Customer Reviews for WooCommerce Plugin Vulnerability Puts 80,000+ Sites at Risk
Published on August 1, 2025 by HVSec Team
A critical security flaw was discovered in the popular Customer Reviews for WooCommerce plugin that could allow attackers to inject malicious code into websites – impacting 80,000+ WordPress eCommerce stores worldwide.
What Was Discovered?
Security analysts identified a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Customer Reviews for WooCommerce plugin.
The plugin is used by store owners to gather and display customer feedback, but an improper input validation flaw now allows attackers to embed harmful JavaScript code within review fields.
Two key coding issues enabled this attack vector:
Lack of Input Sanitization: The plugin did not adequately strip out malicious content (like scripts) submitted by users.
Failure to Escape Output: When the stored review was displayed on the site, the unsafe data was not escaped, making it executable in the victim’s browser.
Why This is Serious
Because no login is required to exploit the vulnerability, it could be leveraged by any unauthenticated visitor. Once the payload is injected, it stays in the database and runs whenever a page is loaded. This can result in:
- Theft of admin session cookies or login credentials.
- Redirection of users to phishing sites or malware downloads.
- Modifying checkout pages to steal payment data.
- Complete website defacement.
Who is Impacted?
The vulnerability affects all sites running outdated versions of the Customer Reviews for WooCommerce plugin.
Current estimates show that more than 80,000 active installations are potentially vulnerable.
How to Secure Your Site
Update Immediately: Install the latest patched version of the plugin from the official WordPress repository.
Enable a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter out malicious XSS payloads.
Review user accounts and remove any suspicious administrative access.
Schedule routine Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) for your WordPress site.
Bonus Tip: If you suspect a compromise, reset all admin passwords, regenerate WordPress security salts, and check your site files for injected scripts or unauthorized changes.
Final Thoughts
This vulnerability highlights the ongoing risk of third-party WordPress plugins in 2025.
WooCommerce site owners must apply patches as soon as updates are released and implement continuous monitoring to avoid exploitation.
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The Future of Cybersecurity in India – Emerging Threats to Watch in 2025
Published on July 20, 2025 by HVSec Team
India’s digital economy is expanding rapidly, but
cyberattacks are becoming more advanced.
Discover the top cybersecurity threats businesses must prepare for in 2025.
AI-Powered Cyber Attacks Will Become Harder to Detect
Cybercriminals are now using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in highly sophisticated ways.
Deepfake emails, videos, and voice scams are increasingly realistic, while AI-driven malware can bypass traditional antivirus solutions.
CERT-In predicts a surge in LLM-based (ChatGPT-like) attacks in 2025.
Supply Chain Attacks Will Target SaaS & FinTech Startups
Indian startups are heavily dependent on third-party APIs and vendor software, creating a weak security link.
In 2024, multiple data breaches occurred through compromised open-source libraries and CI/CD pipelines.
Supply chain risks will continue to grow in 2025.
Cloud Security Will Be a Top Priority
With over 70% of Indian enterprises migrating to cloud platforms,
misconfigurations remain one of the biggest security risks.
Exposed S3 buckets, weak IAM policies, and cloud-targeted ransomware attacks are expected to rise sharply.
API Security & Mobile Apps Will Be the Primary Attack Vectors
India’s booming app ecosystem and UPI adoption have made
APIs the prime target for attackers.
Issues like hardcoded API keys and weak authentication are leaving FinTech and mobile wallet applications vulnerable.
Key Stats to Note:
150% increase in ransomware attacks targeting Indian SMEs (CERT-In, 2024)
62% of web applications had at least one OWASP Top 10 vulnerability
Only 34% of Indian startups conducted regular security audits last year
How Businesses Can Stay Ahead:
Adopt DevSecOps and integrate security early in development
Use automated vulnerability scanning for APIs, apps, and cloud servers
Train employees to identify phishing, deepfake threats, and insecure coding practices
Partner with certified experts for annual VAPT and compliance audits
Final Word:
India’s digital future depends on adopting a proactive approach to cybersecurity.
Staying one step ahead of cybercriminals in 2025 will require strategic planning and continuous vigilance.
Read More →
File Upload and CORS Exploit in Real-World Apps – Case Study from a University Portal
Published on July 18, 2025 by HVSec Team
During a university penetration test, we uncovered two major security flaws –
Unrestricted File Upload and a Misconfigured CORS Policy.
