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OWASP Risks Atlasby Jer Catallo
API Security

OWASP Top 10 for API Security

A focused OWASP Top 10 for API-first systems, covering authorization, authentication, resource abuse, inventory hygiene, and third-party API trust boundaries.

Select an Official Release Year

Pick a year to view release rankings, or switch to All Time for the cross-release top 10.

Showing official OWASP 2019 API Security categories

API Security categories for 2019
RankTitleSummaryDetails
#1Broken Object Level AuthorizationAPIs expose object identifiers and allow unauthorized access when object-level authorization checks are missing.View Details
#2Broken User AuthenticationWeak token/session handling allows attackers to impersonate users or hijack API sessions.View Details
#3Excessive Data ExposureAPIs return more fields than needed, leaking sensitive data through overbroad responses.View Details
#4Lack of Resources and Rate LimitingMissing quotas and limits enables denial of service, brute force, and cost-amplification abuse.View Details
#5Broken Function Level AuthorizationPrivileged API functions are reachable without proper role or policy checks.View Details
#6Mass AssignmentAttackers inject unexpected object properties when APIs bind request bodies too broadly.View Details
#7Security MisconfigurationUnsafe defaults, exposed debug features, and weak hardening create avoidable attack paths.View Details
#8InjectionUntrusted API input is interpreted as commands or queries, enabling injection attacks.View Details
#9Improper Assets ManagementUndocumented, stale, or shadow APIs increase attack surface and weaken governance.View Details
#10Insufficient Logging and MonitoringSecurity incidents remain undetected when API events are not logged and alerted properly.View Details