Source Code Review, Live Application Testing, and Remediation Retesting
Every Code Finding Proven Against the Running Application
A code scan hands your developers hundreds of warnings and no way to tell which ones an attacker can actually reach. A Global Digital Forensics application and source code review reads the architecture and the code that decides who gets what, then proves each weakness in the running application before it is reported. You get one ranked finding register for the release or the deal, with file and line references, reproduction steps and a retest record.
The engagement
Code and Runtime Reviewed as One System
Static analysis tells you what the code might allow. A penetration test tells you what the application did when pushed. Each alone leaves a gap: the scanner cannot judge reachability, and the black box tester cannot see the second endpoint built on the same broken check. We close that gap by reading the source with the running application open beside it, so every finding carries both the line that causes it and the request that proves it.
Repository, Commit and Build
The review is pinned to a named repository, commit and environment, so the report describes the exact code your customers will run.
Identity and Tenant Code Paths
Login, session, token, role and tenant checks traced from each entry point to the data store, where one missed condition exposes every customer.
One Finding Register
Code findings and runtime findings merged, deduplicated and ranked by consequence, with owners and a retest column your release manager can track.
Methodology
Read the Code, Then Prove It Live
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Scope: Repository, Commit and Environment
We take the application's purpose, users, transactions and prior findings, then agree repository access, the exact commit, test environments, exclusions and source handling rules in writing before anyone reads a line.
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Read: Architecture and Critical Code
We map data flows, trust boundaries, secrets, queues and deployment, then read the identity, authorization and data handling code by hand, using scanner output as a list of leads.
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Prove: Behavior in the Running Application
In an approved environment we exercise each candidate through the interface and the API to confirm it is reachable, and we look for the same flawed pattern elsewhere in the codebase.
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Close: Developer Report and Retest
Findings go to the engineers who will correct them, and each correction is retested along the original path and the agreed adjacent cases, with the date and build recorded.
SourceScan Finds Candidates. Engineers Decide.
We work with SourceScan, the source code security platform GDF owns and develops in partnership with PNNX. It runs expert directed analysis close to your repository, uses AI assisted review to group candidate findings with their code context and tracks every finding through ownership, severity, evidence, remediation and closure in a web dashboard.
The platform keeps the record; it does not make the call. Static analysis cannot show that a condition is reachable at runtime, so an engineer traces every material candidate through the data and control flow and then confirms it against the live application before it reaches your register. That is how a review with a scanner in it avoids becoming a scanner report with a logo on it.
Release Gates, Acquisitions and Platform Rebuilds
Release gate review
Before a major release or a first enterprise customer, we review the authentication, authorization and tenant code that changed and test the running build, so the findings land while there is still time to fix them in staging.
Acquisition diligence review
When a deal depends on software, a scoped review concentrates on architecture, authentication, tenant isolation, secrets and dependency exposure, and ranks the material items so the acquirer sees them inside the diligence window. Pair it with our cyber due diligence work when the target's wider security posture is also on the table.
Platform rebuild review
When a team moves a monolith to services or a data center to the cloud, trust assumptions move too. We review the new service boundaries, API contracts, container images, CI/CD trust and deployment settings against what the source says they should be.
Bring the repository list, the languages and the release or closing date, or call (800) 868-8189 and a senior reviewer will say what a first pass should cover.
Evidence commonly examined
Code and Application Records We Review
Repository access and build configuration fix the exact source under review. Deployment topology and infrastructure records show where the application runs and how its components connect. Identity provider, authentication and session configuration document the access behavior the application intends, and API definitions and integration contracts identify each interface and the trust it places in the other side of the call.
Dependency manifests and container images identify what ships with the application, and runtime logs and monitoring settings show what your team would actually see during an attack and where that visibility stops.
What you can expect
Findings, Fix Plan and Retest Record
Ranked findings identify the affected component, the file and line, the reproduction steps and the demonstrated consequence. Each recommended correction is tied to the control that failed rather than to a generic checklist, so developers fix the pattern and not just the instance we happened to hit.
The retest record shows which corrections held and names anything still open, so a release or diligence decision rests on what was actually verified.
Send the systems and the testing window, and a senior tester will propose the scope.
Code Review Backed by Source Code Litigation Work
Software and source code experience sits with Joseph Caruso, our founder, CEO and CTO and a CISSP, whose technology career began in 1980 and spans software development and mainframe databases, and who supports litigation teams in disputes over source code, including consulting expert work in Motorola Mobility v. Microsoft and Apple v. Samsung patent litigation. Read the team biographies.
Global Digital Forensics was founded in 1992, and when a codebase ends up in litigation rather than a release, the same practice provides source code expert witness analysis and testimony.
Frequently asked
Describe the environment and the deadline and the first call sets the test plan.
Code Review Scope, Scanning and Acquisition Timelines
How is this different from a source code review alone?
A code review alone reports conditions in the source. This engagement also tests the running application, so each code finding is confirmed as reachable and each runtime finding is traced to the line that causes it. Teams that want the code read on its own, line by line, choose our secure source code review instead.
Do you rely on automated scanning?
No. Static and dynamic tools, including SourceScan, surface candidates quickly, and they also produce false positives and miss logic that needs application context. An engineer traces every material candidate and confirms it in the running application before it is reported.
Can you work inside an acquisition timeline?
Yes. A diligence review concentrates on architecture, authentication, tenant isolation and dependency exposure and ranks the material items first, and the coverage statement tells the deal team exactly which components the window allowed us to reach.
How is our source code handled?
Source handling rules, storage location and approved model use are agreed in writing before analysis begins. Reproduction detail and code excerpts go to the technical owners who need them, and governance readers receive summaries without material an attacker could reuse.
Which languages and frameworks do you review?
We review the common web, mobile and backend languages and the frameworks built on them, together with their build tooling and dependency manifests. Tell us your stack on the first call and we will say which components to read first given your deadline.
Talk with an examiner
Plan the Review Before the Next Release Ships
Tell us what the application does, which repositories and environments are in scope and when the release or the deal closes. We will discuss relevant experience, potential conflicts and the scope with you before any source changes hands.
Requests are handled in confidence, and the first consultation is free.
Talk with a senior reviewer
Review the Code Before It Reaches Production
Send the repository list, the languages and the release or closing date. On the first call a senior reviewer will propose which components to read first, how the running application will be tested, the timeline and the price, and that consultation is free.
Reviewed by Joseph Caruso, Founder, CEO and CTO, CISSP. Last reviewed .