Capability
WEB APPLICATION TESTING
Most web application breaches don’t come from sophisticated exploits. They come from logic flaws, misconfigured APIs, and access controls that looked right until someone tested them properly. Our web application security testing manually checks your apps, APIs, and authentication flows to find what automated scanners miss.
CovertSwarm named in the Gartner® Hype Cycle™ for Security Operations, 2026
The threat
Attackers don’t need a zero-day when your application logic gives them a way in.
Web application security testing is an authorised engagement in which the Swarm manually tests your applications, APIs, and authentication flows for the vulnerabilities automated scanners cannot find. Business logic flaws, chained low-severity issues, and access control gaps that only become visible under adversarial conditions are all in scope.
Automated tools find what is already documented. They do not chain vulnerabilities, probe application logic, or follow the access paths a real attacker would take. The question is not whether your application has been scanned. It is whether it has been tested the way an attacker would test it.
Scanners see the surface.
The tool confirms the endpoint exists. It cannot tell you what an attacker can do with it.
Business logic has no signature.
Every application has logic unique to it. That is exactly where the most damaging vulnerabilities hide.
APIs are the widest door.
REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs expose more of your application than any front end does. Most are never tested properly.
we attack the applications you trust.
Real attackers do not scan and report. They chain low-severity findings, abuse business logic, and follow the access paths your scanner never flagged. The Swarm works the same way.
Web applications
Full-scope application testing across authentication, session management, input validation, and access controls. We follow the logic of your application the way an attacker would, not the logic of a scanner signature.
API security testing
REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs tested for authorisation enforcement, rate limiting, and data exposure. We find the endpoints your application exposes that your scanner never reaches.
Authentication and authorisation
Broken access control is ranked number one in the OWASP Top 10:2025 for good reason. We test every pathway from login flows and session tokens to privilege escalation and the gaps between roles.
Business logic flaws
The vulnerabilities unique to your application are the ones no scanner has a signature for. Price manipulation, workflow bypass, and the logic your developers did not anticipate an attacker abusing are all in scope.
Mobile application backends
The server-side components your mobile applications depend on are tested from the perspective of a compromised or manipulated client. APIs, authentication services, and data endpoints are all in scope.
Third-party integrations
Every integration your application touches extends your attack surface. OAuth flows, webhook configurations, and the trust relationships your application extends to external services are tested for the pathways they create.
We know that real attack surfaces don’t come in neat categories. If yours doesn’t fit above, tell us what you’re working with.
What a WEB APP Finding Looks Like
Example: Web application security assessment, SaaS platform
Critical
Finding
The Swarm identified an insecure direct object reference in a SaaS platform’s document management API. Authenticated users could access any document by incrementing a sequential ID in the request, with no ownership or permission check applied server-side. The exposure was not present in the application’s front end and had not appeared in any previous automated scan.
Impact
All documents on the platform were accessible to any authenticated user regardless of ownership. The platform processed contracts and financial documents on behalf of enterprise clients. No previous review had identified the exposure.
Remediation
Replace sequential document IDs with non-guessable references and enforce server-side ownership validation on every document request. Conduct a full audit of all API endpoints for missing authorisation checks. Do not rely on front-end access controls as a substitute for server-side enforcement.
Board impact
Any authenticated user could access any document on the platform. The control existed in the interface but not in the API behind it.
Technical impact
Insecure direct object reference. Sequential ID enumeration. No server-side ownership validation. Zero detection events triggered.
Want the full picture?
The full range of offensive security the Swarm runs: every discipline, how they connect, and what each one tests.
No form fill required.
HOW WE attack SAFELY.
Your subscription starts with your Attack Strategy. What matters most, and what adversaries would target first.
Web application security testing targets live systems that handle real customer data. The scope, the boundaries, and how findings are handled are agreed before any testing begins.
1
Scoping
Every engagement is explicitly authorised before testing begins. The applications, environments, and techniques in scope are agreed and documented. Testing against out-of-scope systems does not happen.
2
Production-aware testing
Where testing against production environments is agreed, we apply rate-limiting to our own activity. Destructive testing such as deleting or modifying records is never performed without explicit written agreement.
3
Staging and test environments
For sensitive production environments we can test against a staging environment that mirrors your production build. The approach for each application is defined in the scope document before testing begins.
4
Data handling
Any sensitive data encountered during testing is not retained after the engagement closes. Data handling terms are defined in the scope agreement, particularly for applications handling payment card data or personal information.
Constant Cyber Attack™
We become the threat. You get the proof.
You don’t outpace attackers by waiting for your next test. You do it by facing an adversary that thinks, acts and strikes like they do.
CovertSwarm attacks your organisation the way the best attackers do: continuously, and using every tool available to reach their objective.
Digital. Social. Physical.
Your Swarm attacks across digital, physical and social vectors, chaining weaknesses to prove what a real attacker could achieve.
Constant pressure.
Your Swarm keeps attacking as your business evolves, adapting to changing systems, people and risks. Constant pressure, not a one-off test.
One simple subscription.
One subscription is all you need. Combine continuous offensive security, penetration testing, red teaming, bug bounty and more in one simple subscription.
Sharper, battle-tested SOC
Improve detection times
Fewer false positives
Prove ROI of security tooling
Stories from the Swarm
These stories are real, but the names are deeply redacted. We’ll tell you how we uncovered the threats no one else could see, and why constant cyber attack is the best way to outpace cyber threats.
Become a story well told. Contact us to discuss how Constant Cyber Attack will help you outpace cyber threats.
Frequently asked questions
Automated scanners are fast and consistent, and we use them as a starting point. They find what is already documented. They do not chain vulnerabilities together, probe business logic, abuse authentication flows, or understand the context of your specific application. Real attackers do. That is the gap between a scan and a proper web application security test.
Yes, when properly scoped. Every engagement defines what is in scope, what is out of scope, and what techniques are permitted before testing begins. We apply rate-limiting to our own activity and do not perform destructive testing without explicit prior agreement. For sensitive production environments, we can test against a staging environment that mirrors your production build.
We deliver against OWASP Top 10:2025, OWASP API Security Top 10, the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide (WSTG), and the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES). For compliance engagements, testing is additionally aligned to PCI DSS 4.0.1 requirements. All engagements are delivered by CREST-accredited practitioners.
In a point-in-time engagement, your web application is tested once within a defined window. Every release, every integration change, and every new API endpoint that ships after that window is untested. Within Constant Cyber Attack, the web application layer is tested continuously against your real application as it evolves, with findings delivered on a rolling basis rather than in a single report.
Yes. REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs are tested as a distinct scope within a web application engagement or as a standalone API security assessment. API testing covers authorisation enforcement, rate limiting, data exposure, and the OWASP API Security Top 10 vulnerability classes, including Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA), which accounts for the majority of critical findings in API assessments.
Findings are delivered in real time via the CovertSwarm Portal as they are discovered. The final deliverable includes an executive summary, a technical finding per vulnerability with CVSS score, proof-of-concept where applicable, reproduction steps, and specific remediation guidance. Access to the Swarm team for fix validation and retesting is included throughout the engagement.
Looking for something specific?
Talk to us. We’d love to hear from you.
Stop testing.
Start knowing.
You’ll know exactly where you stand, and you’ll be able to prove it. To your board, your regulator, and yourself.
Transform to a proactive, continuous offensive security programme
Your budget is aimed at the risk that matters, not the one you were handed
You show the board what security prevented, not a request for more
Security clears the way for the business to move faster
You enter the boardroom in command
It starts with a 30-minute Attack Discovery call.
No access to your systems required.