API penetration testing Archives - Page 2 of 3

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Web API Pentesting Strategies

[email protected] / January 16, 2024

APIs are attractive targets for attackers due to their vulnerability and vital nature, particularly when managing sensitive data. A considerable 58% of respondents strongly agree or agree that APIs increase the attack surface across all tiers of the technological stack. To reduce the danger of security breaches, deploying strong security measures, understanding the various forms of attacks, and analyzing their possible consequences are critical. There are numerous ways to secure APIs, today we’ll talk about one of the measures the Web API Penetration Testing. In this post, we will discuss one of the strategies: Web API pen-testing. We’ll also cover the difference between normal API and Web API, the importance and benefits of securing APIs, the top vulnerabilities, how web API pentest is conducted, and the advanced Pentesting strategies. Keep reading to learn more. The Difference Between Web API and Normal API Penetration Testing API pentesting and Web API pentesting both involve assessing the security of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), but they focus on different aspects and contexts. When securing your company’s digital assets, understanding the nuances between Web API and normal API penetration testing is crucial. Let’s break it down: 1. Scope and Focus: Web API Testing: Primarily focuses on APIs accessed via web protocols such as HTTP/HTTPS. This includes RESTful APIs commonly used in web and mobile applications. Normal API Testing: Encompasses a broader spectrum, including APIs that may not necessarily be web-based. It includes testing protocols like SOAP, MQTT, or even internal APIs within your network. 2. Communication Protocols: Web API Testing: Concentrates on APIs interacting over web protocols, utilizing HTTP methods for communication. Normal API Testing: Encompasses a wider range, covering APIs using diverse communication protocols beyond the web, ensuring a comprehensive security evaluation. 3. Security Concerns: Web API Testing: Emphasizes issues like injection attacks, authentication flaws, and improper access controls typically associated with web-based APIs. Normal API Testing: Expands the focus to include protocol-specific vulnerabilities, ensuring a thorough examination of potential risks in diverse API implementations. Are you a business using APIs in your web applications and worried about their security? We at Qualysec have the best and most experienced penetration testers to secure it. Chat with us for FREE today! Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call The Methodologies Used in Web API Security Testing Companies can create their penetration testing processes and procedures; however, a few Web API security testing methodologies have become standard in the testing industry due to their effectiveness. They are: Penetration Test Execution Standard (PTES) Information security practitioners established this standard to provide an up-to-date guide for penetration testers and educate businesses on what to expect from a penetration test. Furthermore, PTES contains seven sections: Pre-engagement Interactions Intelligence gathering Threat Modeling Vulnerability Analysis Exploitation Post-exploitation Reporting Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) OWASP provides enterprises with a wide list of web application vulnerability categories and ways to mitigate or resolve them. OWASP provides various resources to help improve the security posture of both internal and external web applications. Open-Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM) OSSTMM is a peer-reviewed methodology maintained by the Institute for Security and Open Methodologies (ISECOM) and updated every six months. Furthermore, OSSTMM offers instructions on how to test the security of the five operating channels. They are: Human Security Physical Security Wireless communication Telecommunication Data Networks What are the types of API Penetration Testing? A protocol is a collection of instructions and forms to be followed. APIs should also follow any of the API protocols described below: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) SOAP is an XML document with four components: envelope, header, body, and fault. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standardized SOAP. SOAP has strong regulations, which tightens security. Furthermore, it is very versatile and supports a variety of protocols, including HTTP. It is platform agnostic. The size of the message influences overall performance. Many legacy and financial apps continue to utilize SOAP. GraphQL GraphQL is a query language. Instead of delivering all the attributes in your answer, you may specify the values you anticipate. GraphQL supports various programming languages, including JS, Java, Python, C++, Perl, Ruby, and Scala. JSON is the recommended format for both payload and replies. There are numerous more benefits as well. Many developers began utilizing GraphQL for faster and easier implementation. REST: Representational State Transfer REST is more of a client-server design and is stateless. The Client and Server function as independent components. A resource-based strategy involves direct communication with the resource. REST communicates via HTTP/HTTPS requests. Furthermore, RESTful APIs are speedier, scalable, dependable, reusable, and favored in most newly produced apps. Read more: Common Rest API Security Threats Why is Web API Security Testing Important? In the digital age, where seamless data exchange between applications is the norm, the significance of Web API security testing cannot be overstated. Furthermore, Web APIs serve as the conduits for sharing sensitive information, making them enticing targets for malicious actors. Web API security testing is vital for regulatory compliance and maintaining stakeholder trust. By proactively addressing security concerns, companies can establish a resilient digital infrastructure that safeguards sensitive data and fosters confidence among users and partners. Web API security testing mitigates the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. Ensures compliance with industry regulations and standards. Protects sensitive information and user privacy in the digital ecosystem. Identifies and addresses vulnerabilities, preventing potential exploits. Enhances stakeholder trust by demonstrating a commitment to robust cybersecurity practices. The Benefits of Web API Security Testing Here are some of the benefits of running Web API Penetration Testing on your online API: 1. Maintains Compliance APIs, if misused, can expose sensitive personal and commercial data. Companies must obey regulations and standards, such as: HIPAA protects healthcare information. GDPR in Europe. PCI-DSS for payment card businesses. Abusing the restrictions may result in a civil or criminal action by the regulatory authorities. 2. Prevents Cyberattacks Penetration testing can detect vulnerabilities that, if exploited by hackers or other parties, might lead to cyberattacks. Furthermore, identified vulnerabilities may be patched to

