OWASP Autonomous Penetration Testing Standard

This is the full OWASP Autonomous Penetration Testing Standard. It defines 173 tier-required requirements across 8 domains (plus 10 advisory practices in the Advisory Requirements appendix) that autonomous penetration testing platforms must meet to operate safely, transparently, and within defined boundaries, whether delivered by vendors, operated as a service, or built in-house by enterprise security teams.

Getting Started

New to APTS? Start with the Getting Started Guide for a recommended reading order and orientation.

Front Matter

How This Standard Is Organized

Each of the 8 domains has its own folder containing:

The appendices provide cross-cutting resources: checklists, compliance mappings, cross-domain integration patterns, and evaluation guides.

Appendices

Appendix Purpose
Glossary Terms and definitions
Checklists Per-tier compliance checklists
Compliance Matrix Mappings to NIST CSF 2.0, ISO 27001:2022, NIST AI RMF, SOC 2, PCI DSS, GDPR
Cross-Domain Integration How events in one domain trigger requirements in others
Testing Phase Mapping Which requirements apply at each pentesting phase
Customer Acceptance Testing Optional hands-on verification procedures for customers
Vendor Evaluation Guide Guide for evaluating autonomous pentest platform operators
Rules of Engagement Template Illustrative machine-readable RoE starter template
Evidence Package Manifest Illustrative manifest for finding evidence, provenance, and downstream handoff
Conformance Claim Schema Illustrative machine-readable schema for structured conformance claims
Conformance Claim Template Optional template for documenting platform conformance
Evidence Request Checklist Simple artifact checklist for customer and reviewer evidence requests
Advisory Requirements Non-mandatory practices for enhanced assurance
Incident Response Integration Unified incident response workflow across domains

Requirements Index

Scope Enforcement | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-SE-001 Rules of Engagement (RoE) Specification and Validation MUST 1 Parse and validate RoE before testing starts
APTS-SE-002 IP Range Validation and RFC 1918 Awareness MUST 1 Validate IP ranges using CIDR notation
APTS-SE-003 Domain Scope Validation and Wildcard Handling MUST 1 Validate domains and handle wildcards safely
APTS-SE-004 Temporal Boundary and Timezone Handling MUST 1 Enforce time windows with timezone handling
APTS-SE-005 Asset Criticality Classification and Integration MUST 1 Classify assets by criticality level
APTS-SE-006 Pre-Action Scope Validation MUST 1 Validate scope before every network action
APTS-SE-007 Dynamic Scope Monitoring and Drift Detection MUST 2 Detect scope drift during engagement
APTS-SE-008 Temporal Scope Compliance Monitoring MUST 1 Monitor temporal boundary compliance
APTS-SE-009 Hard Deny Lists and Critical Asset Protection MUST 1 Immutable list of never-test systems
APTS-SE-010 Production Database Safeguards MUST 2 Protect production databases from modification
APTS-SE-011 Multi-Tenant Environment Awareness SHOULD 2 Detect and isolate multi-tenant environments
APTS-SE-012 DNS Rebinding Attack Prevention MUST 2 Prevent DNS rebinding scope bypass
APTS-SE-013 Network Boundary and Lateral Movement Enforcement MUST 2 Prevent lateral movement beyond scope
APTS-SE-014 Network Topology Discovery Limitations SHOULD 2 Limit network topology discovery depth
APTS-SE-015 Scope Enforcement Audit and Compliance Verification MUST 1 Audit scope enforcement decisions
APTS-SE-016 Scope Refresh and Revalidation Cycle MUST 2 Revalidate scope periodically during engagement
APTS-SE-017 Engagement Boundary Definition for Recurring Tests MUST 2 Define boundaries for recurring test cycles
APTS-SE-018 Cross-Cycle Finding Correlation and Regression Detection SHOULD 2 Track findings across test cycles
APTS-SE-019 Rate Limiting, Adaptive Backoff, and Production Impact Controls MUST 2 Rate limits, backoff, and impact controls
APTS-SE-020 Deployment-Triggered Testing Governance MUST 2 Govern deployment-triggered testing
APTS-SE-021 Scope Conflict Resolution for Overlapping Engagements SHOULD 3 Resolve overlapping engagement scopes
APTS-SE-022 Client-Side Agent Scope and Safety Boundaries SHOULD 2 Scope constraints for client-side agents
APTS-SE-023 Credential and Secret Lifecycle Governance MUST 2 Manage credential lifecycle throughout
APTS-SE-024 Cloud-Native and Ephemeral Infrastructure Governance MUST 2 Govern cloud and ephemeral infrastructure
APTS-SE-025 API-First and Business Logic Testing Governance MUST 2 Govern API and business logic testing
APTS-SE-026 Out-of-Distribution Action Monitoring SHOULD 2 Monitor action distribution against declared baseline

