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Invadel

Application

Application Penetration
Testing Services

Web app from $5,200, API from $4,000, mobile from $6,000, fixed scope, free retest included. See all pricing →

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Three fields. A senior tester reads it and replies within one business day.

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OSCP & OSCE3 certified testers150+ years combined experienceOnboarding within 24 hoursFree retest includedOur methodology

When you need it

When you need an application penetration test

The situations that bring teams to this engagement, and where it fits alongside the rest of your program.

  • An enterprise customer, a SOC 2 auditor, or an investor asks for a recent third-party test of the product before they sign.
  • A release added payments, file uploads, a new integration, or an AI feature, and the scanner in the pipeline only checks known signatures.
  • Your application is multi-tenant and nobody has tried, with two real accounts, to read another tenant’s data.
  • The mobile app ships to the public and stores tokens, keys, or personal data on the device.
  • You need one engagement that covers the web app, the API behind it, and the mobile client without three separate quotes.

Choose the scope, not the label

Which application test do you need?

Application penetration testing is a family of engagements. Each has its own published price and its own page. Most products need two of them, and we scope them together so the API is tested once, not twice.

Covers

Web application
The browser-facing product, every role, and the endpoints it calls
API
REST, GraphQL, or SOAP services, including partner and mobile back ends
Mobile application
iOS and Android apps, on-device storage, and the API they use
Secure code review
The source itself, traced from input to sink with AI-assisted triage and manual verification

Starts at

API
$4,000

Choose it when

Web application
The product is used through a browser, or a customer or auditor asked for “the app” to be tested
API
The API is a product in its own right, or the web and mobile clients share one back end
Mobile application
The app is in the public stores or handles payments, health, or identity data on the device
Secure code review
You want the flaws a black-box test cannot reach, or a high-risk feature reviewed before release

What we look for

Application vulnerabilities we hunt for

Application flaws live in the way the product was built, not in a version number. We test with real accounts in every role, read the API the way its own front end does, and push on the workflows that move money and data.

Authorization across roles & tenants

The most common serious finding in modern applications: one user reaching another user’s, or another tenant’s, records and actions.

We test for

  • Insecure direct object references on every identifier
  • Horizontal and vertical privilege escalation between roles
  • Tenant isolation with two real tenants side by side
  • Function-level access to admin and support features
  • Object- and field-level authorization in GraphQL and REST

Authentication & sessions

Login, password reset, multi-factor, and token handling, where a single weak step turns into account takeover.

We test for

  • Password reset and account recovery abuse
  • MFA enrollment, bypass, and fatigue paths
  • JWT, OAuth, and SSO implementation flaws
  • Session fixation, expiry, and token exposure
  • Rate limiting on every authentication endpoint

Injection & server-side flaws

Untrusted input reaching a database, a template engine, a shell, or another server on your behalf.

We test for

  • SQL, NoSQL, and GraphQL injection
  • Server-side request forgery to cloud metadata and internal services
  • Server-side template injection and command injection
  • XML external entities and insecure deserialization
  • File upload handling and path traversal

Business logic abuse

Flaws no scanner has a signature for: the checkout that accepts a negative quantity, the approval that can be replayed, the limit that resets under a race condition.

We test for

  • Workflow sequence and state manipulation
  • Race conditions on payments, coupons, and limits
  • Price, quantity, and currency tampering
  • Abuse of trust in client-side calculations
  • Feature interactions the designers never combined

Data exposure in APIs & storage

Responses that return more than the screen shows, and storage that keeps more than it should.

We test for

  • Excessive data exposure and mass assignment in API responses
  • Sensitive data in logs, exports, and error messages
  • Insecure storage of tokens and personal data on mobile devices
  • Backup, debug, and undocumented endpoints
  • Third-party integrations leaking data through webhooks

Client-side & mobile platform issues

What runs on the user’s browser or phone: scripts, storage, certificate handling, and the platform protections a determined user can strip away.

We test for

  • Cross-site scripting and DOM-based injection
  • Content security and clickjacking protections
  • Certificate pinning, root and jailbreak detection, and their bypasses
  • Reverse engineering of mobile binaries for secrets
  • Deep links, intents, and inter-app communication

Method

How we test applications

Standards as the checklist, not the ceiling

Web testing follows the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide and reports against ASVS. APIs are tested against the OWASP API Security Top 10. Mobile apps follow MASVS and MASTG. The standards guarantee coverage; the senior tester’s judgment finds what the standards do not list.

Real accounts in every role

We test authenticated, with credentials for each role and, in multi-tenant products, with at least two tenants. Most serious findings are authorization flaws, and they only appear when a real second user tries to reach the first user’s data.

Verified, then written for engineers

Every finding is proven by hand before it enters the report, with the request, the response, and the steps to reproduce it. No scanner output, no theoretical ratings, and no false positives to argue about.

DAST, SAST, and the gap between them

What automated application security testing misses

Dynamic scanners (DAST) send known payloads and read responses. Static analysis (SAST) matches code patterns. Both are worth having in a pipeline, and neither understands that a coupon can be applied twice, that a support tool exposes every customer’s file, or that a password reset link can be predicted. Those are the findings a manual application penetration test exists to produce.

For teams that already run DAST or SAST, we read the tooling output during scoping so the manual budget goes to the logic, authorization, and integration flaws the tools cannot see. The comparison in automated vs manual penetration testing shows what each layer catches.

Methodology

How we test

Full methodology →

Every engagement follows the Penetration Testing Execution Standard and the relevant OWASP guides.

These are the phases your application penetration testing runs through.

  1. 01

    Scope & threat model

    Roles, tenants, data flows, and the abuse cases that matter most to your business.

  2. 02

    Recon & mapping

    Every endpoint, parameter, and integration enumerated before a single payload is sent.

