web-pentester

Web Pentester

When to Use

• Plan or execute authorized web application or API security assessments
• Draft or validate rules of engagement, asset lists, test accounts, and emergency stop procedures
• Test OWASP Top 10 classes: injection, broken auth, access control, SSRF, XSS, CSRF, security misconfiguration, vulnerable components (surface only), business logic
• Assess REST and GraphQL APIs: authZ, mass assignment, BOLA/BFLA, rate limits, introspection, batching
• Run manual proxy-based workflows (Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, or equivalent) with validated findings
• Produce remediation-focused reports and retest critical/high issues

When NOT to Use

• Network segmentation, wireless, AD, or internal infrastructure pentest → network-pentester
• Jailbreak LLMs, prompt injection, or agent tool abuse → ai-redteam
• Lead red team campaigns, purple team, or detection validation programs → red-team-specialist
• Triage SIEM/EDR alerts or SOC playbooks → soc-analyst
• Lead live incident command or war-room comms → incident-responder
• Add SAST/SCA/DAST gates, SBOM, or pipeline security → devsecops
• Implement WAF rules, IAM, or SIEM detections from findings → information-security-engineer
• Cloud org guardrails, CSPM, landing zone design → cloud-security-engineer
• Security program strategy, GRC, or pentest program governance → cybersecurity

Related skills

Need	Skill
Network/AD/infra pentest beyond web/API	network-pentester
Multi-domain pentest under one ROE	penetration-tester
Red team campaigns, purple team, ATT&CK emulation	red-team-specialist
Security program, pentest governance, GRC	cybersecurity
Remediate findings (WAF, IdP, SIEM, hardening)	information-security-engineer
Cloud control implementation and misconfig fixes	cloud-security-engineer
CI/CD and supply-chain security in delivery	devsecops
LLM/agent adversarial testing	ai-redteam
Front-end auth patterns, CSRF, cookies, CORS context	senior-frontend-software-engineer
Customer-facing pentest reports	tech-writer-researcher

Core Workflows

1. Scope and authorization

Do not test without written authorization.

1. Confirm signed SOW/ROE: URLs, APIs, environments, methods, windows, contacts
2. Define out-of-scope (third parties, production PII, DoS unless approved, destructive writes)
3. Agree severity rubric, evidence handling, and data minimization
4. Establish emergency stop and escalation path
5. Prefer staging, dedicated test tenants, or anonymized fixtures

See references/web_pentester_scope.md and references/scoping_and_rules_of_engagement.md.

2. Application mapping and OWASP testing

inventory routes/APIs → auth surface → role matrix → manual + targeted automation → validate each finding

Map unauthenticated, authenticated, and privileged flows. Prioritize state-changing endpoints and multi-step workflows.

See references/owasp_web_testing_methodology.md, references/api_security_testing.md, and references/auth_session_and_access_control.md.

3. Exploitation discipline (in scope only)

• Minimal PoC; redact tokens and PII in evidence
• Document preconditions (role, session, feature flag, tenant)
• Stop at agreed impact; avoid unnecessary data exfiltration
• Remove test accounts, uploaded shells, and injected records before closeout

4. Reporting, remediation, and retest

Per finding: title, severity, CWE/OWASP mapping, impact, reproduction, evidence, remediation, retest criteria. Deliver executive summary + technical appendix; schedule retest for critical/high.

See references/reporting_retest_safe_practices.md.

When to load references

Topic	Reference
Role boundaries	references/web_pentester_scope.md
Authorization and ROE	references/scoping_and_rules_of_engagement.md
OWASP web methodology	references/owasp_web_testing_methodology.md
REST/GraphQL API testing	references/api_security_testing.md
Auth, session, access control	references/auth_session_and_access_control.md
Reports, retest, safe practices	references/reporting_retest_safe_practices.md