Is your app quietly breaking one of the ten most common rules?
Most application security problems don’t come from exotic, never-seen-before attacks. They come from the same handful of mistakes, over and over, across nearly every codebase. Broken access control. Weak authentication. Injection flaws. Misconfigured servers. That’s not speculation, it’s what OWASP has spent years documenting as the most common ways web applications actually get broken into.
An OWASP Top 10 Security Audit checks your application against exactly those risk categories. Not a guess, not a vibe check, an actual test against the list of things that most commonly go wrong.
We combine automated scanning with manual testing, because a checklist alone tells you almost nothing useful. It’ll say “authentication: present.” It won’t tell you whether that authentication can be walked around in four minutes by someone who knows what they’re doing.
What this actually is
The OWASP Top 10 is basically the industry’s answer to “if I only have time to check ten things, what are the ten things that matter most?” It’s not exhaustive, but it’s the closest thing to a consensus list of what actually gets exploited in the real world.
Our audit takes your application and holds it up against that list. Depending on how your app is built, that can mean looking at authentication, access control, input validation, injection risks, security configuration, cryptography, third-party components, application design, logging, error handling, business logic, and data protection.
Why this is worth your time
Your application probably touches customer data, business information, login credentials, or payments. Somewhere in all of that, one flaw is usually all it takes for someone to reach data or functionality they were never supposed to see.
This audit shows you where that flaw might be hiding: weak access controls, injection vulnerabilities, sloppy configuration, unprotected sensitive data, risky third-party libraries, design flaws baked in early, or gaps in your logging that mean you wouldn’t even notice if someone got in. It also gives your developers something concrete to fix, rather than a vague sense that “security should probably be better.”
The ten things we’re actually checking
Broken access control. Can someone see or do things they shouldn’t? We test for privilege escalation in both directions, unauthorised access to resources, ways to bypass role restrictions, and whether admin functions are actually locked down.
Cryptographic failures. Is sensitive data actually protected, or does it just look protected? We check for exposed data, weak encryption, insecure protocols, bad key management, and information moving around without the protection it needs.
Injection. Can untrusted input make your application do something it shouldn’t? SQL injection, command injection, LDAP injection, NoSQL injection, and the usual family of input-based attacks all get tested where relevant.
Insecure design. Some problems aren’t bugs, they’re baked into how the thing was designed. We look at workflows, trust boundaries, business rules, transaction controls, and whether the security assumptions the app was built on actually hold up.
Security misconfiguration. A perfectly good application can still be wide open because of how it’s configured. We check for unnecessary services, default credentials, debug functionality left switched on, excessive permissions, missing security headers, and exposed resources.
Vulnerable and outdated components. Most modern apps run on a pile of third-party libraries and frameworks. We check whether any of them are known to be risky or out of date.
Identification and authentication failures. Can we actually confirm who’s logging in? We test login mechanisms, password policies, session management, account recovery, MFA, and whether authentication can be bypassed or brute-forced.
Software and data integrity failures. If your app relies on packages, updates, plugins, or CI/CD pipelines, we check whether untrusted or unauthorised components could sneak into that chain.
Security logging and monitoring failures. If something bad happens, would you actually know? We check whether important events, logins, failed attempts, privilege changes, admin actions, sensitive transactions, get recorded in a way that would actually help you investigate.
Server-side request forgery. Can your app be tricked into fetching something it shouldn’t, based on input it doesn’t validate carefully enough?
How the audit actually runs
Scope and planning. We start by understanding your app, its tech stack, environments, user roles, APIs, and authentication setup. We agree what’s in and out of bounds before touching anything.
Application discovery. We map the functionality, entry points, workflows, APIs, and authentication mechanisms, so we know where to focus.
Automated checks. We run the tools that catch the obvious stuff quickly, but we treat those results as a starting point, not a final verdict.
Manual testing. This is where a person actually digs in, especially into access control, authentication, business logic, and design flaws that automated tools tend to miss entirely.
Validation. We confirm which findings are real and understand their practical impact, rather than handing you a list of theoretical maybes.
