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Foreword

A foundational element of innovation in today’s app-driven world is the Application Programming Interface (API). From banks, retail, and transportation to IoT, autonomous vehicles, and smart cities, APIs are a critical part of modern mobile, SaaS, and web applications and can be found in customer-facing, partner-facing, and internal applications.

By nature, APIs expose application logic and sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and because of this, APIs have increasingly become a target for attackers. Without secure APIs, rapid innovation would be impossible.

Although a broader web application security risks Top 10 still makes sense, due to their particular nature, an API-specific security risks list is required. API security focuses on strategies and solutions to understand and mitigate the unique vulnerabilities and security risks associated with APIs.

If you're familiar with the OWASP Top 10 Project, then you'll notice the similarities between both documents: they are intended for readability and adoption. If you're new to the OWASP Top 10 series, you may be better off reading the API Security Risks and Methodology and Data sections before jumping into the Top 10 list.

You can contribute to OWASP API Security Top 10 with your questions, comments, and ideas at our GitHub project repository:

  • https://github.com/OWASP/API-Security/issues
  • https://github.com/OWASP/API-Security/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md

You can find the OWASP API Security Top 10 here:

  • https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_API_Security_Project
  • https://github.com/OWASP/API-Security

We wish to thank all the contributors who made this project possible with their effort and contributions. They are all listed in the Acknowledgments section. Thank you!