Both could be exploited to gain full control over user data and the web application.
1. Vulnerability: Unrestricted File Upload
The student assignment portal allowed PDF uploads but did not properly validate file types.
Attackers could upload a disguised .php file as a .pdf and execute it on the server.
Uploaded files were stored in a web-accessible directory with no content-disposition headers, making them executable directly in the browser.
Exploit Path: studentportal.edu/uploads/shell.php
2. Vulnerability: Misconfigured CORS Policy
The application returned overly permissive CORS headers:
Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *
Access-Control-Allow-Credentials: true
This configuration allowed attackers to host a malicious script on
attacker.com and steal user sessions from the portal using cross-origin requests.
How We Demonstrated the Attack
Uploaded a controlled proof-of-concept web shell to confirm Remote Code Execution (RCE).
Built a malicious JavaScript to steal active session cookies via CORS.
Provided a detailed report to the university IT team with impact details.
Impact of the Vulnerabilities
7,000+ student records (grades, contact info) were exposed.
Assignments could be accessed and modified by attackers.
Administrative sessions could be hijacked remotely.
Recommendations We Provided
Enforce strict file upload validation – check file extension, MIME type, and magic bytes.
Host user uploads on a separate non-executable domain or CDN-style subdomain.
Restrict CORS headers to trusted origins and avoid using credentials: true with wildcards.
Key Takeaway: Even educational portals hold sensitive data and must follow
secure file upload practices and proper CORS configurations
to prevent critical breaches.
Read More →
Top 5 OWASP Vulnerabilities to Watch Out for in 2025
Published on July 15, 2025 by HVSec Team
OWASP vulnerabilities remain a major threat to modern web applications. Here are the
Top 5 security risks for 2025 that businesses must address.
1. Broken Access Control:
Still the #1 threat. Attackers exploit weak authorization to escalate privileges,
perform admin actions, or access sensitive data.
2. Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF):
Increasingly dangerous in cloud environments, SSRF allows attackers to make unauthorized server requests —
often leaking cloud metadata or private APIs.
3. Cryptographic Failures:
Outdated or misconfigured encryption makes data interception easy. Enforce
TLS 1.3 and robust algorithms like AES-256.
4. Insecure Design:
Poorly designed app logic (e.g., missing authorization checks or insecure workflows)
continues to create critical attack vectors.
5. Security Misconfiguration:
Default credentials, open ports, unpatched software, and verbose error messages
expose apps to unnecessary risks. DevSecOps automation is key to prevention.
Pro Tip: Perform regular VAPT using tools like
OWASP ZAP and Burp Suite, combined with
expert manual testing, to catch these flaws early. Building
secure-by-design applications saves time and money long-term.
Read More →
Case Study: How We Prevented a ₹10 Lakh Data Breach via API Exploit
Published on July 9, 2025 by HVSec Team
APIs are the backbone of fintech and SaaS businesses, but a single flaw can trigger massive breaches.
Here’s how our team uncovered and fixed a critical IDOR vulnerability before attackers could exploit it.
During a black-box API penetration test, our engineers discovered a severe
Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability.
By altering the customer ID in API requests, attackers could access other users’ financial data.
We immediately reported the issue to the fintech company’s CTO.
The flaw had gone unnoticed for months because the backend was outsourced to a third-party vendor.
What We Did:
Enforced strict authorization & role-based access checks on every API endpoint
Replaced sequential customer IDs with secure UUIDs
Enabled detailed logging & anomaly detection to identify abnormal request patterns
Impact Averted:
We secured over 2 lakh sensitive records containing PAN, Aadhaar, and contact details before attackers could exploit them.
This helped the client avoid heavy financial penalties and regulatory action.
Key Takeaway for Businesses:
APIs are now a primary attack surface. Regular
VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing) and
secure coding practices are non-negotiable to safeguard customer data and business continuity.
Read More →
Learn Burp Suite Like a Pro: Complete Beginner-to-Advanced VAPT Guide
Published on July 2, 2025 by HVSec Team
Burp Suite is the go-to tool for web application penetration testing.
Whether you're a beginner or an experienced tester, this complete guide will help you
master Burp Suite's features and supercharge your VAPT workflow.
