iOS Application Penetration Testing
We test the app on a real jailbroken device and the API it talks to, because almost every serious mobile finding is on the server side of the connection. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £4,620, scoped in 24 hours.
- Unlimited retesting
- No rescheduling or cancellation fees
- Fixed quote within 24 hours
“I would highly recommend EJN Labs to any organisation seeking reliable, detailed, and well-managed penetration testing services, particularly for government or enterprise-level projects.”
Imran SaghirProject Lead, SquareOne“There wasn’t another company we could find that could deliver what we needed in the timeframe we needed. The client loved it, and we got instant ROI from the engagement.”
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriMobile reviews that stop at the device produce tidy reports and little risk reduction. Insecure storage matters, pinning matters, but neither empties an account. The endpoints the app calls do, which is why every engagement here includes the backend behind the app, tested against each role.
The device is the easy half. The API is where the data lives.
On the device itself the questions are specific to iOS. Which Keychain accessibility class protects the token, what a snapshot or a backup exposes, how quickly jailbreak detection falls to standard tooling, and whether pinning fails closed or simply fails.
Then the edges the App Store review does not cover: deep links accepting parameters from other apps, extensions and the pasteboard, third party SDKs sending more than you expected, and what the binary gives away to anyone who unpacks it.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
iOS SPECIFICS
What We Actually Test in an iOS Application
Ten test areas that apply because the app runs on iOS, on top of the API testing behind it. Every finding is verified, reproducible and mapped to OWASP MASVS, CWE and CVSS 3.1.
Data at rest
Keychain accessibility classes, Core Data and property list storage, cached responses, screenshots and backups.
Jailbreak detection and tampering
How detection is implemented, how it behaves when bypassed, and whether anything security relevant depends on it.
Transport security
App Transport Security exceptions, certificate pinning implementation, and behaviour when pinning fails.
Authentication and biometrics
Face ID and Touch ID gating, what the gate actually protects, token storage and session handling after lock.
Deep links and universal links
Parameters accepted from other apps, unvalidated navigation, and account linking or password reset flows reached this way.
Interprocess exposure
Pasteboard use, app extensions, share sheets, URL schemes and what the app leaves in the background state.
Binary protections
Code signing, anti-debugging, exported symbols, hardcoded material and the third party SDKs compiled in.
Backend API
Every endpoint the app calls, tested against each role for object level authorisation and mass assignment.
Third party SDKs and telemetry
What analytics, advertising and crash reporting libraries send, where it goes, and what consent covers it.
Store readiness
Privacy manifest, permission prompts, and the questions an assessor or enterprise customer will ask before they install it.
METHODOLOGY
What a iOS finding looks like
Written the way a finding appears in our reports. The example below is reconstructed from publicly documented research, with hosts, paths and identifiers redacted. We do not republish client findings, named or anonymised.
Session token and personal data written to unprotected local storage
- Affected
- The iOS build of [redacted], version [redacted], on a device managed without an enforced passcode policy.
- What we found
- The app stored the session token, the user full name and date of birth in a property list in the documents directory with the default protection class. The values were readable from an unencrypted device backup, and the token survived logout because it was never invalidated server side.
- Why it matters
- Anyone with a backup of the device, or the device itself after loss or theft, recovers a session the server still accepts, along with data that identifies the user.
- Fix
- Store the token in the keychain restricted to this device when unlocked, apply complete file protection to any file holding personal data, exclude those files from backup, and invalidate the token server side on logout.
Reconstructed from public research: the OWASP Mobile Application Security Testing Guide, storage requirements on sensitive data in local files and backups.
iOS App Penetration Testing: From Scope to Attestation
CREST-aligned methodology built on OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, OWASP ASVS, NIST SP 800-115, and PTES. Each finding maps to all four standards plus your specific compliance regime.
Reconnaissance
Application mapping, technology fingerprinting, content discovery, parameter enumeration, authentication-flow analysis, role-matrix construction.
Vulnerability Assessment
Authenticated and unauthenticated automated scanning across every user role, plus targeted manual checks for known weakness patterns.
Manual Exploitation
Hands-on testing by a CREST-certified pentester. Business-logic exploitation, chained vulnerabilities, privilege escalation, impact validation.
Reporting + Retest
Executive summary, technical report with CVSS scores and reproduction steps, walkthrough call, free retest after remediation, attestation letter.
CREDENTIALS
Verified Accreditations Auditors Accept
Every credential below is independently verifiable. UK procurement teams, FCA supervisors, ISO 27001 / SOC 2 auditors, and cyber insurance underwriters all recognise these standards.
GET YOUR QUOTE
Get a CREST iOS App assessment pen test quote in 24 hours
A fixed-price quote back in one business day, from a named CREST assessor. No sales pipeline, no chasing.
- CREST and IASME accredited. Testing your auditors and clients already recognise.
- Fast-track testing within 24 hours where required. Free retest of every fix included.
- Live findings via your client portal, not a four-week PDF.
- Fixed price from £4,620 for a small, single-scope engagement, agreed up front. Most engagements run £6,180 and up. No day-rate surprises.
