Final-year Cybersecurity engineer pivoting from offensive exploitation into enterprise governance — I spend one half of my week finding the gap between what a system is supposed to do and what it actually lets you do, and the other half learning how to make sure that gap never opens in the first place.
- Reported an API authorization flaw exposing 2.5M user records on a Pakistani federal government portal — acknowledged on PKCERT's national VDP dashboard.
- Ran a structured AWS cloud penetration test end-to-end (IAM, S3, SSRF/IMDS, Active Directory attack-path mapping) as a VAPT intern at xLoop Digital.
- Built a fully automated malware analysis pipeline — sandbox detonation, VirusTotal cross-checks, AI-generated triage reports.
- Currently going deep on ISO 27001 / ISO 42001, GRC, and AI security governance — because knowing how to break a system is only half the problem; the rest is knowing how to govern it at scale.
Open to: Remote AppSec · Cloud Security · VAPT · Security Engineering · Contract Audits
Languages
Offensive & Application Security
Cloud, Infrastructure & SecOps
GRC & Frameworks
| Domain | Proficiency | Core Frameworks & Methodologies | Technical Execution Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Security / API Pentesting | Advanced | OWASP Top 10, OWASP API Security Top 10, PTES | Auth/authz flaw discovery, business-logic abuse, SSTI, open redirect, IDOR chaining |
| Cloud Security (AWS) | Advanced | CIS AWS Benchmark, PTES | IAM privilege escalation, S3 misconfiguration audits, SSRF/IMDS credential exposure |
| Active Directory / Internal Pentest | Intermediate–Advanced | MITRE ATT&CK | BloodHound/SharpHound attack-path mapping, Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, Impacket lateral movement |
| Vulnerability Assessment | Advanced | CVSS v3.1, PTES | Authenticated/unauthenticated scanning, cross-validation across scanners, manual severity scoring |
| Security Automation | Intermediate | n8n, custom Python tooling | Malware sandboxing pipelines, VirusTotal enrichment, AI-generated reporting |
| GRC & Risk Management | Growing / In Progress | ISO 27001, ISO 42001, NIST CSF | Risk registers, gap assessments, control mapping, policy drafting, mock internal audits |
| AI Security & Governance | In Progress | ISO 42001, emerging AI risk frameworks | AI risk surface mapping, governance-vs-exploitation tradeoff analysis |
Automated Malware Analysis Pipeline (MalScan Orchestrator)
| Stack / Tools | Scope | Vulnerability Vectors / Threat Surface | Governance & Remediation Impact | Repository / Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n8n, sandbox detonation, VirusTotal API, AI reporting | Automated digital forensics workflow for malware triage | Malicious binary submission, dynamic sandbox analysis, IOC extraction | Reduces manual triage time, standardizes forensic evidence collection | GitHub |
Built an end-to-end orchestration layer that accepts a submitted sample, detonates it in a controlled sandbox, cross-references resulting hashes against VirusTotal, and generates an AI-assisted forensic report — built as a secure automation exercise in IOC extraction and forensic triage under controlled conditions.
Government Portal Auth Flow Vulnerability Research (PKCERT)
| Stack / Tools | Scope | Vulnerability Vectors / Threat Surface | Governance & Remediation Impact | Repository / Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual API testing, authorization analysis | Federal government citizen-facing portal | Broken object-level authorization on an internal API | Coordinated disclosure to PKCERT; remediated shortly after report | PKCERT VDP Acknowledgment |
Identified an authorization control gap that allowed access to records outside the intended user scope. Reported through PKCERT's national Vulnerability Disclosure Program under responsible disclosure practices; the issue was remediated promptly after report.
AWS Cloud Infrastructure Penetration Testing (xLoop)
| Stack / Tools | Scope | Vulnerability Vectors / Threat Surface | Governance & Remediation Impact | Repository / Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AWS, Nessus, Nexpose, BloodHound/SharpHound, Impacket, Hashcat | Controlled multi-host AWS lab environment | IAM privilege escalation, S3 misconfiguration, SSRF/IMDS credential exposure, AD lateral movement | CVSS v3.1-scored findings feeding a likelihood × impact risk-prioritization matrix | Internal engagement — advisory available on request |
Executed a full PTES-aligned cloud penetration test: pre-engagement, threat modeling, vulnerability analysis, exploitation, and reporting. Mapped Active Directory attack paths end-to-end, performed credential extraction with the Impacket suite, and ran Kerberoasting / AS-REP roasting attacks under senior supervision.
Enterprise API Security Audit (2.5M Record Authorization Flaw)
| Stack / Tools | Scope | Vulnerability Vectors / Threat Surface | Governance & Remediation Impact | Repository / Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manual API auth testing | Public-sector API surface handling citizen records | Missing function-level access control on a high-privilege endpoint | ~2.5M records brought back into scope; disclosure recognized nationally | PKCERT VDP Acknowledgment |
The root cause was a missing authorization check rather than a missing authentication check — a reminder that the two are often conflated in production systems. Full technical writeup published on Medium.
VAPT Intern — Cloud Penetration Testing · xLoop Digital
Jul 2026 – Present
- Executed a structured cloud penetration testing engagement against AWS environments, following PTES methodology under senior supervision
- Performed IAM privilege escalation testing and S3 misconfiguration assessment across a controlled AWS attack surface
- Tested SSRF and IMDS abuse vectors for credential exposure
- Ran authenticated/unauthenticated vulnerability assessments with Nessus, cross-validated against Nexpose, manually scored with CVSS v3.1
- Mapped Active Directory attack paths with BloodHound/SharpHound; performed lateral movement with the Impacket suite
- Conducted Kerberoasting and AS-REP roasting attacks with Hashcat; built a risk-prioritization matrix for findings triage
AWS PTES IAM Active Directory Vulnerability Management Risk Prioritization
| Entity / Platform | Finding / Achievement | Impact / Status |
|---|---|---|
| PKCERT (National CERT — Pakistan) | API authorization flaw exposing 2.5M user records | Acknowledged on national VDP dashboard · Remediated |
| Bugcrowd | Active bug bounty hunter | Ongoing |
| Hack Smarter Labs | Casino Lab — captive portal pivot to Jinja2 SSTI → full RCE | Completed · Writeup published |
| APIsec University | API Penetration Testing (12 hrs) | Certified |
Cloud & Infrastructure
Governance & AI Security
Offensive Security & Web/API
Learning: AI Governance (ISO 42001), Advanced Cloud Threat Hunting
Building: Custom Automated Exploitation & Triage Modules
Exploring: LLM Vulnerabilities & Red Teaming AI Pipelines
Open To: Remote AppSec, VAPT, Cloud Security, Contract Audits
"Knowing how to break a system is only half the problem; you actually have to know how to govern it."