Demystifying API Penetration Testing: A Comprehensive Guide

[email protected] / November 23, 2023

APIs are an important aspect of modern software design because they allow different software systems to interface and communicate with one another. Despite their extensive use, APIs still attract attention from persons with malevolent intent. To minimize these attacks, organizations ensure security with API penetration testing. Here are some stats you should know: 74% report at least three API-related data breaches in the last two years. In the last two years, 60% of respondents reported a data breach. 74% of them experienced at least three API-related breaches. Alarmingly, 40% had five or more, and 11% had more than seven, emphasizing the critical need for improved API security. API Sprawl is the top challenge for 48% of organizations. APIs, according to 58% of respondents, increase the attack surface. In this post, we will go over API penetration testing in depth. This will include why you should perform an API pen test, the most frequent API vulnerabilities, and what goes into the API pen-testing process. Continue reading to learn more! Understanding API Penetration Testing API Penetration Testing is a sort of security testing that is done on APIs in order to evaluate the robustness of their security protections. It seeks to detect security flaws that attackers may use to gain access to sensitive data or carry out other destructive acts. This entails attempting to attack the API in the same way that an attacker would discover any vulnerabilities to exploit. This covers testing for SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other API-level flaws. Types of API Penetration Testing Services There are mainly 3 types of API available, which are: REST API: A REST API is a type of application programming interface (web API penetration testing). This adheres to the REST architectural style and allows interaction with RESTful web services. SOAP API: SOAP is a secure API development protocol that operates by encoding data in the XML format. GraphQL API: GraphQL is a query language for API and server-side runtime for query execution utilizing a type system you specify for your data. GraphQL is not dependent on any single database or storage engine, but rather on your current code and data. Why is API Penetration Testing Important? APIs have allowed organizations to increase productivity by linking different programs and creating unique workflows. However, growing usage suggests that hackers have more options for attack. To avoid undesired data breaches and monetary loss, organizations must ensure the security of the APIs they use. Companies must integrate security at the outset of the API development process. They accomplish this by incorporating security testing into their CI/CD pipelines. Static Analysis Security Testing is required to detect and correct design flaws in APIs. While informative, such an examination restricts and incapable of finding deep-rooted problems in business logic. To address these concerns and effectively secure your APIs and organization against all conceivable attack scenarios, you require a complete API penetration test. What are the Risks to API Security? API security is becoming a major problem as a result of the numerous attacks that have targeted API flaws to obtain access to sensitive data. The following are the most prevalent API vulnerabilities: Exposed Data Inadequate end-to-end data encryption can disclose sensitive information to the public. It can also happen when developers merely provide generic security and leave data filtering to the client. Attacks by Injection This is produced by injecting malicious code into the API, which is usually in the form of SQL or XSS. XSS injections send users to vulnerable websites where they take user data, whereas SQL injections allow hackers to directly steal data from clients. Invalid Authentication Individuals who should not have access to particular things are able to access them due to broken or weak authentication. In order to get unauthorize access, weak passwords, API keys, and other ways gets exploit. Misconfigurations When security setups are left to default or are left incomplete, they create points of failure. Such setup errors can allow attackers to obtain access to sensitive data. Unsecure Endpoints API endpoint documentation for penetration testing faces a huge danger from unsecure endpoints, which leave them open to faulty authorization. This implies that even those who should only have limited access can access other confidential things. What are the Common Vulnerabilities in API? Here are some of the common yet major vulnerabilities in API penetration testing: Broken authentication and authorization: Weak authentication and authorization procedures allow unauthorized users to access sensitive data. This can even extend to conducting activities on the user’s behalf. Injection attacks: This occurs when an attacker injects malicious material into an API request. This allows the attacker to alter or extract sensitive data from the system. SQL injection and script injection are two common forms of injection attacks. Broken object-level permission: This happens when the API does not check the user’s access privileges for individual objects. An attacker can use this vulnerability to gain access to or alter data that they should not have access to. Inadequate logging and monitoring: APIs that do not log and monitor access and activity can make detecting and responding to security events difficult. Cross-site scripting (XSS): This is a sort of injection attack in which the attacker inserts malicious content into the API response, which is subsequently run in the client’s browser. Broken function level authorization: This occurs when the API fails to check the user’s access privileges for specified functions. An attacker can take advantage of this flaw to do actions that they should not be able to accomplish. Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF): This is an attack in which the attacker convinces the user’s browser to submit a fraudulent request to the API, allowing the attacker to take action on the user’s behalf. Lack of encryption for sensitive data: When sensitive data is transferred across a network without sufficient encryption, it becomes exposed to eavesdropping and alteration. How Does API Penetration Test Workflow Happen? Here are the steps that the API penetration test workflow containing all the phases of how the