  3. 03

    Manual exploitation

    OWASP-guided manual testing with targeted tooling, chaining findings into real attack paths.

  4. 04

    Impact validation

    Each finding proven exploitable and rated by what an attacker could actually reach.

  5. 05

    Report & retest

    Executive and technical reports, then a free retest once your fixes ship.

How it works

How your engagement runs

From scope through the final retest, your team stays in the loop at every step, with findings tracked live in our platform.

  1. 01

    Scope & kickoff

    Targets, roles, and rules of engagement defined in writing, with a fixed scope and timeline.

  2. 02

    Testing goes live

    Findings post to your live platform dashboard the moment our testers confirm them.

  3. 03

    Track remediation

    Follow every finding from open to fixed, with severity, evidence, and status in one place.

  4. 04

    Report & retest

    Executive and technical reports land, then request a free retest in one click.

Compliance

Compliance frameworks this test satisfies

Findings are mapped to the requirement or control they evidence, so the same report serves your auditor, your customers, and your engineers.

SOC 2The application test auditors and enterprise customers expect as evidence for the Security criteria.PCI DSSRequirement 6 and 11.4 coverage for applications that handle cardholder data.HIPAATechnical evaluation of the applications that store, process, or transmit ePHI.ISO 27001Evidence of secure development and technical vulnerability management controls.

Proof

Proof in the field

Every engagement is confidential, so the work below is anonymized to sector and engagement type. The findings and outcomes are real.

All case studies →

Free

Retest on every penetration test

150+

Years combined experience

13

Senior in-house specialists

24h

Onboarding after signing

HR & Payroll SaaS

Web Application Penetration Test

High risk

Critical: a file-inclusion flaw that let an attacker read sensitive files from the server through the application itself. High: stored cross-site scripting capable of session theft, insecure direct object references, and an authorization bypass that let an administrator create or delete organization owners.

Outcome. Delivered a remediation plan sequenced by real business impact, critical and high findings first, with a complimentary retest to verify every fix.

28

Findings

1

Critical

5

High

Read the case study

Fintech · Payments

Web Application Penetration Test

High risk

Critical: a remote code execution flaw in the application’s web framework that could have given an attacker full control of the server. We escalated it to the development team while the test was still running.

Outcome. The critical RCE was reported and remediated during the engagement via an emergency framework upgrade, which also closed the server-side request forgery, and the remaining findings were retested to confirmation.

1

Critical (RCE)

Mid-test

Critical remediated

2

High

Read the case study
DTCCCity National BankBrewDogLuluEmeriaIP Telecom
Request a reference 

Resources

Field notes from the offensive side

All articles →

Web Application Security Testing: The Complete Guide

The types of web application security testing (SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, and manual penetration testing), what each catches, and how to combine them effectively.

API Penetration Testing: A Complete Guide

What API penetration testing covers, which vulnerabilities matter most, and how to scope a test for REST, GraphQL, and internal APIs before attackers strike.

The OWASP Mobile Top 10, Explained

A plain-English guide to the OWASP Mobile Top 10: the most critical mobile app security risks for iOS and Android, and how to test your app against them.

Want to see a real report first?

Request a redacted sample report before you scope an engagement, or read what a penetration testing report should contain.

Request sample report

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What teams most often ask before scoping application penetration testing services.

Still have questions? 
01What is application penetration testing?

A manual security test of the software your customers and employees use: web applications, the APIs behind them, and mobile apps. Senior testers use real accounts in every role, follow the OWASP testing guides for coverage, and go beyond them to find authorization, business-logic, and data-exposure flaws. Every finding is proven with evidence and reported with steps to reproduce and fix it.

02How is application penetration testing different from web application penetration testing?

Web application testing is one member of the family. Application penetration testing is the umbrella that also covers API, mobile, and source code review. If your product is a browser-based app, the web application test is what you need. If it also ships a mobile client or exposes an API to partners, we scope those alongside it and test the shared back end once.

03How much does an application penetration test cost?

Web application testing starts at $5,200, API testing at $4,000, mobile application testing at $6,000 for iOS and Android together, and secure code review at $4,800. Each price is fixed in writing before work starts and includes a free retest. Products with more roles, tenants, and integrations move up published tiers.

04Is application penetration testing the same as DAST?

No. DAST is an automated scanner that sends known attack payloads and reads the responses. It is useful in a pipeline and it misses everything that requires understanding the application: authorization between users, business logic, and multi-step workflows. A penetration test is performed by a person, covers those classes, and produces verified findings rather than a list to triage.

05Do you test in production or staging?

Either, and we recommend a staging environment that mirrors production with test data. Where production is the only option we agree written rules of engagement covering test accounts, data handling, rate limits, and the flows to avoid, and we never run techniques that risk availability.

06Do you need our source code?

Not for a penetration test, which is performed against the running application. Providing code or architecture documentation makes the test more thorough, since testers spend less time discovering and more time exploiting. If you want the code itself reviewed, secure code review is a separate engagement that pairs well with the test.

07Will the report work for SOC 2, PCI DSS, or a customer security review?

Yes. Reports include an executive summary, a scope statement, findings mapped to OWASP categories and to the framework you name, remediation guidance, and retest results. An attestation letter summarizes the engagement for customers and auditors without disclosing the findings themselves.

08How long does an application penetration test take?

Onboarding begins within 24 hours of a signed proposal and testing usually starts within a week. A single web application or API typically takes one to two weeks of testing; a product with a web app, an API, and a mobile client takes longer and is scheduled as one engagement. Tell us your deadline and we plan around it.

Ready to test your defenses?

Talk to our team about scoping application penetration testing services.

Prefer the full scoping questionnaire? 
RelatedWeb App API Mobile Secure Code Review

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