Databricks Security Review
A cluster in no-isolation shared mode will run whatever a notebook asks it to, with the identity attached to the cluster rather than the user. We pen test what that lets one analyst do to another’s data. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £3,460, 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, CelloriDatabricks gives you a genuinely good governance layer in Unity Catalog and then lets the cluster configuration undercut it. A cluster running in no-isolation shared or single-user mode with an elevated identity executes arbitrary code with that identity, regardless of what the catalogue says the notebook’s author may read.
Why the access mode is the security boundary
We test the combination rather than the components. Which clusters exist, what identity each runs as, who can attach to them, and whether attaching to one is enough to read data the catalogue would otherwise deny you.
Secrets are the second thread. Secret scopes are the right place for credentials and are readable by anyone who can run a notebook on a cluster with access, and a credential reaching a storage account or a warehouse is usually the highest-severity finding in the workspace.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
UNITY CATALOG, CLUSTERS + SECRETS
What we actually pen test on a Databricks workspace
Manual pen testing across Unity Catalog privilege, workspace and cluster access mode, secret scopes, notebook and job permissions and external location credentials.
Unity Catalog privilege
Catalogue, schema and table grants enumerated and tested per principal, ownership chains, whether metastore admin is broader than intended, and row filter and column mask coverage.
Cluster access modes and policies
Every cluster’s access mode and attached identity, who may attach or restart, cluster policies and their enforcement, and whether a user can create a cluster that bypasses governance.
Secret scopes and credentials
Secret scope ACLs, what a notebook can read, whether secrets are printed in notebook output or job logs, and what each stored credential reaches in the underlying cloud account.
Notebooks, jobs and repos
Notebook and job permissions, job run-as identity versus trigger identity, whether a job runs with more privilege than whoever can edit it, and Git repo integration credentials.
External locations and storage
Storage credential and external location scope, whether a principal can read cloud storage directly and bypass the catalogue, and the cloud IAM roles behind each credential.
Workspace exposure and network
Workspace authentication and SSO configuration, personal access token policy and lifetime, IP access lists, and whether the control plane or any endpoint is reachable from outside your expected ranges.
METHODOLOGY
Databricks Security Review: 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 Databricks 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
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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 Databricks Security Review 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.
3 to 4 testing days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Around 5 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote4 to 6 testing days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Around 8 to 12 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote6 to 8 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
Databricks Security Review 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 Databricks Security Review
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 cover Databricks on AWS, Azure and GCP?
All three. The governance layer is the same and the cloud integration differs, so we adapt the storage credential and network portions to whichever you run.
Do you need workspace admin?
Admin visibility makes enumeration far more reliable. We also want two or three ordinary user accounts in different groups, because attaching to clusters and reading catalogues as a normal user is where findings appear.
Will you run large jobs?
No. We agree cluster sizes and limits in advance, use the smallest configuration that demonstrates a finding, and avoid anything that would run up meaningful compute cost.
What about our machine learning models?
Model registry permissions and serving endpoint authorisation are in scope where you use them. Attacking model behaviour itself is our AI and LLM penetration testing service, which we can scope alongside.
What do we receive?
A report mapped to ISO 27001, SOC 2 and GDPR where personal data is in scope, a prioritised remediation plan, and unlimited free retesting.
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 Databricks workspace
Tell us which cloud you run on, roughly how many workspaces and clusters, and whether Unity Catalog is fully adopted. Fixed-price quote within one business day.