Safety Controls & Impact Management | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-SC-001 Impact Classification and CIA Scoring MUST 1 Classify impact using CIA scoring
APTS-SC-002 Industry-Specific Impact Considerations MUST 2 Apply industry-specific impact rules
APTS-SC-003 Real-World Impact Classification Examples SHOULD 2 Provide real-world impact examples
APTS-SC-004 Rate Limiting, Bandwidth, and Payload Constraints MUST 1 Enforce rate, bandwidth, payload limits
APTS-SC-005 Cascading Failure Prevention in Interconnected Systems SHOULD 2 Prevent cascading failures across systems
APTS-SC-006 Threshold Escalation Workflow (Automated → Approval → Prohibited) MUST 2 Escalate actions through approval tiers
APTS-SC-007 Cumulative Risk Scoring with Time-Based Decay MUST 2 Track cumulative risk with time decay
APTS-SC-008 Threshold Configuration with Schema Validation SHOULD 3 Validate threshold config with schema
APTS-SC-009 Kill Switch MUST 1 Multiple independent kill switch mechanisms
APTS-SC-010 Health Check Monitoring, Threshold Adjustment, and Automatic Halt MUST 1 Monitor health, adjust thresholds, auto-halt
APTS-SC-011 Condition-Based Automated Termination MUST 2 Auto-terminate on defined conditions
APTS-SC-012 Network-Level Circuit Breaker MUST 2 Network-level circuit breaker
APTS-SC-013 Time-Based Automatic Termination with Operator Override SHOULD 3 Time-based termination with override
APTS-SC-014 Reversible Action Tracking and Rollback MUST 2 Track reversible actions and enable rollback
APTS-SC-015 Post-Test System Integrity Validation MUST 1 Validate system integrity post-test
APTS-SC-016 Evidence Preservation and Automated Cleanup MUST 2 Preserve evidence before cleanup
APTS-SC-017 External Watchdog and Operator Notification MUST 2 External watchdog with operator alerts
APTS-SC-018 Incident Containment and Recovery MUST 2 Contain and recover from incidents
APTS-SC-019 Execution Sandbox and Containment Boundary Integrity MUST 2 Kernel-enforced sandbox for the agent runtime
APTS-SC-020 Action Allowlist Enforcement External to the Model MUST 1 Tool and action allowlist enforced outside the model

Human Oversight & Intervention | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-HO-001 Mandatory Pre-Approval Gates for Autonomy Levels L1 and L2 MUST 1 Require approval before high-risk actions
APTS-HO-002 Real-Time Monitoring and Intervention Capability MUST 1 Real-time monitoring and intervention for operator oversight
APTS-HO-003 Decision Timeout and Default-Safe Behavior MUST 1 Default-safe behavior on decision timeout
APTS-HO-004 Authority Delegation Matrix MUST 1 Define who can authorize what actions
APTS-HO-005 Delegation Chain-of-Custody and Decision Audit Trail MUST 2 Immutable log of all delegation decisions
APTS-HO-006 Graceful Pause Mechanism with State Preservation MUST 1 Pause testing while preserving state
APTS-HO-007 Mid-Engagement Redirect Capability MUST 1 Redirect testing mid-engagement
APTS-HO-008 Immediate Kill Switch with State Dump MUST 1 Immediate kill switch with state dump
APTS-HO-009 Multi-Operator Kill Switch Authority and Handoff MUST 2 Multi-operator kill switch handoff
APTS-HO-010 Mandatory Human Decision Points Before Irreversible Actions MUST 1 Human approval before irreversible actions
APTS-HO-011 Unexpected Findings Escalation Framework MUST 1 Escalate unexpected findings to operator
APTS-HO-012 Impact Threshold Breach Escalation MUST 1 Escalate when impact thresholds breached
APTS-HO-013 Confidence-Based Escalation (Scope Uncertainty) MUST 1 Escalate on low scope confidence
APTS-HO-014 Legal and Compliance Escalation Triggers MUST 1 Escalate legal and compliance triggers
APTS-HO-015 Real-Time Activity Monitoring and Multi-Channel Notification MUST 1 Real-time alerts via multiple channels
APTS-HO-016 Alert Fatigue Mitigation and Smart Aggregation SHOULD 2 Mitigate alert fatigue with aggregation
APTS-HO-017 Stakeholder Notification and Engagement Closure MUST 2 Notify stakeholders at engagement closure
APTS-HO-018 Operator Qualification, Training, and Competency Governance MUST 2 Operator qualification and training governance
APTS-HO-019 24/7 Operational Continuity and Shift Handoff SHOULD 2 24/7 coverage with shift handoff procedures

