To truly understand your website’s defenses, you need to think like an attacker. That’s the principle behind Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): instead of reviewing source code, a DAST scan probes the live application from the outside, the way an actual attacker would. Cerberus, the DAST service offered by our SiteWatch site monitoring and maintenance team, is built around that approach.
This kind of validation has always mattered, but it matters more now. AI-assisted development is accelerating delivery across the industry, but that speed introduces risk. When less experienced teams can ship production applications using AI-powered tools without deep architectural or security expertise, the result is often a broader attack surface with higher exposure. At the same time, threat actors are using AI to scale reconnaissance, accelerate vulnerability research, and speed up exploit development. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reported that the window between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation has already shrunk to days, and expects AI to compress it further through 2027.
Against that backdrop, periodic audits and code reviews are increasingly insufficient. Organizations need a way to validate security against real-world attack patterns on their live applications, on a repeatable basis.
Security validation with Cerberus
Cerberus simulates real-world external attacks without requiring site logins or special server access for standard scanning, testing for weaknesses across forms, endpoints, configurations, and other exposed surfaces.
Cerberus is a strong fit for enterprise sites, online shops, and any organization managing mission-critical systems or customer data. One of the advantages of an expert-led scan over a generic automated tool is the ability to interpret findings in the context of a specific platform’s architecture. As an example, our team brings more than 15 years of experience building, maintaining, and securing WordPress for major enterprises, which translates into assessments that reflect deep knowledge of how WordPress works at scale.
The process starts with a practical review of the site, identifying which pages should be scanned while being careful with URLs that could trigger activities like transactions or alert monitoring systems. The scan runs using software tuned to known vulnerabilities and common attack patterns. The findings are then reviewed by a security expert who validates them, adds context, and prepares the final report. Cerberus is not a fully automated solution; our expert review ensures higher accuracy and contextual understanding.
Real findings, real risk
DAST scans surface issues that could otherwise turn into launch delays, customer-facing incidents, compliance concerns, or expensive remediation work under pressure.
Our Cerberus program proactively uncovered that a large supermarket chain had payment-related data exposed through the WordPress REST API. In that case, partial card data appeared in slugs, permalinks, and rendered title fields. Even incomplete payment data exposure creates trust and compliance concerns, and it suggests that how sensitive data flows through the site needs closer review before it creates larger problems. In the same environment, Cerberus also identified public user enumeration through the REST API, revealing usernames and user IDs that give attackers useful reconnaissance for credential attacks and targeted account abuse.
For a healthcare client, Cerberus identified an SSO enforcement gap, where the default WordPress login remained accessible even though single sign-on was intended to be the only authentication path. The issue pointed to a broader problem: security policy was not being enforced consistently across the live application.
These are representative examples. Other Cerberus scans have uncovered CORS misconfigurations that allowed unauthorized cross-origin access to REST API endpoints, XML-RPC endpoints left open to brute force credential attacks, infinite redirect loops that created denial-of-service risk, and critical WordPress files like installation and configuration scripts left publicly accessible on production sites.
The Cerberus offering
Cerberus gives organizations a practical way to validate the security posture of their live applications without overcomplicating the process. Scans require minimal preparation, just coordination on IP whitelisting and a scanning window, and reports are delivered within 3-5 business days. Every scan includes a free re-scan within 30 days so teams can confirm that fixes are actually working rather than relying on assumption alone.
The service is available in three tiers, starting at $1,000 per URL:
- Lite includes a full DAST scan with expert review, basic API scanning, false positive filtering, and a detailed vulnerability report with remediation guidance.
- Plus adds advanced API scanning with both automated and manual testing, designed to catch more complex vulnerabilities like business logic flaws and improper asset management.
- Max adds authenticated deep scanning of logged-in user areas, site availability monitoring during the scan, and priority support including a 30-minute consultation with a security expert.
Our team walks through any findings with our clients to assess priorities and determine next steps. Remediation can be handled by the client’s own team, through existing Fueled service agreements, or through a follow up project with our team.
All three tiers are conducted by security professionals, not just automated tooling, and include the ability to scope scans around an application’s specific architecture. The expert-reviewed findings give product and engineering teams clearer remediation priorities. The formal reporting also supports procurement, governance, and security-review requirements.
Security validation for a faster-moving web
AI is making digital delivery faster. Cerberus offers a structured, repeatable way to test live websites and applications, and help teams act before vulnerabilities turn into launch delays, uptime problems, or larger operational issues. For enterprise websites, shops, and other customer-facing platforms where reliability matters, that kind of validation is part of responsible digital operations.
For teams looking to align security validation with the reality of AI-accelerated threats, learn more about Cerberus and reach out to get started. Scans require minimal preparation and reports are typically delivered within days.