Burp Suite by PortSwigger
is widely used for manual and automated vulnerability testing.
Here’s how you can leverage its core features:
- Proxy: Intercept and inspect live HTTP/S requests and responses.
- Repeater: Modify and resend requests for SQL Injection, XSS, IDOR, etc.
- Intruder: Automate brute-force attacks, parameter fuzzing, OTP bypass.
- Extensions: Boost Burp using Logger++, ActiveScan++, Turbo Intruder.
Advanced Burp Suite Techniques:
- Bypass WAFs using encoding and payload obfuscation.
- Automate session handling with macros and match-replace.
- Leverage Burp Collaborator for SSRF, DNS exfiltration & blind vulnerabilities.
Pro Tip: Pair Burp Suite with FoxyProxy and install Burp’s CA certificate for
full HTTPS interception.
Why Learn Burp Suite?
Companies rely on Burp Suite to identify OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and misconfigurations
before attackers can. Mastering it makes you far more effective in your VAPT engagements.
Read More →
Why Your Startup is a Prime Target for Hackers in 2025
Published on June 25, 2025 by HVSec Team
Think your startup is "too small to get hacked"? Cybercriminals now see startups as easy, high-value targets. Here’s why they’re coming for you in 2025.
Many founders still assume hackers only go after Fortune 500 companies. The reality is different.
In 2025, over 60% of all reported breaches are happening in startups and SMEs because they lack mature security practices.
Startups are seen as "low-hanging fruit":
Limited security budgets, rapid product releases, and minimal security testing make them attractive to attackers.
Key reasons why hackers love targeting startups:
Valuable data (customer PII, payment details, and API keys) often stored without proper encryption.
Exposed APIs with little or no authentication – a common entry point for data theft.
Lack of security awareness among developers regarding OWASP Top 10 and cloud misconfigurations.
No bug bounty or VAPT program in place to detect flaws proactively.
Did you know?
In a recent survey, 72% of breached startups had no dedicated security team at the time of attack.
Education and awareness is the first step.
Founders, CTOs, and product managers must understand that cybersecurity isn’t optional — it’s essential for survival.
Action Plan:
- Perform a security risk assessment of your product and cloud infrastructure.
- Enforce MFA and least-privilege access.
- Run periodic VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing) to close security gaps.
- Build a secure DevSecOps pipeline to prevent issues at the code level.
Pro Tip: Book a free risk assessment with HVSec to uncover critical flaws before hackers do.
A small investment now can save you from a devastating breach later.
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Top 10 Cyber Threats Indian Businesses Must Prepare for in 2025
Published on June 22, 2025 by HVSec Team
Indian businesses are facing a record surge in cyberattacks — from phishing and ransomware to cloud misconfigurations.
Here’s a breakdown of the **10 most critical threats** that every organization must address this year.
India is now one of the most targeted countries in Asia for cybercrime.
According to the latest CERT-In data, cyberattacks against Indian enterprises have increased by over 30% year-on-year.
Top 10 Cybersecurity Threats in 2025:
1. Phishing 2.0: AI-generated fake websites, emails, and SMS campaigns fooling even trained employees.
2. Ransomware-as-a-Service: Criminal groups renting out ready-made ransomware kits targeting healthcare, SaaS, and manufacturing sectors.
3. Credential Stuffing: Automated attacks using leaked username-password combos from previous breaches to access corporate accounts.
4. Cloud Misconfigurations: Mismanaged AWS/GCP buckets exposing millions of records publicly.
5. Unpatched Software Vulnerabilities: Legacy CMS systems and outdated plugins being exploited remotely.
6. Supply Chain Compromise: Attackers infiltrating through vulnerable vendors or outsourced developers.
7. Mobile Malware: Fake UPI/payment apps designed to intercept OTPs and banking credentials.
8. IoT Exploitation: Poorly secured routers, surveillance devices, and industrial sensors being hijacked.
9. Insider Threats: Disgruntled employees or contractors leaking data or planting backdoors.
10. Weak Incident Response: Lack of trained teams and playbooks leading to extended downtime and higher breach costs.
Real-World Case:
In 2024, a logistics firm in Pune lost over ₹1.5 Crore after a sophisticated phishing attack impersonated one of their major suppliers.
