VPN Penetration Testing
The VPN gateway is internet-facing, holds credentials for your entire workforce, and has been the entry point for more ransomware than any other single control. We pen test it from outside and from a connected client. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £2,280, 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, CelloriRemote access gateways have been the initial access vector in a long run of significant intrusions, for a simple reason: they are deliberately exposed to the internet, they authenticate the whole workforce, and patching them means an outage nobody wants to schedule.
Why the VPN is the route in
So we test both halves. From outside: firmware currency against actively exploited vulnerabilities, authentication behaviour, whether multi-factor is genuinely enforced on every path including legacy clients, and whether the portal leaks usernames or version detail.
From inside: what a connected user actually reaches. A VPN that drops every client onto a flat network with access to the whole estate converts one phished credential into complete lateral freedom, which is the outcome the control was supposed to prevent.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
GATEWAY, AUTH + TUNNEL SCOPE
What we actually pen test on a VPN deployment
Manual pen testing across gateway exposure and firmware, authentication and MFA enforcement, tunnel scope, client configuration and lateral reach once connected.
Gateway exposure and firmware
Internet-facing surface enumerated, firmware version against known exploited vulnerabilities, web portal and management interface separation, and information disclosure from the portal.
Authentication and MFA enforcement
Whether multi-factor is enforced on every authentication path including legacy and alternative clients, credential stuffing resistance and lockout, certificate-based authentication where used, and account enumeration.
Tunnel scope and lateral reach
What a connected standard user reaches across the internal estate, whether access is segmented by role or group, and how far a single compromised credential travels.
Split tunnelling and client posture
Split tunnel configuration and its exposure, DNS handling and leakage, posture and device compliance checks and whether they can be spoofed, and always-on enforcement.
Configuration and session handling
Session timeout and reauthentication, concurrent session limits, whether disabled accounts are rejected promptly, logging of connections, and configuration backup exposure.
Client software
VPN client version and known issues, local privilege escalation through the client service, stored credentials and profiles on the endpoint, and update mechanism integrity.
METHODOLOGY
VPN 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 VPN 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 VPN 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 4 testing days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Around 8 to 12 working days from kickoff to report.
Get a fixed quote4 to 6 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
VPN 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 VPN 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 from outside or inside?
Both, and the inside half is the one people skip. External testing tells you whether the gateway can be broken into. Internal testing from a connected client tells you what it was worth breaking into, which is usually the more useful finding.
Which VPN platforms do you cover?
Fortinet, Palo Alto, Cisco, SonicWall, Ivanti and others among them, plus native IPsec and WireGuard deployments. These are examples rather than a complete list and the methodology does not change.
Will testing lock out our users?
No. We agree lockout thresholds and testing windows in advance and use accounts you provision rather than real staff credentials. Nothing runs against live user accounts without your explicit agreement.
Is zero trust remote access covered?
Yes. Where you have moved to an identity-aware proxy or ZTNA product, the questions shift to policy coverage and device posture rather than tunnel scope, and we adapt the scope accordingly.
Does this satisfy Cyber Essentials?
Remote access is directly in scope for Cyber Essentials and findings are mapped to it, along with ISO 27001 and PCI DSS where relevant.
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 VPN review
Tell us the platform, roughly how many users and whether internal testing from a connected client is in scope. Fixed-price quote within one business day.