Graduated Autonomy Levels | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-AL-001 Single Technique Execution MUST 1 Execute one technique at a time (L1)
APTS-AL-002 Human-Directed Target and Technique Selection MUST 1 Human selects targets and techniques (L1)
APTS-AL-003 Parameter Configuration by Human Operator MUST 1 Human configures all parameters (L1)
APTS-AL-004 No Automated Chaining or Sequential Decision-Making MUST 1 No automated chaining of actions (L1)
APTS-AL-005 Mandatory Logging and Human-Reviewable Audit Trail MUST 1 Log every action for human review (L1)
APTS-AL-006 Basic Scope Validation and Policy Enforcement MUST 1 Basic scope and policy enforcement (L1)
APTS-AL-007 Multi-Step Technique Chaining Within Single Phase MUST 2 Chain techniques within single phase (L2)
APTS-AL-008 Real-Time Human Monitoring and Approval Gates MUST 1 Real-time monitoring with approval gates (L2)
APTS-AL-009 Tool-Proposed Actions with Operator Modification Capability SHOULD 2 Tool proposes actions, human modifies (L2)
APTS-AL-010 Step-by-Step Audit Log with Phase Transitions MUST 2 Step-by-step log with phase transitions (L2)
APTS-AL-011 Escalation Triggers and Exception Handling MUST 1 Escalation triggers and exception handling (L2)
APTS-AL-012 Kill Switch and Pause Capability MUST 1 Kill switch and pause capability (L2)
APTS-AL-013 Complete Attack Chain Execution Within Boundaries MUST 2 Complete attack chains within boundaries (L3)
APTS-AL-014 Boundary Definition and Enforcement Framework MUST 1 Define and enforce boundary framework (L3)
APTS-AL-015 Pre-Approved Action Categories and Decision Trees MUST 2 Pre-approved action categories (L3)
APTS-AL-016 Continuous Boundary Monitoring and Breach Detection MUST 1 Continuous boundary monitoring (L3)
APTS-AL-017 Multi-Target Assessment Management MUST 2 Manage assessment across multiple targets (L3)
APTS-AL-018 Incident Response During Autonomous Testing MUST 2 Incident response during autonomous testing (L3)
APTS-AL-019 Multi-Target Campaign Management Without Intervention SHOULD 3 Multi-target campaigns without intervention (L4)
APTS-AL-020 Dynamic Scope Adjustment and Target Discovery SHOULD 3 Dynamic scope adjustment and discovery (L4)
APTS-AL-021 Adaptive Testing Strategy and Resource Reallocation SHOULD 3 Adaptive strategy and resource allocation (L4)
APTS-AL-022 Continuous Risk Assessment and Automated Escalation SHOULD 3 Continuous risk assessment and escalation (L4)
APTS-AL-023 Complete Audit Trail and Forensic Reconstruction SHOULD 3 Complete audit trail and forensic reconstruction (L4)
APTS-AL-024 Periodic Autonomous Review Cycles SHOULD 3 Periodic autonomous review cycles (L4)
APTS-AL-025 Autonomy Level Authorization, Transition, and Reauthorization MUST 2 Authorize and manage level transitions
APTS-AL-026 Incident Investigation and Autonomy Level Adjustment MUST 2 Investigate incidents, adjust autonomy level
APTS-AL-027 Evasion and Stealth Mode Governance SHOULD 3 Govern evasion and stealth mode
APTS-AL-028 Containment Verification for L3 and L4 Autonomy MUST 3 Periodic operator-run containment verification (L3-L4)

