Your application is only as secure as the API that powers it.
Modern digital platforms are no longer just static pages; they are complex ecosystems of frontend interfaces, microservices, and third-party API integrations. While traditional security focuses on the "infrastructure," attackers increasingly target the Application Logic Layer.
At Mongoose, our Web Application and API Penetration Testing moves beyond automated vulnerability scans. We perform a deep-dive interrogation of your application’s code execution, session management, and data handling to identify the high-impact flaws that standard security tools are blind to.
The most devastating breaches in the current threat landscape rarely involve a simple "missing patch." Instead, they exploit Business Logic Flaws, scenarios where an application functions exactly as designed, but its logic allows for unauthorised data access.
The IDOR/BOLA Breach
During a recent engagement for a UK-based FinTech platform, we identified a Broken Object Level Authorisation (BOLA) vulnerability in their core API. By simply changing a customer_id parameter in a JSON request, we were able to bypass all authentication checks and access the private financial records of any user on the platform. Automated scanners flagged this as a "standard request"; it took a manual Mongoose consultant to recognize that the application was failing to validate the relationship between the user and the data they were requesting.
Automated "Dynamic Analysis" (DAST) tools are essential for catching low-hanging fruit like cross-site scripting (XSS), but they lack the context to understand your application's unique workflow.
The Intelligence Gap
Automated tools focus on "known-knowns"; common software signatures and unpatched services. They are incapable of:
Complex Authorisation Flaws:
Determining if a "User" role can perform "Admin" actions by manipulating API endpoints.
Race Conditions:
Exploiting the timing of multi-step processes (like bank transfers or inventory checkouts) to perform unauthorised actions.
JWT & OAuth Weaknesses:
Probing the integrity of modern authentication tokens and third-party login flows for bypass vulnerabilities.
Our combined methodology is aligned with CREST, the OWASP Top 10 and the ASVS (Application Security Verification Standard), ensuring every layer of your stack is scrutinised.
Reconnaissance & API Discovery
We begin by mapping the entire attack surface of your application.
Hidden Endpoint Discovery:
Documentation Review:
Authentication & Session Interrogation
We probe the mechanisms that verify who your users are and how their sessions are maintained.
Token Analysis:
MFA Resilience:
Injection & Input Validation
We move beyond basic SQL injection to test for modern, high-impact input flaws.
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF):
Prototype Pollution & Template Injection:
Business Logic & Authorisation (The Human Edge)
This is our core differentiator. We manually walk through your application’s specific business logic to find flaws in:
Broken Object Level Authorisation (BOLA):
Mass Assignment:
We provide the technical depth required by IT teams and the strategic clarity needed by stakeholders.
Zero False Positives:
Every finding is manually verified with a documented "Proof of Concept" (PoC) showing the actual impact.
DevSecOps Ready:
We provide technical remediation advice that your developers can implement immediately, often including example code fixes.
Context-Aware Risk:
We don't just use CVSS scores; we rank vulnerabilities based on the actual sensitivity of the data exposed in your specific application.
Why do you test the API and Web App together?
Do you need the source code for the test?
How do you handle testing in a production environment?
What is the difference between a Web App test and a Network test?
Ready to see the gaps others are missing?
Don't wait for a real adversary to find the pathway. Contact our team today to discuss a tailored manual assessment for your organisation.
