Features

Blackbox Testing

Overview

Blackbox testing simulates how an external attacker would test your application - with no knowledge of the internal code or architecture. When you don’t provide source code, Pensar Console performs comprehensive blackbox penetration testing against your live domains.

How Blackbox Testing Works

1

Attack Surface Discovery

Pensar performs reconnaissance on your provided domains to discover:

  • Subdomains and virtual hosts
  • Open ports and services
  • Web pages and functionality
  • API endpoints
  • Technology stack
2

Objective Generation

For each discovered endpoint, AI agents generate pentest objectives - specific security tests tailored to that endpoint’s functionality.

3

Autonomous Testing

The AI agent executes each pentest objective, testing for vulnerabilities including:

  • Injection attacks (SQL, XSS, command injection)
  • Authentication and authorization flaws
  • Business logic vulnerabilities
  • Sensitive data exposure
  • Security misconfigurations
4

Results & Reporting

Findings are aggregated into a comprehensive penetration test report with proof-of-concepts for each vulnerability.

Supported Security Frameworks

Pensar blackbox testing covers vulnerabilities from industry-standard frameworks:

Complete coverage of the OWASP Top 10 web application security risks including:

  • Broken Access Control
  • Cryptographic Failures
  • Injection
  • Insecure Design
  • Security Misconfiguration
  • Vulnerable and Outdated Components
  • Identification and Authentication Failures
  • Software and Data Integrity Failures
  • Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
  • Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

Specialized testing for API endpoints:

  • Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA/IDOR)
  • Broken User Authentication
  • Excessive Data Exposure
  • Lack of Resources & Rate Limiting
  • Broken Function Level Authorization
  • Mass Assignment
  • Security Misconfiguration
  • Injection
  • Improper Assets Management
  • Insufficient Logging & Monitoring

Beyond standard frameworks, testing includes:

  • Business logic vulnerabilities
  • Race conditions
  • CSRF and clickjacking
  • Information disclosure
  • Session management flaws
  • CORS misconfigurations

Testing with Authentication

Blackbox testing becomes significantly more effective when you provide authentication credentials:

When adding domains, you can supply username/password or bearer token credentials. The AI agent uses these to authenticate and test protected areas of your application.

With authentication, Pensar can test:

  • Authenticated API endpoints
  • User-specific functionality
  • Admin panels and privileged features
  • Authorization and access control mechanisms

Learn more about configuring authentication.

Proof-of-Concept Generation

For every vulnerability discovered, Pensar automatically generates a proof-of-concept (POC) that you can use to:

  • Verify the vulnerability exists
  • Understand the attack methodology
  • Reproduce the issue in your own testing
  • Validate that fixes resolve the vulnerability

POCs are provided in multiple formats including curl commands, HTTP requests, and scripted exploits when applicable.

Example POC

For an SQL injection vulnerability, a POC might include:

$# Vulnerable endpoint
>curl -X POST https://example.com/api/login \
>  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
>  -d '{
>    "username": "admin'\'' OR 1=1--",
>    "password": "anything"
>  }'
>
># Expected behavior: Authentication bypass due to SQL injection

Penetration Test Reports

When blackbox testing completes, a comprehensive report is generated including:

Executive Summary

High-level overview of findings, risk assessment, and business impact for stakeholders.

Technical Details

In-depth vulnerability descriptions, affected endpoints, and technical analysis.

Proof-of-Concepts

Reproducible exploits and attack demonstrations for each finding.

Remediation Guidance

Specific recommendations and code examples for fixing each vulnerability.

Reports are available for download in multiple formats for compliance, audit, and documentation purposes.

Blackbox vs. Whitebox Testing

Understanding when to use each approach:

FeatureBlackbox TestingWhitebox Testing
Source Code RequiredNoYes
Testing PerspectiveExternal attacker viewFull application knowledge
CoverageAccessible endpoints onlyAll code paths
SpeedSlower (requires discovery)Faster (direct analysis)
False PositivesHigherLower
Auto-RemediationNot availableAvailable

While blackbox testing is valuable for understanding external risk, whitebox testing provides more comprehensive coverage and enables auto-remediation capabilities.

Continuous Testing

Blackbox tests can be run:

  • On-Demand: Launch tests manually whenever needed
  • Scheduled: Set up recurring tests (daily, weekly, monthly)
  • Continuous: Monitor for new subdomains and endpoints with automatic testing

Continuous testing ensures new attack surfaces are discovered and tested automatically as your application evolves.

Best Practices

When creating a blackbox project, provide as much context as possible about your domains:

  • Application purpose and functionality
  • Known subdomains or endpoints
  • Authentication mechanisms
  • Special testing considerations

This helps the AI agent perform more targeted reconnaissance and testing.

If your application has authenticated areas, configure authentication credentials to enable testing of protected functionality.

Ensure all domains are properly verified before testing begins. Unverified domains cannot be tested.

Monitor testing progress and review findings as they’re discovered. Early vulnerability detection allows faster remediation.

Next Steps

Adding Domains

Learn how to add and verify domains for blackbox testing.

Authentication

Configure authentication credentials for testing protected endpoints.

Whitebox Testing

Explore whitebox testing for more comprehensive coverage with source code.

Attack Surface Mapping

Understand how Pensar discovers and maps your attack surface.