Auditability & Reproducibility | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-AR-001 Structured Event Logging with Schema Validation MUST 1 Structured event logging with schema
APTS-AR-002 State Transition Logging MUST 1 Log all state transitions
APTS-AR-003 Resource Utilization Metrics Logging MUST 2 Log resource utilization metrics
APTS-AR-004 Decision Point Logging and Confidence Scoring MUST 1 Log decisions with confidence scores
APTS-AR-005 Log Retention and Archival Requirements MUST 2 Define log retention and archival
APTS-AR-006 Decision Chain of Reasoning and Alternative Evaluation MUST 1 Log reasoning chain and alternatives
APTS-AR-007 Risk Assessment Documentation Before Action Execution MUST 2 Document risk assessment before action
APTS-AR-008 Context-Aware Decision Logging MUST 2 Context-aware decision logging
APTS-AR-009 Transparency Report Requirements MUST 2 Produce transparency reports
APTS-AR-010 Cryptographic Hashing of All Evidence MUST 1 Hash all evidence cryptographically
APTS-AR-011 Chain of Custody for Evidence MUST 2 Maintain evidence chain of custody
APTS-AR-012 Tamper-Evident Logging with Hash Chains MUST 1 Tamper-evident logging with hash chains
APTS-AR-013 RFC 3161 Trusted Timestamp Integration SHOULD 3 RFC 3161 trusted timestamps
APTS-AR-014 Screenshot and Packet Capture Evidence Standards MUST 2 Screenshot and packet capture standards
APTS-AR-015 Evidence Classification and Sensitive Data Handling MUST 1 Classify evidence, handle sensitive data
APTS-AR-016 Platform Integrity and Supply Chain Attestation MUST 2 Platform integrity attestation
APTS-AR-017 Safety Control Regression Testing After Platform Updates MUST 2 Regression test safety controls after updates
APTS-AR-018 Customer Notification for Behavior-Affecting Updates MUST 2 Notify customers of behavior-affecting updates
APTS-AR-019 AI/ML Model Change Tracking and Drift Detection MUST 2 Track AI model changes and drift
APTS-AR-020 Audit Trail Isolation from the Agent Runtime MUST 2 Audit store unreachable from the agent runtime

Manipulation Resistance | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-MR-001 Instruction Boundary Enforcement MUST 1 Enforce instruction boundary (operator vs target)
APTS-MR-002 Response Validation & Sanitization MUST 1 Validate and sanitize all responses
APTS-MR-003 Error Message Neutrality MUST 1 Neutralize error message manipulation
APTS-MR-004 Configuration File Integrity Verification MUST 1 Verify config file integrity
APTS-MR-005 Authority Claim Detection & Rejection MUST 1 Detect and reject authority claims
APTS-MR-006 Decision Boundary Enforcement SHOULD 2 Enforce immutable decision boundaries
APTS-MR-007 Redirect Following Policy MUST 1 Policy for following redirects
APTS-MR-008 DNS and Network-Level Redirect Prevention MUST 1 Prevent DNS and network-level redirects
APTS-MR-009 Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Prevention in Testing MUST 1 Prevent SSRF during testing
APTS-MR-010 Scope Expansion Social Engineering Prevention MUST 1 Prevent scope expansion social engineering
APTS-MR-011 Out-of-Band Communication Prevention MUST 1 Block out-of-band communication
APTS-MR-012 Immutable Scope Enforcement Architecture MUST 1 Immutable scope enforcement architecture
APTS-MR-013 Adversarial Example Detection in Vulnerability Classification MUST 2 Detect adversarial vuln classification
APTS-MR-014 Resource Exhaustion and Tarpit Attack Prevention MUST 2 Prevent resource exhaustion and tarpits
APTS-MR-015 Deceptive Authentication Honeypots MUST 2 Detect deceptive auth honeypots
APTS-MR-016 Anti-Automation Defense Detection MUST 2 Detect anti-automation defenses
APTS-MR-017 Anomaly Detection in Response Patterns MUST 2 Detect anomalies in response patterns
APTS-MR-018 AI Model Input/Output Architectural Boundary MUST 1 AI model input/output boundary
APTS-MR-019 Discovered Credential Protection MUST 1 Protect discovered credentials
APTS-MR-020 Adversarial Validation and Resilience Testing of Safety Controls MUST 2 Adversarial test safety controls
APTS-MR-021 Data Isolation Adversarial Testing MUST 3 Adversarial test data isolation
APTS-MR-022 Inter-Model Trust Boundaries and Output Validation MUST 2 Inter-model trust and output validation
APTS-MR-023 Agent Runtime as an Untrusted Component MUST 2 Isolate the agent runtime from the control plane

