Web Application Penetration Testing (also known as web app pen testing) is the process of testing a web application’s security by simulating attacks that could be used by malicious hackers. The goal of web app pen testing is to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in the application’s code, architecture, and infrastructure that could be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive data, or disrupt the application’s functionality.
Web application pen testing typically involves a combination of manual and automated testing techniques. The tester may use specialized tools and scripts to simulate attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and others.
Methodology for web application penetration testing typically involves the following steps: