Source Code Review.
Source code review (secure code review) is an authorized, manual white-box audit of your application’s source code, run by security professionals to find and prove vulnerabilities at their root — injection sinks, broken authorization, hardcoded secrets, unsafe deserialization, and vulnerable dependencies — including flaws that black-box penetration testing cannot see from the outside.
Depending on agreed scope, a review may combine hands-on analysis referencing the OWASP Code Review Guide and ASVS, code-path tracing, static analysis, and manual verification.
Injection & unsafe sinks
Tainted data flowing into SQL, OS commands, templates (SSTI), and deserializers — traced from input source to dangerous sink in the code.
Authentication & authorization logic
Access-control checks as implemented in code: missing or inconsistent authorization, IDOR at the data layer, and privilege boundaries the application fails to enforce.
Secrets & configuration
Hardcoded credentials, API keys, tokens, and private keys committed to source, plus insecure defaults and debug flags left in configuration.
Cryptography & data handling
Weak or home-grown crypto, improper key and password storage, weak randomness, and sensitive data logged or exposed in code.
Insecure dependencies (SCA)
Third-party libraries and components with known CVEs, risky transitive dependencies, and outdated frameworks pulled in by your build.
Framework & language anti-patterns
Misuse of framework security features, unsafe APIs, mass assignment, and language-specific footguns across your stack.
- An executive summary that translates code-level risk into business impact.
- Every finding mapped to the exact file, line, and code path, with CVSS-scored severity.
- Developer-ready remediation — the secure pattern to adopt, not just the flaw to remove.
- A re-review may be defined in a written engagement scope.
We reference recognized secure-coding methodologies. The written engagement scope controls the applicable coverage and reporting format.
What is the difference between source code review and penetration testing?
A penetration test attacks your running application from the outside (black-box) and proves what an attacker can reach. A source code review reads the actual source (white-box) to find flaws at their root — code paths, hardcoded secrets, and logic errors that are never visible from the outside. They are complementary, and many teams do both.
Which languages and frameworks can be reviewed?
Provide your languages, frameworks, versions, and build requirements during scoping. The written engagement scope should confirm supported components and any coverage limits before work starts.
What source-code access is required?
Ask which repository, build, and dependency access is needed for the agreed review. Access method, environment, handling controls, and delivery practices should be defined in the written engagement scope.
How much does a source code review cost?
It scales mostly with the size and complexity of the codebase — lines of code, number of components, and the languages involved. Commercial terms are agreed in a written engagement scope.