Risk prioritisation. We weigh severity, exploitability, what’s affected, how sensitive the data is, and what it could cost you if exploited.
Reporting. You get a clear document: what we found, where, the evidence, the risk, and how to fix it.
Retesting. Once you’ve fixed things, we check that the fix actually held.
What tends to turn up
Broken access control. Authentication bypass. SQL injection. Cross-site scripting. Weak session management. Sensitive data exposure. Security misconfiguration. Vulnerable dependencies. Insecure business logic. Weak password controls. Missing security headers. Insecure API access. Excessive privileges. Poor logging. Insufficient monitoring. SSRF. Weak cryptography. Unprotected admin functions.
What actually shows up depends entirely on how your application is built and implemented.
How this compares to VAPT
An OWASP Top 10 audit is deliberately focused, it’s about web application security specifically, measured against a well-known reference framework.
VAPT is the broader umbrella: applications, networks, infrastructure, APIs, cloud, mobile, all of it. So an OWASP Top 10 audit fits neatly inside a wider VAPT programme when application security is one of the things you’re checking.
Who this makes sense for
Customer-facing websites. Web applications. SaaS platforms. E-commerce sites. Banking applications. Healthcare portals. Customer dashboards. Employee portals. Enterprise applications. Online payment platforms. Business management systems. Public-facing applications. APIs supporting a web app.
It’s also genuinely useful for development teams who want a real security check before something goes live, not after.
When it’s worth doing
Before launching something new. Before a major production release. After significant application changes. After adding new authentication functionality or new APIs. Following a security incident. Before a customer asks for a security review. During compliance prep. Or as part of a regular, ongoing testing rhythm.
Testing right after big changes matters most, because that’s usually when something quietly slipped through.
What you actually get out of this
Better visibility into your real application security posture. Identification of the common vulnerabilities that actually get exploited. Validation that your access controls do what you think they do. Better protection for sensitive data. A clearer picture of your configuration weaknesses. More security awareness across your dev team. A prioritised list instead of an overwhelming one. Evidence you can point to internally. And overall, better security habits going forward.
Why work with us
We don’t just run a scanner and forward you the output with a logo on it. We look at how your application actually behaves in practice, its authentication, access controls, workflows, APIs, business logic, and everything in between. That means OWASP-aligned testing, manual validation, practical findings, risk-based priorities, clear evidence, actionable fixes, detailed reporting, and retesting once you’ve made changes.
The bottom line
The OWASP Top 10 is a genuinely useful starting point for understanding the risks that matter most. But checking a box that says “we have authentication” isn’t the same as knowing whether that authentication actually holds up under pressure.
A proper audit combines structured testing with real manual validation, so you find out what’s actually weak, not just what’s theoretically present. We can run this against your web applications and give you findings your team can act on.
FAQs
What is an OWASP Top 10 Security Audit?
A security assessment that checks your web application against the risk categories OWASP has identified as most common, and tests whether your security controls actually work.
Is this the same as penetration testing?
Not quite. This audit focuses specifically on the OWASP Top 10 risk categories. Penetration testing can be broader or more targeted, and may cover attack scenarios beyond this list.
Does it include manual testing?
Yes, and it needs to. Access control weaknesses, authentication problems, business logic flaws, and insecure design issues are exactly the kind of thing automated tools tend to miss.
Can you include our APIs?
Yes. APIs supporting your web application can be part of the assessment, and API-specific risks get checked using relevant OWASP API guidance.
Does this catch SQL injection?
Yes, along with other injection risks, wherever they’re relevant to your application’s technology.
Can you test authentication and authorisation together?
Yes. Both are core parts of this assessment, tested across different user roles and access scenarios.
Do I get a report?
Yes. It covers the vulnerabilities found, where they are, the evidence, the risk level, and how to fix each one.
Can you retest after we fix things?
Yes. We come back and confirm whether the issues we flagged have actually been resolved.
Secure your web application with an OWASP Top 10 Security Audit
Talk to Sunvak Boreal about your application. Let’s find out whether it’s quietly breaking any of the ten most common rules.