This engagement tests your iOS or Android app against the OWASP Mobile Application Security standards, together with the API backend it talks to, because a mobile app is only as secure as the server behind it.
Type to search across the blog, guides, tools, and services.
A mobile app is a piece of your backend that you hand directly to your users, and to any attacker who downloads it. Unlike a web app running on your server, the binary sits on a device an attacker fully controls, where they can inspect its storage, intercept its traffic, and reverse-engineer its code at leisure. That changes the threat model, and the testing has to change with it.
This engagement tests your iOS or Android app against the OWASP Mobile Application Security standards, together with the API backend it talks to, because a mobile app is only as secure as the server behind it.
On a device the attacker owns, secrets are not secret by default. Hardcoded API keys, tokens cached in insecure storage, and sensitive data written to logs or local files are all recoverable by someone with the app installed and a little patience. Web testing methods do not cover this device-side attack surface, which is why mobile needs a dedicated methodology.
The bigger risk usually sits behind the app, in the API. Developers sometimes assume the app is the only client and let the backend trust it, but an attacker bypasses the app entirely and calls the API directly with their own tools. If authorization is weak there, the polished app in front of it provides no protection at all.
App-store presence also invites reverse engineering. Anyone can pull your binary apart to understand how it works, find hidden endpoints, and defeat client-side controls like certificate pinning if it is poorly implemented. Testing shows you what an attacker can learn and what still holds up when they do.
Whether tokens, credentials, or sensitive data are stored insecurely on the device, cached in plaintext, or written to logs and backups where they can be recovered.
TLS usage, certificate validation and pinning, and whether traffic can be intercepted or manipulated by an attacker positioned between the app and the server.
Direct testing of the backend the app relies on, bypassing the app entirely, for broken object-level and function-level authorization and excessive data exposure.
Hardcoded secrets, exposed endpoints, and the resilience of client-side protections against reverse engineering and tampering.
The report covers both the app and its backend. It contains:
API keys or credentials embedded in the app and recoverable by anyone who decompiles it.
Tokens or sensitive data cached in plaintext on the device, readable if the device is lost, jailbroken, or compromised.
The API trusting the app and failing to enforce authorization when called directly, exposing data to anyone who skips the app.
Missing or bypassable certificate pinning that allows an attacker to intercept and read the app's traffic.
Both, and it matters. Many of the most serious mobile findings live in the API, because an attacker bypasses the app and calls the backend directly. Testing only the app while ignoring its server leaves the biggest risks unexamined.
Not necessarily. We can test the compiled app as an attacker would, and source access can make certain checks faster and deeper. We agree the approach during scoping based on what gives you the most value.
The OWASP Mobile Application Security Verification Standard and Testing Guide for the app, and the OWASP API Security Top 10 for the backend, so the report references recognized methodologies.
Typically one to two weeks per platform depending on the app's size and the backend's complexity. We confirm the exact scope and timeline in a short call.
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We agree the scope, timeline, and a fixed price up front — no obligation, and no surprises for your deadline.