Web Application Pentest Methodology

What is a Web application Pentest?

A web application penetration test focuses on assessing the security of web applications by simulating real-world attacks. This methodology evaluates both unauthenticated and authenticated scenarios, identifying potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. Our approach follows four key phases

1 | Reconnaissance phase

The goal of this phase is to passively gather as much external information as possible.

We gather publicly available information about the web application without interacting directly with its systems. This includes:

• Subdomain and Directory Discovery
  In Searching for hidden or exposed subdomains and directories that are not linked on the main website.
   
• Passive Information Gathering
  Collecting information from public sources like WHOIS data, DNS records, and search engine results.
   
• Technology Fingerprinting (Passive)
  Identifying the technology stack (e.g., web server, programming language, framework) based on external clues such as HTTP headers, SSL certificates, or public registries.
   

2 | Fingerprinting phase

The goal of this phase is to gather detailed information about the application’s architecture and available services by engaging with the system.

This phase involves actively interacting with the web application to identify the services and technologies running on it. This includes:

• Service Discovery
  Actively probing for open ports and identifying the services running behind them (e.g., web servers, APIs, databases).
   
• Technology and Version Identification
  Actively identifying the web technologies (e.g., content management systems, frameworks, libraries) and their specific versions that are in use.
   
• Endpoint Enumeration
  Mapping all available URLs, APIs, and other endpoints that could be potentially exploited.
  
   

3 | Exploitation phase

Based on the findings from the earlier phases and following the OWASP top 10, we attempt to exploit identified vulnerabilities such as:

• Authentication Bypass
  Using techniques like SQL Injection (SQLi) and URL manipulation to bypass login mechanisms.
   
• Cross Site Scripting (XSS)
  Injecting malicious scripts into web pages to steal cookies or perform unauthorized actions.
   
• SQL Injection (SQLi)
  Executing malicious SQL commands to manipulate or retrieve sensitive data from the database.
   
• Broken Access Control
  Testing role based access controls by attempting to escalate privileges or access restricted resources (e.g., admin only areas).
   
• Insecure Direct Object References (IDORs)
  Manipulating object IDs to access unauthorized data (e.g., by altering URL parameters).
   
• Session Management Vulnerabilities
  Exploiting weaknesses in session tokens or logout mechanisms to hijack sessions.
   

4 | Reporting phase

After completing the penetration test, we compile all findings into a detailed report, following Red Sentry’s standardized template. This includes:

• A summary of the identified vulnerabilities
• The methods used to exploit them
• Recommendations for remediation

This methodology ensures a comprehensive assessment of your web application from a Black Box (Non-Authenticated) and a White Box (Authenticated) approach to identify and address any vulnerabilities before malicious actors can exploit them.

Refer this article for Web Application Pentest Requirement