conducting-api-security-testing

# Conducting API Security Testing ## When to Use - Testing API endpoints for authorization flaws, injection vulnerabilities, and business logic bypasses - Assessing the security of microservices architecture where APIs are the primary communication method - Validating that API gateway protections (rate limiting, authentication, input validation) are properly enforced - Testing third-party API integrations for data exposure and insecure configurations - Evaluating GraphQL APIs for introspection disclosure, query complexity attacks, and authorization bypasses **Do not use** against APIs without written authorization, for load testing or denial-of-service testing unless explicitly scoped, or for testing production APIs that process real financial transactions without safeguards. ## Prerequisites - API documentation (OpenAPI/Swagger, GraphQL schema, Postman collection) or application access to reverse-engineer the API - Burp Suite Professional configured to intercept API traffic with JSON/XML content type handling - Postman or Insomnia for organizing and replaying API requests across different authentication contexts - Valid API tokens or credentials at multiple privilege levels (unauthenticated, standard user, admin) - Target API base URL and version information ## Workflow ### Step 1: API Discovery and Documentation Map the complete API attack surface: - **Import API documentation**: Load OpenAPI/Swagger specs into Postman or Burp Suite to catalog all endpoints, method...