Mobile Application Pentest - Testing Apps for Security Vulnerabilities
New technologies always carry new security risks, and mobile computing is no exception. We help you eliminate the attack possibilities on your mobile apps with a pentest.
Definition and Explanation
What Is Mobile App Penetration Testing?
Mobile App Penetration Testing is a procedure for assessing the security of mobile applications - in short, App. We conduct Mobile-Pentesting according to the OWASP Mobile Security Testing Guide. Digital business models, the processing of sensitive information, and secure handling of interoperability between different APIs make an analysis indispensable.
What are Common Vulnerabilities in Mobile Apps?
Vulnerabilities in mobile apps jeopardize the security of sensitive data and the integrity of corporate systems. This allows attackers to assume identities, misuse functions, or introduce malicious code. A comprehensive mobile app pentest reveals these risks and helps to address them specifically.
- Insecure Communication
When apps transmit data unencrypted or with faulty encryption, such as over insecure WLAN networks or outdated protocols, attackers can intercept and misuse confidential information such as passwords, financial data, or business internals.
- Insecure Data Storage
When apps store sensitive information such as login data, tokens, or personal data unprotected on the device, for example in plain text or without access restrictions. Other apps or unauthorized users can read this data if the device is lost or compromised.
- Insufficient Encryption
This applies to both data transmission and local storage on the device.
- Weak or Outdated Algorithms
Incorrectly implemented cryptography allows attackers to decrypt or manipulate stored data.
- Faulty Authentication
- Insufficient Authorization
- Code Vulnerabilities
- Insufficient Protection Against Reverse Engineering
Defense Strategies
Measures for Resilience against Reverse Engineering
- Source Code Obfuscation
Source code obfuscation makes it difficult for attackers to understand the internal logic of a mobile app and protects intellectual property. Developers use special tools to obfuscate variable names, control structures, and function calls, making reverse engineering significantly more complex.
- Anti-Tampering Technologies
Anti-tampering technologies detect attempts to manipulate the app, such as by modifying the code or inserting malicious functions. The app can automatically terminate or sound an alarm in case of manipulation to prevent misuse.
- Security Audits
Security audits as part of a mobile app pentest assess how effective these measures are at protecting against reverse engineering and manipulation. Experts analyze whether obfuscation and anti-tampering are correctly implemented and robust against current attack methods. The combination of both measures increases the resilience of the app and makes it harder for attackers to identify vulnerabilities or introduce malicious code.
Examination of Authentication and Authorization Mechanisms in Mobile Apps
We first analyze how the app processes login credentials and whether strong authentication methods such as passwords, biometric procedures, or two-factor authentication (2FA) are correctly implemented. We check whether passwords are securely transmitted and never stored in plain text. Our analysis of local storage reveals insecure practices such as storing access data in plain text or in insecure storage areas.
- Authentication
In the next step, we simulate various attack scenarios to identify vulnerabilities in authentication. These include brute-force attacks, bypassing login mechanisms, or intercepting authentication data over insecure networks. These attempts involve using manipulated requests or forged tokens to gain access to protected areas of the app. The review also includes whether sessions are securely managed and session tokens cannot be easily guessed or reused.
- Authorization
During the authorization process, our experts test whether the app strictly checks user rights on the server side and does not allow privileged functions to be accessible to regular users. We attempt to perform actions with low permissions that are actually reserved for higher roles. In doing so, we manipulate API requests or swap user IDs. We specifically uncover insecure implementations, such as checking permissions only on the client side, because attackers can easily bypass these.
- Recognized standards such as OWASP MASVS
Our audits are conducted according to recognized standards such as OWASP MASVS and include both automated and manual methods to reliably identify vulnerabilities. Finally, we document the discovered gaps and provide you with specific recommendations on how to strengthen authentication and authorization mechanisms to effectively prevent unauthorized access.
iOS and Android Penetration Test
Penetration Tests for all Mobile Applications
Our Mobile App Penetration Testers have a background in Infrastructure and Web Penetration Testing, a quality necessary for testing mobile apps, as almost every app communicates with a backend system. This expertise is essential as it allows us to review the entire spectrum of native apps, hybrid apps, web apps, and progressive web applications.
Mobile Cyber Security
Protect your Users from Criminals with Cyber Security!
We ensure that unauthorized use of user data such as messages, personal information, address books, location and movement profiles is not possible. In this way, we protect your data from loss and verify compliance with strong cyber security.
- Holistic View of Interfaces
The security of the interacting servers, as well as the interface between the mobile device and the server, must be thoroughly tested to guarantee smooth interoperability.
- Mobile-specific Testing
We ensure that unauthorized use of user data such as messages, personal information, address books, location, and movement profiles is not possible.
- Static and Dynamic Analyses
The checks cover static and dynamic analyses.
Tailored IT Security Analyses
We Conduct IT Security Analyses Based on Recognized Standards and Guidelines
Our processes are adapted to the practical guide for pentests of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and to the EU-GDPR.
- Default OWASP MASVS
Testing of mobile apps is conducted according to the categorization of the MASVS (Mobile Application Security Verification Standard).
- OWASP Mobile Top 10
The OWASP Mobile Top 10 is a list of the most urgent vulnerabilities you should protect mobile applications against.
- Examination of medical products and health apps
We have experience in auditing medical products and digital health applications for a DiGA accreditation.
Learn more about conducting penetration tests with turingpoint!
Penetration testing for all mobile apps
Penetration Testing Modules for iOS and Android
As a general rule, the longer our security engineers subject your app to a penetration test, the more meaningful the results are. If you have specific requirements, we are happy to make you a personalized offer.
- Architecture, Design and Threat Analysis
For each component of the app, the scope of functions and security features must be clearly defined and known. Most apps communicate with interfaces, therefore appropriate security standards must also be implemented for these API endpoints.
- Data Storage and Data Protection
The protection of sensitive data such as user login details and private information is a focus in the field of mobile security. Data leaks can unintentionally occur in the area of cloud data storage, backups, or keyboard cache. In addition, mobile devices can be lost or stolen more easily.
- Cryptography
Cryptography is a fundamental cornerstone for protecting data stored on mobile devices. However, it is also a category where many things can go wrong, especially if standard conventions are not adhered to. This category aims to ensure that a verified app uses cryptography best practices.
- Network Communication
The purpose of this category is to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data transmitted between the mobile app and the remote server. To do this, a mobile app must establish a secure, encrypted channel for network communication using the TLS protocol with adequate TLS settings.
- Platform Interaction
The requirements from this category are intended to ensure that platform components and standard components are used securely by the app. In addition, the requirements also cover the communication (IPC) between apps.
- Code Quality and Build Settings
The aim of this category is to ensure that basic security practices are adhered to during app development and that the security features contained in the compiler are activated.
- Tamper-proofing
This category addresses Defense-in-Depth measures recommended for apps that include access to sensitive data or sensitive functionalities. If these measures are not implemented, it does not immediately lead to a vulnerability, however, the measures increase the robustness of the app against attacks and reverse engineering.
Current Information
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