Weak email security (no DMARC/SPF) and lack of employee awareness training were the root causes.
Key Takeaway:
Cyberattacks are no longer a question of **if** but **when**.
Indian businesses must invest in preventive security controls, continuous threat detection, and rapid incident response capabilities to stay ahead.
Action Plan:
- Conduct periodic VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing)
- Train employees in phishing & social engineering awareness
- Enforce strong MFA policies and zero-trust access
- Regularly audit cloud configurations & third-party vendors
Read More →
How to Choose the Right VAPT Vendor – 7 Crucial Factors to Evaluate
Published on June 20, 2025 by HVSec Team
Selecting the wrong Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) partner can cost your business
time, money, and leave you vulnerable.
Here are 7 key factors you must verify before signing a contract.
Many businesses make the mistake of choosing vendors based only on price.
A poor-quality assessment can lead to false positives, missed vulnerabilities, and compliance gaps.
1. Compliance Expertise:
Your VAPT provider must understand the regulations relevant to your industry –
ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, SOC2, etc.
2. Quality of Reporting:
Request a sample report. It should include risk severity ratings, CVSS scores, detailed impact analysis,
and step-by-step remediation guidelines.
3. Manual + Automated Testing:
Ensure they use top-tier tools (Burp Suite Pro, Nessus, Nmap, Nikto, custom scripts)
combined with manual logic testing.
4. Relevant Industry Experience:
Choose vendors who have tested businesses in your niche (FinTech, SaaS, Healthcare, E-commerce, etc.).
5. NDA & Confidentiality:
Your data is sensitive. Ensure a strong non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is part of the contract.
6. Methodology & Timelines:
Verify that the vendor follows **OWASP**, **PTES**, or similar industry-recognized standards and clarify timelines upfront.
7. Post-Audit Support:
Do they offer free **re-testing after you fix issues**?
Will they assist in prioritizing patches and improving your overall security posture?
Pro Tip:
Avoid vendors who only run automated scanners and send generic reports.
A real penetration test includes business logic testing, vulnerability chaining,
and real-world attack simulations.
Bottom Line:
The right VAPT partner is an **extension of your security team**.
Take time to vet their expertise, tools, and post-engagement support – it will pay off in the long run.
Read More →
SSRF Exploitation Explained: Real-World Techniques & Defenses
Published on June 15, 2025 by HVSec Team
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) remains one of the most exploited OWASP vulnerabilities.
This guide explains how attackers abuse SSRF in the wild and what businesses can do to stop it.
SSRF allows attackers to trick servers into making unauthorized internal requests.
This can lead to exposure of internal services, sensitive metadata, and in severe cases, full infrastructure compromise.
Types of SSRF Attacks
1. Basic SSRF: Attacker controls the URL fetched by the server (e.g., image downloader or webhooks).
2. Blind SSRF: No response is visible to the attacker, but impact occurs internally; confirmed via DNS exfiltration or logs.
3. SSRF to RCE: Advanced chaining using internal metadata (e.g., AWS instance credentials) leading to remote code execution.
How Attackers Test for SSRF (Burp Suite + Manual)
Injecting internal IPs like http://127.0.0.1:80 or cloud metadata URLs like http://169.254.169.254/latest/meta-data.
Using Burp Repeater and Collaborator to detect out-of-band SSRF.
Trying payloads with URL encoding, DNS rebinding, and header smuggling techniques.
SSRF Bypass Techniques Commonly Used
IP Obfuscation: 127.0.0.1 → 2130706433 or 0x7f.0x0.0x0.0x1.
Redirect Chains: Using an external URL that redirects to an internal IP.
Alternate Protocols: gopher://, file://, dict:// for advanced exploitation.
Real-World Example:
The infamous Capital One data breach (2019) was caused by SSRF in AWS WAF,
enabling attackers to extract instance metadata and gain full access to S3 buckets.
Defense Tips:
Always validate and whitelist outgoing requests on the backend.
Avoid user-controlled URLs, disable unnecessary protocols, and use firewall egress filtering.
Remember: SSRF is not a theoretical risk – it’s actively exploited in the wild.
Read More →
Mastering WAF Bypass Techniques: How Attackers Evade Filters
Published on June 13, 2025 by HVSec Team
Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) are an important security layer, but they’re far from perfect.
