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DESKTOP APPLICATION PENTEST

Secure your desktop apps wherever they run

Desktop applications handle sensitive data and reach deep into the systems they run on. This means their vulnerabilities reach deep into those systems as well. Cobalt secures standalone desktop apps, finding and confirming the exploitable flaws across client-side, network-side, and server-side desktop apps before an attacker does.
THE CHALLENGE

Desktop apps hold sensitive data and touch the whole system

Desktop applications like Zoom and Slack sit on the endpoint, process sensitive data, and often have direct access to system resources. Their hybrid architecture, part local and part cloud, creates risks that a browser-based app does not carry. Secrets can be extracted from the binary and from memory. Traffic can be intercepted during installation and at run time. Weak authentication, inadequate password policies, and improper session management give attackers a foothold, and the consequences range from supply chain compromise to devices pulled into a botnet.


Automated tools flag surface issues, but they cannot confirm what an attacker can actually reach on the client, capture on the network, or reach on the server behind the app. Proof of exploitability is what separates a real finding from noise, and it takes a human to establish it.

OUR APPROACH

A proven desktop methodology, executed by the Cobalt Core

Cobalt uses AI-powered continuous offensive security testing, grounded in human expertise, to test desktop applications the way an attacker would. Testing is informed by an industry-leading methodology aligned with the OWASP Desktop Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS). Testers use reverse engineering and network traffic analysis to assess local storage, server communication, and system interactions. Human-led testing goes where automation cannot, and AI accelerates reconnaissance, scanning, and triage so pentesters spend their time on exploitation and business logic.

What a Cobalt desktop application pentest covers

Every finding is an exploitable vulnerability with reproduction steps and remediation guidance, reported in real time and available for unlimited retesting within a 7-day SLA.

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Map the application and its architecture

Pentesters profile the application, its platform, and the languages and frameworks behind it, then map how it stores data locally, communicates with servers, and interacts with the operating system.
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Attack the client side

Binary, file, and memory analysis inspect executable files and system memory to uncover and extract sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and API keys left exposed on the device.
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Analyze network traffic

Using proxies and protocol analyzers, testers confirm the application sends nothing sensitive in cleartext during installation or at run time, and probe for eavesdropping and denial of service exposure.
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Exploit the server side and business logic

Testers intercept and modify traffic between the application and its backend, run TCP, UDP, and Layer 7 attacks against the server, and examine application-specific workflows for logic flaws that automated tools miss.
WHAT YOU GET

Coverage, speed, and proof across every attack surface

Coverage across client, network, and server

Test the full desktop attack surface in one engagement. Cobalt protects sensitive data on the client, prevents eavesdropping and denial of service on the network, and safeguards the databases, APIs, and internal systems behind the app, so no layer goes untested.

Remediation at DevOps speed

Findings route into Jira, GitHub, Azure DevOps, and Slack through 50+ integrations, so developers act on high-impact issues without leaving their workflow. Collaborate with pentesters in real time and retest without limits.

Proof, not noise

Every finding is a validated, exploitable vulnerability with reproduction steps and remediation guidance. On-demand reports give executives and auditors the evidence they need, backed by the largest offensive security dataset in the industry.
CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

Trusted by security leaders

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Some of the issues that come back are phenomenal, things I'd never think of. We're talking chained exploits and complex business logic issues that we could never find internally ourselves. The Cobalt pentesters go deep and find vulnerabilities that a real hacker in the wild could exploit.
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Adam Davis

Director of Application Security at Insurity
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With hundreds of deployments daily, our security controls need to be an enabler, not a blocker. Our offensive security program allows us to simulate real-world attacks early in the SSDLC, ensuring vulnerabilities are identified and fixed before they can be exploited.
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Arnau Estebanell

Lead Security Engineer at Personio
FAQ

Frequently asked questions about desktop application pentesting

What is desktop application penetration testing?
Desktop application penetration testing is a controlled, authorized assessment of a standalone desktop application to find and confirm exploitable vulnerabilities before real attackers do. It evaluates local data storage, server communication, and system interactions across client-side, network-side, and server-side attacks.
How is desktop app pentesting different from web app pentesting?
A desktop app runs on the endpoint and often has direct access to system resources, so it exposes risks a browser-based app does not. Testers reverse engineer the binary, inspect system memory, and analyze installation and run-time traffic to find secrets and data left exposed on the client and on the network. Desktop apps still communicate with backend servers and APIs, so Cobalt tests those shared surfaces as well.
What methodology does Cobalt use for desktop pentesting?
Cobalt uses an industry-leading methodology, informed by the OWASP Desktop Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS). Testing covers information gathering and platform mapping, client-side attacks through binary, file, and memory analysis, network-side attacks against installation and run-time traffic, and server-side attacks including TCP, UDP, and Layer 7, along with manual testing of business logic and workflows.
What kinds of vulnerabilities does a desktop pentest find?
Common findings include sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, and API keys exposed in the binary or in memory, cleartext transmission during installation or run time, weak authentication and improper session management, denial of service exposure, server-side flaws that expose backend databases and APIs, and business logic abuse that automated tools miss. Every finding is validated as exploitable and delivered with reproduction steps and remediation guidance.
How is desktop pentesting different from an automated scan?
Automated tools flag misconfigurations and known issues, but they capture a point-in-time view and cannot confirm what an attacker can actually extract from memory, intercept on the network, or reach on the server. Human-led pentesting uncovers the chained and logic-based vulnerabilities that scanners overlook and proves what is genuinely exploitable.
What does desktop app pentesting work well with?
Desktop pentesting pairs naturally with API Pentest and Web Application Pentest for the shared endpoints and data exchange behind the app, AI and LLM Pentest where the application integrates AI features, and Secure Code Review for coverage earlier in the development lifecycle.
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Your desktop apps reach the whole system. Make sure attackers can't.

Secure your desktop applications with human-led, AI-powered pentesting from the Cobalt Core, delivered on the Cobalt Offensive Security Platform.

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