Do you need access to source code to perform an application security audit?

No. Black-box testing requires no source code. Grey-box uses limited documentation. White-box includes full source code review. eShield recommends white-box testing for applications handling sensitive data.

Application Security Auditing Services in Dubai, UAE

Q: What is the difference between DAST and SAST in application security testing?

DAST tests the running application from the outside without source code access. SAST analyses source code for security defects without executing the application. eShield uses both techniques plus manual expert testing for comprehensive coverage.

Q: How long does an application security audit take?

A focused audit of a single web application typically takes 5-10 business days. Applications with complex business logic or extensive APIs require 2-4 weeks.

Q: Is application security auditing required for PCI DSS compliance?

Yes. PCI DSS Requirements 6.3, 6.4, and 6.2 mandate application security reviews for public-facing web applications. eShield provides PCI DSS-mapped application security audit reports accepted by QSAs.

eShield Consulting delivers comprehensive Application Security Auditing services in Dubai, UAE to identify vulnerabilities in web applications, mobile apps, APIs, and enterprise software before attackers exploit them. Our certified application security engineers combine automated scanning with expert manual code and logic review to provide the depth of assessment that tools alone cannot achieve.

What is an Application Security Audit?

An Application Security Audit (ASA) is a structured review of an application’s security posture — examining its code, architecture, configuration, authentication mechanisms, and data handling to identify vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches, unauthorised access, or business logic abuse. In a digital-first UAE economy where applications handle sensitive financial, healthcare, and government data, application security is not optional.

Application Security Audit Services We Offer

Web Application Security Audit

Comprehensive assessment of customer-facing and internal web applications against OWASP Top 10 and OWASP ASVS (Application Security Verification Standard). Covers injection flaws, broken authentication, sensitive data exposure, XML external entity (XXE) attacks, broken access control, security misconfiguration, cross-site scripting (XSS), insecure deserialisation, and components with known vulnerabilities.

Mobile Application Security Audit

Security assessment of Android and iOS applications following the OWASP Mobile Top 10 and OWASP MASVS framework. Testing covers insecure data storage, weak cryptography implementation, improper session management, client-side injection, reverse engineering resistance, API communication security, and binary protection mechanisms.

API Security Audit

Dedicated REST and SOAP API security testing addressing the OWASP API Security Top 10: broken object-level authorisation (BOLA/IDOR), broken user authentication, excessive data exposure, lack of rate limiting, broken function-level authorisation, mass assignment, security misconfiguration, injection, and insufficient logging and monitoring.

Source Code Security Review

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) combined with manual expert code review for applications where source code access is available. Identifies security defects at the code level — SQL injection sinks, hardcoded credentials, insecure cryptographic implementations, path traversal vulnerabilities, and insecure random number generation — before deployment.

Architecture Security Review

Threat modelling and security architecture review assessing authentication design, authorisation models, session management, data encryption approach, third-party dependency risk, secrets management, and deployment pipeline security.

Application Security Audit Methodology

Scoping and Threat Modelling — Define application boundaries, identify sensitive data flows, map authentication and authorisation entry points, and prioritise high-risk attack surfaces using STRIDE threat modelling.
Automated Scanning — Run DAST tools (Burp Suite Pro, OWASP ZAP) against the running application and SAST tools against source code where available.
Manual Expert Testing — Security engineers manually probe business logic flaws, privilege escalation paths, insecure direct object references, and authentication bypass scenarios that automated tools consistently miss.
Vulnerability Validation — All findings are manually confirmed with proof-of-concept evidence to eliminate false positives.
Risk-Rated Reporting — Findings rated by CVSS v3.1 severity, exploitability, and business impact. Executive summary plus full technical report with remediation code snippets where applicable.
Developer Briefing — Optional session with your development team to walk through findings and remediation approaches.

Standards and Frameworks We Audit Against

OWASP Top 10 — The global standard for web application security risk
OWASP ASVS — Application Security Verification Standard (Level 1, 2, or 3)
OWASP MASVS — Mobile Application Security Verification Standard
OWASP API Security Top 10 — API-specific vulnerability classification
NIST SP 800-115 — Technical guide to information security testing
PCI DSS Requirement 6 — Secure development and application security requirements
ISO 27001 Annex A.14 — System acquisition, development, and maintenance controls

Why Choose eShield for Application Security Auditing?

OSCP, GWEB, CEH, and CISSP certified application security engineers
Experience auditing fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, and government applications in the UAE and GCC
Manual business logic testing as standard — not just automated scanning reports
UAE data residency — all testing data stays within agreed boundaries, no cloud-based tool uploads
Remediation retesting included to confirm all Critical and High findings are resolved

Frequently Asked Questions — Application Security Audit Dubai

What is the difference between DAST and SAST in application security testing?

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) tests the running application from the outside — simulating an attacker’s perspective without access to source code. SAST (Static Application Security Testing) analyses source code or compiled binaries for security defects without executing the application. eShield uses both techniques, plus manual expert testing, for comprehensive coverage.

Do you need access to our source code to perform an application security audit?

No. A black-box audit tests the running application without source code, simulating an external attacker. A grey-box audit uses limited documentation (API specs, architecture diagrams). A white-box audit includes full source code review for the deepest coverage. eShield recommends white-box testing when the application handles sensitive data — it consistently finds more vulnerabilities at lower cost to remediate.

How long does an application security audit take?

A focused audit of a single web application (10-20 pages, standard functionality) typically takes 5-10 business days. Applications with complex business logic, multiple user roles, or extensive APIs require 2-4 weeks. We provide a detailed timeline and effort estimate during the scoping process.

Is application security auditing required for PCI DSS compliance?

Yes. PCI DSS Requirement 6.3.2 mandates an inventory of bespoke and custom software. Requirement 6.4 requires all public-facing web applications to be protected by a WAF or subject to regular application security reviews. Requirement 6.2 requires all system components to be protected from known vulnerabilities through patch management. eShield provides PCI DSS-mapped application security audit reports accepted by QSAs.

Can you audit mobile applications as well as web applications?

Yes. eShield audits Android and iOS applications following the OWASP MASVS framework. Mobile application testing includes static analysis of the application binary, dynamic runtime analysis, API communication testing, certificate pinning verification, data storage security, and reverse engineering resistance checks.