Here’s how attackers bypass them — and how you can stay one step ahead.
WAFs protect web applications by blocking malicious requests, but they often rely on **signature-based detection**.
Skilled attackers can manipulate payloads to avoid these filters completely.
Common WAF Bypass Techniques
Payload Obfuscation: Inserting junk characters, using case variations, or comment blocks to break detection (<ScRiPt>, selec/**/t).
Encoding & Double-Encoding: Using URL, Base64, or Unicode encoding to hide special characters (%2527 resolves to ').
Chunking Payloads: Splitting malicious code across parameters or multiple requests to bypass inspection.
Advanced Evasion Tricks
HTTP Parameter Pollution: Supplying duplicate parameters like role=admin&role=user to confuse backend logic.
Header Spoofing: Modifying headers such as X-Forwarded-Host or X-Original-URL to bypass routing.
HTTP Request Smuggling: Exploiting discrepancies between front-end and back-end servers (CL-TE / TE-CL attacks).
Defensive Measures for Businesses
Use **input validation and sanitization** at the backend — never depend on WAF alone.
Enable WAF in block + detection mode with custom signatures (e.g., ModSecurity, AWS WAF).
Perform WAF bypass testing as part of regular VAPT exercises to catch gaps early.
Pro Tip: Combine automated tools (Burp Suite, WAFW00F) with manual payload tuning for maximum bypass detection.
Always validate findings on apps with and without WAF enabled.
Read More →
Case Study: How We Discovered Broken Authentication in a Live SaaS Application
Published on June 12, 2025 by HVSec Team
During a routine penetration test for a SaaS platform, our team uncovered a severe Broken Authentication vulnerability that could have compromised thousands of enterprise accounts.
Broken Authentication is one of the OWASP Top 10 security risks. In this case, attackers could have gained full account access without valid credentials — a serious business threat.
How the Vulnerability Worked
The platform used predictable session tokens (JWTs that simply Base64-encoded user emails).
No server-side validation or token expiry checks were enforced.
Attackers could brute-force admin-level tokens using known email addresses.
Once inside, a malicious actor could modify billing data, access confidential reports, and reset user credentials without detection.
How HVSec Helped Fix It
Delivered a detailed live Proof of Concept (PoC) for the engineering team.
Recommended using signed, encrypted tokens and validating sessions server-side.
Advised rate-limiting login attempts and enabling mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA).
The Outcome
The SaaS provider patched the flaw in just 3 days. They introduced rotating JWTs, enhanced token validation, and improved security logging.
Impact avoided: Account takeover of 14,000 enterprise users, including financial administrators.
Pro Tip: Treat authentication tokens as sensitive assets. Always validate them on the backend, enforce expiry, and enable brute-force protection to prevent unauthorized access.
Read More →
Top 5 Open-Source Tools Every Bug Bounty Hunter Must Master
Published on June 12, 2025 by HVSec Team
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned bug bounty hunter, using the right tools can dramatically increase your vulnerability discovery rate. Here are five must-have open-source tools for every security researcher.
1. Amass – Attack Surface Mapping
Amass is a powerful tool for subdomain enumeration and infrastructure mapping. It performs passive & active reconnaissance, DNS brute-forcing, and integrates with multiple data sources for maximum coverage.
2. Subfinder – Fast Passive Subdomain Discovery
Lightweight and blazing fast, Subfinder focuses on passive subdomain discovery. Often paired with httpx or dnsx to verify live hosts, it’s an essential tool for attack surface expansion.
3. Nuclei – Automated Vulnerability Scanning
Nuclei uses a flexible template system to identify misconfigurations, CVEs, and sensitive data exposures. You can also write custom templates to target specific vulnerabilities.
4. FFUF – High-Speed Fuzzing
FFUF (Fuzz Faster U Fool) is a versatile fuzzer that uncovers hidden directories, parameters, and endpoints. It's ideal for bypassing weak authorization checks and discovering admin panels.
5. Burp Suite Community – Manual Testing Power
While not fully open-source, Burp Suite Community Edition combined with free extensions (Logger++, Param Miner, Collaborator Everywhere) remains unmatched for manual web application security testing.
Pro Tip: Chain these tools into an automated recon pipeline. The more automated your enumeration, the more time you have for manual vulnerability chaining.