Third-Party & Supply Chain Trust | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-TP-001 Third-Party Provider Selection and Vetting MUST 1 Vet third-party providers
APTS-TP-002 Model Version Pinning and Change Management MUST 2 Pin model versions, manage changes
APTS-TP-003 API Security and Authentication MUST 1 Secure API authentication
APTS-TP-004 Provider Availability, SLA Management, and Failover MUST 2 Manage provider SLAs and failover
APTS-TP-005 Provider Incident Response, Breach Notification, and Mid-Engagement Compromise MUST 1 Provider incident response and breach notification
APTS-TP-006 Dependency Inventory, Risk Assessment, and Supply Chain Verification MUST 1 Inventory dependencies and assess risk
APTS-TP-007 Data Residency and Sovereignty Requirements SHOULD 2 Enforce data residency requirements
APTS-TP-008 Cloud Security Configuration and Hardening MUST 1 Harden cloud security configuration
APTS-TP-009 Incident Response and Service Continuity Planning MUST 2 Plan incident response and service continuity
APTS-TP-010 Vulnerability Feed Selection and Management MUST 2 Select and manage vulnerability feeds
APTS-TP-011 Feed Quality Assurance and Incident Response SHOULD 2 Assure feed quality with incident response
APTS-TP-012 Client Data Classification Framework MUST 1 Classify client data before handling
APTS-TP-013 Sensitive Data Discovery and Handling MUST 1 Discover and handle sensitive data
APTS-TP-014 Data Encryption and Cryptographic Controls MUST 1 Encrypt data with strong cryptography
APTS-TP-015 Data Retention and Secure Deletion MUST 2 Enforce retention and secure deletion
APTS-TP-016 Data Destruction Proof and Certification MUST 3 Prove and certify data destruction
APTS-TP-017 Multi-Tenant and Engagement Isolation MUST 2 Isolate tenants and engagements
APTS-TP-018 Tenant Breach Notification MUST 1 Notify affected tenants of breaches
APTS-TP-019 AI Model Provenance and Training Data Governance MUST 2 Govern AI model provenance and training data
APTS-TP-020 Persistent Memory and Retrieval State Governance SHOULD 2 Govern persistent memory and retrieval state
APTS-TP-021 Foundation Model Disclosure and Capability Baseline MUST 1 Disclose foundation model and capability baseline
APTS-TP-022 Re-attestation on Material Foundation Model Change MUST 2 Re-assess platform after material foundation model change

Reporting | Implementation Guide

ID Requirement Classification Tier Brief
APTS-RP-001 Evidence-Based Finding Validation MUST 2 Validate findings with evidence
APTS-RP-002 Finding Verification and Human Review Pipeline MUST 2 Human review pipeline for findings
APTS-RP-003 Confidence Scoring with Auditable Methodology MUST 2 Confidence scoring with auditable method
APTS-RP-004 Finding Provenance Chain MUST 2 Maintain finding provenance chain
APTS-RP-005 Cryptographic Evidence Chain Integrity MUST 2 Cryptographic evidence chain integrity
APTS-RP-006 False Positive Rate Disclosure MUST 1 Disclose false positive rates
APTS-RP-007 Independent Finding Reproducibility SHOULD 3 Independent finding reproducibility and validation
APTS-RP-008 Vulnerability Coverage Disclosure MUST 1 Disclose vulnerability coverage
APTS-RP-009 False Negative Rate Disclosure and Methodology MUST 2 Disclose false negative rates
APTS-RP-010 Detection Effectiveness Benchmarking SHOULD 3 Benchmark detection effectiveness
APTS-RP-011 Executive Summary and Risk Overview MUST 1 Executive summary and risk overview
APTS-RP-012 Remediation Guidance and Prioritization MUST 2 Remediation guidance and prioritization
APTS-RP-013 Engagement SLA Compliance Reporting MUST 2 Engagement SLA compliance reporting
APTS-RP-014 Trend Analysis for Recurring Engagements SHOULD 2 Trend analysis for recurring engagements
APTS-RP-015 Downstream Finding Pipeline Integrity SHOULD 2 Downstream finding pipeline integrity