered a report that satisfied our auditors and gave us a real security uplift."
"We were impressed by the combination of automated scanning and deep manual testing. The CIS team found a complex business logic flaw in our checkout process that could have led to significant fraud. Their expertise is undeniable."
"The communication throughout the engagement was fantastic. We had a dedicated channel and regular check-ins. The final debrief session was incredibly valuable for our dev team, who could ask questions directly to the ethical hacker who found the issues."
"Unlike other firms that just drop a PDF report and disappear, CIS worked with us on remediation. Their ability to not only find but also help us fix the vulnerabilities is why they are our go-to security partner for all our portfolio companies."
Meet Our Security Leadership
A Certified Expert Ethical Hacker, Vikas leads our enterprise cloud and security operations. His strategic oversight ensures that every penetration test aligns with broader business objectives and robust security frameworks.
Joseph bridges the gap between offensive security and defensive engineering. His deep background in software development allows him to provide remediation advice that is not just secure, but also practical and efficient to implement.
Akeel specializes in the security of next-generation platforms. His expertise in cloud, AI/ML, and even quantum computing ensures our testing methodologies are always ahead of the curve, ready for the threats of tomorrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our AI-augmented approach uses machine learning to accelerate the reconnaissance and vulnerability analysis phases. It allows us to analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and potential weaknesses that a human might miss. This frees up our certified ethical hackers to focus on what they do best: creative, manual exploitation of complex business logic flaws and chained vulnerabilities. It's the perfect blend of machine speed and human ingenuity, resulting in a more thorough and efficient test.
No. Our primary goal is to identify vulnerabilities without impacting your production environment. We conduct testing during low-traffic windows, and all potentially disruptive tests (like Denial of Service) are only performed with your explicit, prior consent on non-production systems. We establish clear rules of engagement before the test begins to ensure a smooth and non-disruptive process.
Automated scanners are excellent for identifying known vulnerabilities and "low-hanging fruit." However, they cannot understand business context, test for logic flaws, or identify complex, multi-step attack chains. For example, a scanner can't tell you if a user can manipulate an API call to view another user's data. That requires a human expert. We use scanners as part of our process, but our core value lies in the manual, expert-led testing that finds the critical risks scanners always miss.
You receive a comprehensive, multi-audience report. It includes a high-level Executive Summary that outlines the overall risk posture and business impact for leadership. It also contains a detailed Technical Findings section for your developers, with step-by-step replication instructions, proof-of-concept screenshots/videos, risk ratings (using a standard like CVSS), and actionable remediation guidance, often including code examples.
The cost depends on the scope and complexity of the application. Factors include the number of user roles, the size of the application (e.g., number of pages or API endpoints), and the type of testing required (web, mobile, API, etc.). We provide a custom quote after a brief scoping call to understand your specific needs. We offer packages suitable for everyone from startups to large enterprises. Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote.
A typical web application or API penetration test takes between one to three weeks, depending on the application's size and complexity. A small mobile app might take one week, while a large, complex enterprise platform could take four weeks or more. We will provide a clear timeline estimate along with your project scope and quote.
Take the First Step to a More Secure Future
Ready to Uncover Your Vulnerabilities?
Let's talk. Schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our security experts. We'll discuss your specific needs, answer your questions, and provide a tailored quote for your application penetration test.
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No-Obligation Quote: Understand your options with zero pressure.
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Expert Consultation: Speak directly with a certified ethical hacker.
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Clear Scoping: We'll help you define the right test for your budget and goals.
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Confidential & Secure: All communications are protected under a strict NDA.