Bonus Insight: Why Startups Need Pentesting from Day 1
Many SaaS startups delay security until they grow, but that's when attackers strike.
Exposed APIs and misconfigured cloud storage create easy entry points.
Debug ports and weak access controls are often left unmonitored.
Developers frequently overlook OWASP Top 10 risks in fast-paced releases.
Solution: Even on small budgets, conduct regular pentests using a combination of open-source tooling and skilled security partners like HVSec. Proactive testing can save startups from data breaches and reputational damage.
Read More →
How We Uncovered an OTP Bypass in a Logistics App (Case Study)
Published on June 10, 2025 by HVSec Team
During a mobile API penetration test, we identified a critical OTP bypass vulnerability that could have allowed attackers to take over any user account with just a phone number.
1. The Discovery
The logistics company’s mobile app relied on OTP-based authentication, but the backend wasn’t actually validating the OTP.
The API endpoint looked like this:
POST /api/auth/verify_otp
Body: { "mobile": "9xxxxxxxxx", "otp": "123456" }
We quickly realized that the OTP was being validated on the client side only, making the entire flow vulnerable.
2. How the Exploit Worked
Registered a test number and intercepted the OTP request in Burp Suite.
Replaced the actual OTP with 000000 — the server still issued a valid session token.
Repeated the attack using other users’ phone numbers and successfully hijacked multiple accounts.
3. Impact of the Vulnerability
Unauthorized access to shipment tracking data and delivery addresses.
Ability to reroute shipments via backend APIs.
Exposure of business clients’ invoices and contact lists.
4. Root Causes
OTP validation was handled only on the client side.
No expiration or attempt limits on OTP submissions.
Authorization tokens were tied solely to the phone number.
5. How We Helped Fix It
Implemented server-side OTP validation with expiry times.
Added rate-limiting and anomaly detection for brute-force attempts.
Bound tokens to both the OTP validation and device fingerprint.
Key Takeaway: OTP is not inherently secure. APIs must never trust the client-side validation. Always enforce authentication logic at the backend with proper logging and monitoring.
Read More →
VAPT vs Bug Bounty: Which Security Strategy is Right for Your Startup?
Published on June 9, 2025 by HVSec Team
VAPT and Bug Bounty programs both aim to uncover security flaws, but they serve different purposes. Here's a simple breakdown to help startups choose the right approach.
1. What is VAPT?
Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing (VAPT) is a structured, time-bound security evaluation carried out by certified professionals.
It is ideal for businesses seeking compliance certifications or an in-depth analysis of their apps and networks.
Comes with NDA, contracts, and a well-defined scope.
Includes detailed reports with Proof-of-Concepts (PoCs) and remediation guidance.
Often required for ISO 27001, SOC2, PCI-DSS, or investor readiness.
2. What is Bug Bounty?
A Bug Bounty program allows independent security researchers to find vulnerabilities and report them for rewards.
It’s an ongoing, crowdsourced security model.
Finds edge-case vulnerabilities missed by traditional audits.
Pay-per-valid-bug model can be cost-effective but unpredictable.
Requires a mature security team to triage and respond to reports quickly.
3. Which Should Startups Choose?
Choose VAPT if:
You’re in the early stages and have never done a structured security test.
You need formal reports for investors, clients, or regulators.
You want a fixed timeframe and accountable remediation support.
Choose Bug Bounty if:
You already have in-house security processes and a mature DevSecOps setup.
You can manage multiple researcher submissions and handle triage efficiently.
You want continuous public or private testing after fixing baseline issues.
4. Comparison Table
| Feature |
VAPT |
Bug Bounty |
| Cost Model |
Fixed per project |
Pay per valid bug |
| Control & Scope |
High (customized scope) |
Low (open to researcher creativity) |
| Timeframe |
Defined start and end dates |
Ongoing |
| Best Use Case |
Compliance and foundational security testing |
Advanced continuous testing after VAPT |
5. Final Verdict
Startups should start with structured VAPT to fix critical gaps.
Once your security posture matures, complement it with a private or public Bug Bounty program for ongoing testing.
Tip: HVSec can help you with both — begin with our expert-led VAPT, and we’ll guide you in setting up a safe Bug Bounty program when ready.
Read More →