Web Application Testing
How ModernPentest tests websites and web applications
Web Application Testing
Learn how ModernPentest's AI agents discover and test vulnerabilities through the web surface of your application.
Overview
When you enable the web surface for your application, ModernPentest performs comprehensive security testing using a multi-stage pipeline. Each stage builds on the previous, ensuring thorough coverage while maintaining efficiency.
The Testing Pipeline
Discovery
Reconnaissance Agent maps your application:
- Crawls pages and discovers endpoints
- Identifies technologies and frameworks
- Maps authentication flows
- Finds forms, parameters, and input points
- Schedules specialized testing
Parallel Testing
Specialized agents test different areas simultaneously:
- Access Control Agent — IDOR, access bypass, privilege escalation
- Injection Agent — SQL injection, XSS, command injection, SSTI
- Authentication Agent — Session management, JWT security, weak auth
- Scanner Agent — Misconfigurations, info leaks, vulnerable components
Consolidation
- Deduplicate similar findings
- Validate exploitability
- Enrich with context and evidence
- Assign accurate severity ratings
- Link related vulnerabilities
Report Generation
- Prioritized vulnerability list
- Framework-specific remediation
- SOC 2 compliance mapping
Stage 1: Discovery
The Reconnaissance Agent performs the first pass over your application:
What It Discovers
- Endpoints - All accessible pages and routes
- Technologies - Frameworks, libraries, and versions
- Authentication - Login flows, session management
- Forms and Inputs - All user input points
- APIs - Backend endpoints called by the frontend
- Sensitive Areas - Admin panels, user data endpoints
Intelligent Crawling
Unlike traditional crawlers, our agent:
- Executes JavaScript - Discovers dynamically rendered content
- Follows authentication flows - Tests both logged-in and logged-out states
- Understands context - Recognizes e-commerce vs admin vs user areas
- Prioritizes intelligently - Focuses on high-value targets first
Stage 2: Parallel Testing
Based on discovery findings, specialized agents test in parallel:
How Parallel Testing Works
For a typical web application with shopping cart, user profiles, and admin areas, multiple agents test each endpoint group simultaneously:
| Endpoint Group | Agents | What They Test |
|---|---|---|
/auth/*, /login | Auth Agent, Injection Agent, Scanner Agent | Session security, JWT flaws, credential stuffing, login bypass, XSS in forms |
/cart/*, /orders/* | Access Control Agent, Injection Agent, Scanner Agent | IDOR between users, price manipulation, SQL injection, business logic flaws |
/profile/*, /settings/* | Access Control Agent, Injection Agent, Auth Agent | Horizontal privilege escalation, XSS in profile fields, session hijacking |
/admin/* | Access Control Agent, Auth Agent, Scanner Agent | Vertical privilege escalation, admin bypass, exposed debug endpoints |
/search, /api/* | Injection Agent, Scanner Agent | SQL/NoSQL injection, XSS, SSRF, information disclosure |
Benefits of Parallel Testing
- Faster completion - Agents work simultaneously
- Context-aware - Each agent focuses on relevant endpoints
- Deep coverage - Specialized testing for each vulnerability type
- Efficient resources - Agents don't duplicate work
Stage 3: Consolidation
After testing completes, we consolidate findings:
Deduplication
Multiple agents may find related issues. For example:
- XSS in
/search?q=and/products?filter=are separate findings - XSS in the same parameter found twice is deduplicated
Validation
Each finding is validated for:
- Real exploitability - Can it actually be exploited?
- Evidence quality - Is the proof clear?
- False positive check - AI reviews for accuracy
Enrichment
Findings are enhanced with:
- CVSS score - Industry-standard severity rating
- CWE reference - Common Weakness Enumeration
- Remediation steps - Framework-specific fix guidance
- Related findings - Links to similar issues
What We Test
OWASP Top 10 (2021) Coverage
| Category | What We Check |
|---|---|
| A01 - Broken Access Control | IDOR, privilege escalation, forced browsing |
| A02 - Cryptographic Failures | Weak encryption, data exposure |
| A03 - Injection | SQL, NoSQL, OS command, LDAP, XSS |
| A04 - Insecure Design | Business logic flaws |
| A05 - Security Misconfiguration | Default configs, debug modes, headers |
| A06 - Vulnerable Components | Outdated libraries, known CVEs |
| A07 - Authentication Failures | Weak passwords, session issues |
| A08 - Software Integrity | Code injection, unsafe deserialization |
| A09 - Logging Failures | Missing audit trails |
| A10 - SSRF | Server-side request forgery |
Beyond OWASP
- Business logic vulnerabilities
- Race conditions
- Information disclosure
- Client-side vulnerabilities
- File upload issues
Platform-Specific Testing
Our agents automatically detect platform usage and enable additional checks—no configuration required:
| Platform | Auto-Detected Via | Additional Checks |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | URL patterns, SDK usage | RLS policies, storage buckets, edge functions |
| Firebase | Config objects, SDK imports | Firestore rules, RTDB permissions, storage rules |
| Vercel/Next.js | Headers, deployment patterns | NEXT_PUBLIC_ exposure, API routes, middleware |
| Convex | Client configuration | Function permissions, database access |
If you add one of these platforms to your project later, our agents will detect it automatically during the next pentest. See Platform Agents for details.
Combined Surface Testing
Most modern applications have both web and API surfaces that share users, data, and business logic. When you configure both surfaces, we test them in parallel and consolidate findings.
Web Surface and API Surface testing run simultaneously, then merge in the Consolidation phase:
- Unified findings — Vulnerabilities from both surfaces in a single report
- Cross-surface vulnerabilities — Issues that span both surfaces are identified and linked (e.g., an API endpoint with missing auth that the web app relies on)
- Complete coverage — No gaps between what the frontend exposes and what the backend accepts
Next Steps
Last updated: December 8, 2025