Canvas LMS Penetration Testing
An LMS holds grades, submissions and safeguarding information for people who are often minors. The finding that matters is a student reaching another student’s submission, and it is usually one API call away. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £2,420, 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, CelloriCanvas holds coursework, grades, feedback and frequently accommodation and safeguarding notes, for a population that often includes minors. That makes an access control failure a data protection incident rather than an inconvenience, with the reporting obligations that follow.
Why an LMS is a data protection question
The Canvas API is comprehensive and mirrors the interface, which is excellent for integrators and useful for attackers. A student token is a legitimate credential, and the question is whether every endpoint checks enrolment properly or whether some return data by ID alone.
LTI is the other surface. Every external tool you integrate receives identity and context claims about the user, and a misconfigured tool or a permissive launch can expose more roster and grade data than anyone intended.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
ROLES, LTI + SUBMISSIONS
What we actually pen test on a Canvas deployment
Manual pen testing across role and enrolment permissions, LTI tool integrations, API token scope, file and submission access and SIS import handling.
Roles, enrolments and permissions
Student, teaching assistant, teacher, observer and account roles tested against what each can reach, custom role permissions, section restrictions, and whether an observer or TA can reach beyond their assigned scope.
API token scope and endpoints
Endpoints tested with a student token for enrolment checks, object reference flaws returning submissions, grades or profile data by ID, developer key scope, and token generation and revocation.
Submissions, files and grades
Whether one student can reach another’s submission or attachment, file storage URL predictability and expiry, peer review boundaries, and gradebook and analytics exposure.
LTI tool integrations
Launch parameter and claim handling, whether a tool receives more roster or grade scope than it needs, signature validation, deep linking and grade passback abuse.
SIS import and provisioning
Import authorisation, whether a crafted import can alter enrolments or roles, provisioning account privilege, and whether deprovisioned users retain access.
Account configuration and exposure
Self-enrolment and open registration settings, public course exposure, sharing and invitation flows, authentication provider configuration, and multi-factor enforcement for staff.
METHODOLOGY
Canvas LMS 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 Canvas 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 £3,500 for a single-role, single-app scope, agreed up front. Most engagements run £5,000 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
Quote request received
We will reply within one business day with your fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
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or book a 20-min scoping call first
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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 Canvas LMS Penetration Testing Pricing
Pricing depends on app complexity, user-role count, business-logic depth, and integration surface. The day count flexes; the included deliverables stay the same across all engagements.
2 to 3 testing days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Around 5 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote3 to 5 testing days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Around 8 to 12 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote5 to 7 testing days
Multi-tenant platform, complex authorisation matrix, integration-heavy applications. Around 15 to 20 working days from kickoff to report.
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
Canvas LMS 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 Canvas LMS 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 test Instructure-hosted Canvas or self-hosted?
Both. On Instructure-hosted we test your configuration, roles, integrations and data access, which is where the findings are. Self-hosted adds the deployment itself and we scope that in.
Will you access real student data?
No. We use test accounts and test courses that you create, populated with dummy data. Where a check must run against a real course we agree it in advance and keep it read-only.
Is this suitable for a school or college?
Yes, and it is a common request. We are a CREST member company, testing is delivered in-house in the UK and never subcontracted, and the report format suits both a DfE conversation and an ISO 27001 auditor.
What about safeguarding data?
Treated as the most sensitive data in scope. We test whether it is reachable by roles that should not have it, and we do not extract or retain any real content in the report.
Does this help with Cyber Essentials?
Findings are mapped to Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001, and to GDPR where personal data of minors is involved, with evidence written for whoever is assessing you.
20+ CREST-accredited testing services in one place
Web, mobile, API, cloud, AI, infrastructure, red team. Pick the test that fits your environment.
Get a fixed price for your Canvas deployment
Tell us whether you are hosted or self-hosted, roughly how many LTI tools you integrate, and which roles you want tested. Fixed-price quote within one business day.