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriUnder NDA Further named references available on a scoping call.
- We reply within one business day with a fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
- You approve the scope and we book a start date, usually within 24 hours.
- Live findings land in your client portal as we test, with a free retest of every fix.
Get your fixed pen test quote in 24 hours
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COMPLIANCE READY
Reports Mapped to Every Framework
Findings are explicitly tagged to the relevant control reference. Your audit team submits the report directly without translation work.
ISO 27001:2022
Annex A.8.8 management of technical vulnerabilities plus A.5.15-5.18 and A.8.2-8.5 access control validation.
SOC 2 Type I & II
CC6 logical access, CC7 system operations, CC8 change management evidence.
PCI DSS
Requirement 11.4 application penetration testing across cardholder data environments, including ecommerce penetration testing for online retail platforms.
FCA SYSC
SYSC 4.1.1R, 6.1.1R, 13 mapped to each finding for FCA-regulated firms.
UK GDPR
Article 32 effectiveness testing, customer-data security controls, ICO-acceptable evidence.
Cyber Essentials Plus
Direct certification through our IASME body status, single-vendor delivery.
PRICING
Transparent iOS App Penetration Testing Pricing
Pricing depends on the number of platforms in scope, the size of the API surface behind the app, and how much of the logic sits on the device. The day count flexes; the included deliverables stay the same across all engagements.
4 to 5 days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Typically 5-day engagement.
Get a fixed quote5 to 7 days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Typically 8-12 day engagement.
Get a fixed quote7 to 10 days
Multi-tenant platform, complex authorisation matrix, integration-heavy applications. 15-20 day engagement.
Get a fixed quotePart of Technologies We Pen Test. These are examples of the stacks we publish pages for, not a complete list. If yours is not here we still test it. Related pages:
BY SECTOR
iOS App Penetration Testing for Your Sector
Sector-specialist scoping for UK businesses with sector-specific compliance regimes and threat models.
Fintech & FCA-Regulated
FCA SYSC, Open Banking FAPI 1.0, PSD2 SCA, payment-flow scrutiny, KYC/AML testing.
Fintech sector pageSaaS Companies
SOC 2 Type I & II evidence, multi-tenant boundaries, role escalation, customer-tenant isolation.
SaaS sector pageLaw Firms
SRA Cyber Standard, privileged data, conveyancing fraud defence, partner-tier procurement.
Law firm sector pageHealthcare
NHS DTAC, DSP Toolkit v6, UK GDPR Article 32, EHR systems, telehealth platforms.
Healthcare sector pageInsurance
FCA / PRA Operational Resilience, cyber underwriting, claims data, broker portals.
Insurance sector pagePublic Sector
CCS / G-Cloud framework, NCSC-aligned, citizen-facing services, PSN-compliance scrutiny.
Public sector pageWHY EJN LABS
What You Get From iOS App Penetration Testing
Six concrete differentiators competitors don’t all match.
CREST-Certified Testers, Verifiable
Every test by a CREST-certified pen tester (CRT, CCT APP, CCT INF where applicable). Verify our company status at crest-approved.org.
24-Hour Startup, Where Required
From signed scope to active testing in a single business day for incident response, audit deadlines, or regulator-driven timelines.
Live Findings, Not 4-Week PDFs
Critical issues reported during testing through your client portal. Your team remediates while testing continues.
Audit-Ready Reports
Executive summary plus full technical report with CVSS scores and explicit framework mappings (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, FCA SYSC).
Free Retests, Standard
Verify remediation of every finding before close-out. Letter of attestation for audit submission included. Most competitors charge £1,500-£3,000 per retest.
UK-Based CREST Testers
Every engagement performed by vetted, UK-based CREST-certified testers, matched to your needs, security clearance, and compliance scope.
FAQ
Frequently Asked
Do you need the source code or just the app?
The IPA is enough. Source access speeds up triage and is welcome, but we test the build your users install.
Do you test on a real device?
Yes, on a jailbroken device. Simulators miss Keychain behaviour, pinning and anything that touches the secure enclave.
Is the API included?
Yes. It is the part of the engagement that finds the serious issues, so it is in scope by default.
What about Android?
That is its own page and its own test. Most clients scope both, and we reuse the API work across the two.
Can you test with TestFlight builds?
Yes. A TestFlight or enterprise build is the usual way we receive it.
Do you cover React Native and Flutter apps?
Yes. The bundle extraction and storage checks differ slightly, and we say which framework the app uses in the report.
What is included in the price?
Scoping, testing, the executive summary, the technical report, a walkthrough call and free retests until the finding is closed. One scope, one number, no follow-up invoices.
How fast can you start?
Scope to active testing in 24 hours once the scope is agreed, subject to tester availability in your window.
Are your testers CREST certified?
Yes. EJN Labs is a CREST member company and testing is delivered by CREST-qualified testers. The membership is verifiable on the CREST marketplace.
20+ CREST-accredited testing services in one place
Web, mobile, API, cloud, AI, infrastructure, red team. Pick the test that fits your environment.
Get your iOS app tested properly
Send us the build and the test accounts. You will have a fixed scope and a number within 24 hours.
