Database Security Review for SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL and MySQL
The application test tells you how someone reaches the data. This tells you what happens once they do, and how far a database account travels on its own. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £2,740, 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, CelloriMost applications connect with one account that can read and write everything, and often create objects too. That turns any injection finding, or any leaked connection string, into full control of the data rather than the subset the feature needed.
Application accounts are rarely least privilege, and databases rarely stay inside their server
Databases also reach outwards. Linked servers, database links, foreign data wrappers and scheduled jobs give a database account paths into other servers, and in some configurations into the operating system. We map those paths rather than assuming they are disabled.
Then the quieter questions. Whether encryption protects anything an attacker does not already have, whether backups are as well protected as the live data, and whether the audit trail would show any of this happening.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
DATABASE SPECIFICS
What We Actually Test in a Database
Ten areas that apply to the database behind your application, on top of the standard infrastructure checks. Every finding is verified, reproducible and mapped to CIS benchmarks, CWE and CVSS 3.1.
Authentication and accounts
Default and legacy accounts, password policy, shared application accounts and accounts that outlived their purpose.
Roles and least privilege
What the application account can actually do, administrative role membership and object ownership.
Command execution paths
Extended stored procedures, external procedures, host commands and anything that reaches the operating system.
Linked servers and external data
Links, foreign data wrappers and replication, and what credentials they carry to the other side.
Injection surface
How queries are built by the application, parameterisation, dynamic SQL inside procedures and views.
Tenant and row separation
Row level security where used, schema separation, and whether one customer data can be reached from another session.
Encryption
Transport encryption, encryption at rest, key custody, and what it protects against in practice.
Backups and copies
Backup location and protection, restored copies in lower environments, and exports that leave the estate.
Network exposure
Listener and port exposure, allowed sources, and whether the database is reachable from user networks.
Audit and monitoring
What is logged, where it goes, retention, and whether the activity in this test would have been visible.
METHODOLOGY
What a database 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.
Application connects with an over-privileged account reachable from the whole internal network
- Affected
- The database instance behind [redacted], listening on an interface reachable from the user network as well as the application subnet.
- What we found
- The connection string used an account with database owner rights, and the same credentials appeared in three other services. The listener accepted connections from any internal host, and the account could enable command execution features that had not been disabled.
- Why it matters
- One application compromise becomes full control of the database and command execution on the database host, with a blast radius covering four applications rather than one.
- Fix
- Split accounts per application and grant only the rights each one uses, restrict the listener to the application subnet, disable command execution surface and block its re-enabling, and move credentials into a managed identity or secret store.
Reconstructed from public research: the CIS Benchmark for the database platform in use, sections covering server level roles, surface area configuration and network exposure.
Database 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 Database 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 £2,740 for a small, single-scope engagement, agreed up front. Most engagements run £4,260 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.
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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 Database Penetration Testing Pricing
Pricing depends on the number of builds and roles in scope, how much the estate varies from host to host, and the depth of the configuration review. The day count flexes; the included deliverables stay the same across all engagements.
2 to 3 days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Typically 5-day engagement.
Get a fixed quote3 to 5 days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Typically 8-12 day engagement.
Get a fixed quote5 to 8 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
Database 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 Database 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
Which databases do you cover?
SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, MySQL and MariaDB, plus Db2 where it appears. The review is the same shape for each.
Do you need a database account?
A read-only account makes the review thorough. We also test from the application side with no account at all.
Is this part of an application test?
It is separate, and it pairs well. The application test shows the route in, this shows the consequences.
Will you run anything destructive?
No. Nothing writes or changes data without your written agreement, and we prefer a restored copy for the heavier checks.
Do you cover cloud managed databases?
Yes. RDS, Azure SQL, Cloud SQL and similar, including the cloud permissions attached to them.
What about NoSQL and caching?
That is the NoSQL, cache and streaming page, which covers MongoDB, Redis, Kafka and Elasticsearch.
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 database reviewed properly
Tell us the platform and how many instances. You will have a fixed scope and a number within 24 hours.
