Simplified Security: The Ultimate MASVS Compliance Checklist for Security Teams

Abhinav Vasisth
Appknox HQ
Published in
3 min readJun 5, 2024
Free MASVS Compliance checklist for Security Teams | Appknox

While working towards a mission of building better, more secure mobile applications, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has spearheaded this effort with the Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS) and the Mobile Application Security Testing Guide (MASTG). These invaluable resources provide a comprehensive framework for safeguarding your mobile apps, ensuring trust, and protecting user data.

MASVS offers a robust set of security requirements addressing diverse vulnerabilities, from data encryption and authentication to secure storage and code practices. However, the sheer volume and technical intricacy of these standards can present significant challenges for users navigating the vast information on the OWASP website.

Most developers and security researchers in charge of compliance need help with the complexity and volume of standards MASVS encompasses, including a vast array of standards, making it daunting to comprehend and implement effectively.

Transforming abstract security principles into concrete coding practices can be a significant hurdle, and most developers often lack the readily available resources and practical examples to integrate MASVS recommendations into their development workflow seamlessly.

To overcome this, at Appknox, we’ve put together a guide with an actionable list of activities to comply with for each MASVS ID to demystify MASVS compliance.

This actionable checklist prioritizes the MASVS standards based on factors like risk, impact, and ease of implementation. It will help you focus your efforts on the most critical areas and maximize their impact.

Each standard in the checklist can be broken down into actionable activities, providing a roadmap for implementation. This clarity empowers you to take concrete steps toward compliance and bridge the gap between theory and practice.

For those wanting to jump to the list of standards that the vulnerabilities in your applications violate, feel free to check it out here. For the rest, here’s the actionable list.

Click here to get the full checklist.

This may seem a bit overwhelming, and honestly, it is.

That’s why we started building Appknox. Think of it as the technical reason why Appknox exists.

At Appknox, we’re committed to simplifying mobile application security in tangible ways. One of these is helping custodians of security within organizations automate compliance regulation and focus more on core competencies like developing applications faster and more efficiently.

To do so, Appknox has a dashboard built into the product that gives you a comprehensive report of which vulnerability compromises which compliance, including MASVS and MASTG, thus saving you the effort of mapping vulnerabilities back to compliance standards. This is an extension to the automated vulnerability assessment, including SAST, DAST, and API testing.

Appknox also has downloadable reports in various formats, including Excel sheets, where you can filter out vulnerabilities that violate one or more compliances.

A downloadable Appknox Excel sheet report that allows users to filter vulnerabilities that violate one or more compliances.
A screenshot of Appknox’s user-friendly dashboard showing the vulnerabilities detected in detail.

Appknox’s binary-based security tool revolutionizes application safeguarding and ensures meticulous analysis. It pinpoints vulnerabilities with unparalleled precision, enabling comprehensive remediation strategies and improving applications’ security posture.

If you’re ready to get your vulnerability assessment automated, speak to us and see how we can help you spend your time on meaningful tasks like building applications efficiently.

Schedule a demo with a security consultant here.

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