What does cloud penetration testing include?

Manual assessment of cloud IAM, compute (EC2/VM/Functions), storage (S3/Blob/GCS), network (VPC, NSG, firewall), identity providers (IAM, Entra ID, Workload Identity), KMS/Key Vault, and cloud-native control planes (EKS/AKS/GKE).

Which clouds do you test?

AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), and DigitalOcean.

How is cloud pentest different from a configuration scan?

A scanner checks against benchmarks (CIS, AWS Foundational, Azure SecBenchmark). A pentest chains misconfigurations into proven exploits: SSRF→IMDSv2 bypass→IAM role escalation→data exfil. We deliver a working PoC, not a checklist.

Do you cover Kubernetes?

Yes. EKS, AKS, GKE, and self-managed. Covers RBAC abuse, pod escape, service mesh bypass, secrets exposure, admission controller bypass.

Cloud penetration testing

Find what config audits miss.

AWS · Azure · GCP · Kubernetes, tested by hand for IMDSv1 SSRF, IAM role-chain abuse, managed-identity over-scope, workload-identity confusion, and pod-to-host RBAC bypass. Every finding lands with a working proof-of-exploit, code-level fix guidance, and a re-test.

See the methodology

Four providers

AWS · Azure · GCP · Kubernetes, one method, four control planes.

Evidence

Working proof-of-exploit and code-level fix guidance on every finding.

Re-test included

We verify your fixes at no extra cost. One engagement, closed loop.

Trusted by security teams across Fintech, SaaS & Education, Enterprise & Telecom, Security & Critical Infrastructure

On record

Why a config audit isn't a pentest

A finding flagged is not a finding proven.

CSPM tools and checklists report what your cloud looks like. A pentest reports what an attacker can do with it. SecureLayer7's operators chain those flagged findings, IMDSv1 enabled, Lambda role attached, pod runs as root, into the proof-of-exploit your engineers can fix and your auditor will accept.

How AI fits across AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes pentests →

Two columns side by side, config audit findings on the left and the chained exploit each becomes in a manual pentest on the right.

IN SCOPE.

Four reading frames across your cloud.

Provider-agnostic engagement: AWS, Azure, GCP, or a multi-cloud estate.

IDENTITY

Role + federation chains

Assume-role paths, SSO trust, third-party connectors. One identity, every account it reaches.

WORKLOAD

Compute escape

Container, function, VM boundaries. Read the metadata service, ride the IMDS token outward.

DATA

Read + exfil surface

Bucket policies, snapshot lineage, KMS key sharing, cross-region replication left open.

NETWORK

Lateral routes

VPC peering, private link, transit gateway, service mesh. Hops the config audit doesn't trace.

What we test —

Four cloud surfaces. One engagement.

Each provider gets a manual, threat-modelled review against its real attack surface — control plane, identity, network, and workload. Intensity tunes per scope.

Amazon AWS

IMDSv1 SSRF, IAM role chaining, public S3 enumeration, Lambda over-privilege, EKS cluster-role abuse, KMS key-policy misuse, Cognito user-pool misconfig, Secrets Manager exposure.

Microsoft Azure

Managed identity over-scope, Storage Account SAS leak, Function App env exposure, AKS pod-identity abuse, Key Vault access policy bypass, Azure AD application consent, Logic App secret reuse.

Google Cloud Platform

Workload-identity confusion, service-account impersonation, Cloud Run scope abuse, GKE node pool escape, Secret Manager IAM gaps, Cloud Storage bucket policy bypass, Cloud Functions trigger replay.

Kubernetes

Pod escape via privileged container, RBAC bypass, etcd exposure, kubelet API abuse, sidecar/init container attack paths, NetworkPolicy gaps, admission-controller bypass, ServiceAccount token theft.

CLOUD PENTEST METHODOLOGY.

Eight phases. Control plane to workload.

Threat-modelled to your control plane, identity model, and workload topology. Not a template we run against every cloud.

01
Scope & threat-model
02
Recon & enumeration
03
Configuration review
04
Identity exploitation
05
Workload & network exploitation
06
Vulnerability analysis
07
Remediation guidance
08
Patch verification

Insights

Cloud security Resources.

Cross-provider attack-path notes: AWS, Azure, GCP, written by the same reviewers who run cloud pentests.

AWS Amplify Studio CVE-2025-4318 RCE diagram

AWS

CVE-2025-4318: RCE in AWS Amplify Studio via unsafe property expression

SL7 Lab disclosure: managed-property evaluation in Amplify Studio yields RCE. Working PoC + remediation.

Enhancing Data Security with KMS Encryption in S3 Buckets

Where KMS bucket-key policy actually closes risk, and where it gives a false sense of safety.

AWS Cloud Security: Practices & Checklist

Operator-grade checklist of the AWS controls that matter under a manual pentest, not a CSPM scan.

Meet our expert

Nivedita Singh

Security Advisor & Engagement Lead

10+

Years in offensive security

300+

Engagements led

99.7%

On-time delivery rate

Nivedita scopes cloud-pentest engagements against your account topology, identity model, and workload boundaries. She guides the pod from kick-off through final report and re-test.

Scopes AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes engagements against your real risk model.
Owns kick-off, mid-engagement check-ins, and live walkthrough of every finding.
Drives remediation review and re-test until every cloud-path finding is closed.

SL7 Lab. Published CVE research.

Nivedita Singh, Security Advisor & Engagement Lead at SecureLayer7

Ready to scope a cloud pentest? Book 30 minutes with Nivedita to walk through your topology, identity model, and timeline.

Common procurement questions

What buyers ask about cloud penetration testing.

Six questions procurement teams send before signing a cloud pentest SOW. Answered against our methodology and your auditor.

Show all 6 questions

Have a procurement question not listed here?

For startups

Pre-Series A? Apply for the startup program.

A single Autonomous app pentest, CREST-aligned report, engagement-lead signoff, retest included, heavily discounted for pre-Series A startups passing enterprise procurement or SOC 2 due diligence. Eligibility verified on application.

Apply for the startup program →