Platform-agnostic testing
Our testing covers Windows, macOS, and Linux environments, ensuring vulnerabilities are identified across multiple platforms and addressing platform-specific attack vectors.
Penetration Testing
Desktop applications
Identify and remediate vulnerabilities in your desktop applications to prevent exploitation and safeguard sensitive data.
Discuss an engagement- Objective
- unauthorised code execution and privilege escalation
- Maturity
- a shipping build, source code optional
- Approach
- static, dynamic, IPC and backend testing
- Result
- secure desktop software on Windows, macOS and Linux
Securing desktop applications across all platforms
Desktop applications are essential to business operations, handling sensitive data, critical workflows, and direct access to underlying system resources. However, they are frequently targeted by attackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities in application logic, local data storage, or interprocess communications.
SilentGrid's Desktop Application Penetration Testing simulates real-world attack scenarios to uncover vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorised code execution, privilege escalation, and data leakage. By testing the application's resilience at every level, we help organisations secure their desktop software and protect users across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms.
What sets us apart
Comprehensive application and system-level analysis
We evaluate desktop applications from installation to execution, testing for weaknesses that could compromise user environments, data integrity, or system security.
Real-world exploit simulation
SilentGrid simulates real-world attack techniques to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited to gain unauthorised access, bypass controls, or escalate privileges within the operating system.
Methodology
SilentGrid's desktop penetration testing aligns with OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) and draws on techniques from reverse engineering, exploit development, and secure coding practices.
- 01
Static analysis and code review
- Decompiling or reverse-engineering application binaries to identify vulnerabilities at the code level
- Reviewing source code (when available) for insecure coding patterns, hardcoded credentials, and weak cryptographic implementations
- 02
Dynamic testing and execution
- Testing the application at runtime to detect misconfigurations, buffer overflows, and insecure memory handling
- Assessing how the application interacts with system components and other processes
- 03
Privilege escalation and local exploitation
- Simulating privilege escalation attacks through exploited vulnerabilities
- Testing for path traversal, DLL hijacking, and local privilege elevation opportunities
- 04
File handling and data storage
- Evaluating how sensitive data is stored within the application's local environment
- Testing for data leakage, unencrypted files, and insecure configurations
- 05
Interprocess communication (IPC) testing
- Assessing communication between application components to identify vulnerabilities in IPC channels that could be exploited for lateral movement or privilege escalation
- 06
API and backend interaction
- Testing desktop applications that communicate with remote APIs or cloud services, ensuring data transmission and authentication flows are secure
Why desktop application security matters
Desktop applications often operate with elevated privileges, making them high-value targets for adversaries. Exploiting vulnerabilities within desktop software can lead to privilege escalation attacks, code execution at the operating system level, exfiltration of sensitive data and compromised user environments.
Proactively addressing vulnerabilities prevents these risks and ensures desktop applications contribute to overall system security rather than becoming potential points of failure.
Plan the year
Test this version, or each one through the year.
A single desktop test covers a shipping build on Windows, macOS or Linux, from binaries and IPC to local privilege escalation. Where new versions ship through the year, an annual program can add them to a twelve-month plan and retest fixes each quarter.
Explore annual programsDeliverables and reporting
SilentGrid's desktop assessments provide actionable insights that help development teams enhance the security of their desktop applications.
Comprehensive vulnerability report
Detailing identified vulnerabilities and potential exploitation paths
Proof of concept (PoC)
Demonstrations of successful exploit scenarios
Remediation guidance
Prioritised recommendations with actionable remediation steps
Executive summary
A high-level overview for stakeholders, outlining risks and recommended actions
Consultation and support
Ongoing support post-assessment to assist development teams in addressing vulnerabilities
Why SilentGrid
SilentGrid's consultants are hand-picked, and between them they have delivered penetration testing globally over decades. Their sector experience covers banking and financial services, insurance, government, critical infrastructure and healthcare, so an assessment is read against how the systems in question are actually run.
Consultants find 0-day vulnerabilities in commercial software and speak or teach at security conferences. That research produces the custom tooling used to reach the flaws automated scanning leaves behind, and it keeps the techniques current. Testing follows concepts set out in NIST, OWASP, PTES and OSSTMM.
CREST ANZApproved company Individual credentials across our team include
- OSEE
- OSCE3
- OSED
- OSEP
- OSWE
- GXPN
- CRTO
- CRTE
- CRTP
- OSCP
Common questions
What is desktop application penetration testing?
Desktop application penetration testing examines installed software on Windows, macOS or Linux the way an attacker would: reverse engineering the binaries, testing runtime behaviour, local data storage and interprocess communication, and attempting privilege escalation through flaws such as DLL hijacking. Source code review is optional, and any remote APIs or cloud services the application uses are tested too.
Which platforms do you test?
Windows, macOS and Linux, including the platform-specific attack vectors that differ between them.
Do you need access to our source code?
No. Application binaries are decompiled or reverse-engineered to identify vulnerabilities at the code level. Where source code is available, it is reviewed for insecure coding patterns, hardcoded credentials and weak cryptographic implementations.
What kinds of vulnerabilities do you look for?
Misconfigurations, buffer overflows and insecure memory handling at runtime, path traversal, DLL hijacking and local privilege elevation, insecure local data storage and unencrypted files, and weaknesses in interprocess communication channels.
Do you test the backend the application talks to?
Yes, where the application communicates with remote APIs or cloud services. Data transmission and authentication flows are assessed as part of the engagement.
What standards does the testing follow?
Testing aligns with the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard and draws on techniques from reverse engineering, exploit development and secure coding practices.
Why do desktop applications need testing?
They often operate with elevated privileges, which makes them high-value targets. Exploiting them can lead to privilege escalation, code execution at the operating system level, exfiltration of sensitive data and compromised user environments.
What do we receive at the end?
A comprehensive vulnerability report with exploitation paths, proof-of-concept demonstrations, prioritised remediation guidance, an executive summary for stakeholders, and post-assessment consultation for the development team.
Secure your applications
Get started with desktop application security
Ensure your desktop applications are secure against emerging threats
Schedule a Desktop Application Penetration Test and protect your software from exploitation.