icon

Digital safety starts here for both commercial and personal

Explore our comprehensive Cyber Security Services, featuring Red Team Assessment, Penetration Testing, Digital Forensics, Web Application Testing, and Network Security Audit. Our expert solutions ensure robust protection for your digital assets and infrastructure.

+91 9433 93 2620

API Security Audit

API Security Audit · REST · GraphQL · gRPC · SOAP · WebSocket

Your APIs are
your attack surface.
Test them like one.

Manual, adversary-driven security audits of REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSocket APIs. Aligned with OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023), ASVS/MASVS, NIST, and FAPI. We find BOLA, broken auth, mass assignment, schema abuse, and shadow/zombie endpoints — and ship remediation the way your devs expect to read it.

Request Scoping Call → See Methodology
OWASP API 2023
Top 10 · Full Coverage
Manual First
Scanners Second
OpenAPI · Postman
Works With Your Spec
insec@api-audit ~ test BOLA · T-042
GET /api/v2/orders/{order_id}
Authorization: Bearer ey[user_A_token]...
GET /api/v2/orders/5847 ← user B's order
HTTP 200 OKBOLA
{ "order_id": 5847,
  "customer": "user_B@acme.com",
  "amount": 48200,
  "card_last4": "4242",
  "billing_addr": "[REDACTED IN REPORT]" }
⚠ API1:2023 · Broken Object Level Authorization user_A token accessed user_B's order. Server did not validate ownership. CWE-639 · CVSS 8.2
83%
of web traffic is API calls (Cloudflare)
#1
API1:2023 · BOLA · most prevalent risk
$6.1B
projected API breach cost by 2026
68%
of orgs unaware of their full API inventory
// API Types We Test

Whatever your stack speaks — we speak it too.

Each API style has its own quirks, its own attack surface, and its own tooling requirements. No template-driven audits.

REST
HTTP / JSON

Classic REST · OpenAPI 3.x · resource-based routing.

GraphQL
HTTP / WS

Apollo · Relay · schema fuzz · introspection · DoS.

gRPC
HTTP/2 · Proto

Server-streaming · reflection · metadata abuse.

WebSocket
WS / WSS

Message fuzz · auth handoff · CSWSH · replay.

SOAP / XML
HTTP · WSDL

XXE · WS-Security · legacy enterprise APIs.

// OWASP API Security Top 10 · 2023

Every category. Manually exercised.

OWASP API Top 10 is the baseline — not the finish line. Each finding maps to the exact sub-category plus related CWE and ASVS control.

API
01

Broken Object Level Authorization

BOLA / IDOR on object IDs. Most prevalent API flaw. Tested on every ID parameter, every verb, every role.

API
02

Broken Authentication

JWT flaws (alg:none, weak keys), OAuth misuse, token-refresh abuse, session fixation, MFA bypass.

API
03

Broken Object Property Level Authorization

Excessive data exposure + mass assignment. Read fields you shouldn't see, write fields you shouldn't touch.

API
04

Unrestricted Resource Consumption

No rate limits, expensive queries, file-upload abuse, GraphQL depth & complexity DoS.

API
05

Broken Function Level Authorization

Admin endpoints exposed to regular users, verb tampering, role escalation at function level.

API
06

Unrestricted Access to Sensitive Business Flows

Automation abuse: scalping, booking, credit-card stuffing, voucher draining, account-creation farms.

API
07

Server Side Request Forgery

SSRF via webhook, URL import, PDF-render, image-fetch. Cloud-metadata & internal-service pivots.

API
08

Security Misconfiguration

Verbose errors, default creds, permissive CORS, missing headers, debug endpoints, Swagger exposure.

API
09

Improper Inventory Management

Shadow APIs, zombie endpoints, v1/v2/legacy versions, deprecated env leftovers, forgotten subdomains.

API
10

Unsafe Consumption of APIs

Your API trusts a 3rd-party API's responses too much. SSRF echo, partner-API poisoning, supply chain.

// Methodology

Manual first. Scanners second. Spec-aware always.

Scanners catch misconfigurations. Humans catch logic flaws. We combine both — and always import your OpenAPI / GraphQL schema / Postman collection for spec-aware coverage.

01 · SCOPE

Scoping & ROE

API inventory, auth model, user roles, scope caps, test accounts, out-of-scope endpoints.

02 · DISCOVER

API Discovery

OpenAPI / GraphQL schema · Postman / HAR · proxy capture · shadow-endpoint sweep.

03 · SPEC

Spec Conformance

Contract drift, undocumented endpoints, version-divergence, deprecated-ep exposure.

04 · AUTH

Authentication Testing

JWT cracking, OAuth flow abuse, refresh-token replay, MFA bypass, session handling.

05 · AUTHZ

Authorization & BOLA

Horizontal/vertical privilege tests on every object ID, every role, every verb.

06 · INPUT

Input & Injection

SQLi / NoSQLi · SSRF · SSTI · XXE · command injection · unsafe deserialization.

07 · LOGIC

Business Logic

Mass assignment, race conditions, workflow abuse, rate-limit bypass, sensitive-flow misuse.

08 · INFRA

Gateway & Infra

API Gateway config, CORS, headers, TLS, WAF bypass, rate-limit efficacy, observability.

09 · REPORT

Report & Retest

Dev-ready findings, CVSS + CWE + API Top 10 mapping, PoC curl, free retest in 30 days.

// Auth & Identity

Every auth flow. Every token format.

Authentication is where most API breaches start. We test every protocol your APIs speak.

OAuth 2.0 / 2.1

AuthZ code · PKCE · client-credentials · refresh-token chains.

OIDC

ID-token claims · nonce / state · discovery · JWKS rotation.

JWT / JWE / JWS

alg:none · weak-HS256 · key confusion · JKU/JWK abuse.

SAML 2.0

XML-Signature wrapping · XSLT · assertion replay.

mTLS

Client cert chain · pinning · rotation · SAN hygiene.

API Keys / HMAC

Key-rotation · transit · HMAC replay · timing side-channels.

WebAuthn / FIDO2

Attestation · replay · cross-origin · phishing-resistance.

Session Cookies

SameSite · Secure · HttpOnly · fixation · cross-site leakage.

// Gateway & Platform Coverage

We validate how your gateway is configured — not just how the doc says it should be.

Kong

plugins · ACL · rate-limit

Apigee

Google Cloud gateway

AWS API Gateway

REST · HTTP · WebSocket

Azure APIM

policies · developer portal

GCP API Gateway

Cloud Endpoints

Tyk

self-managed / hybrid

WSO2

API Manager

Envoy · Istio · Linkerd

service-mesh ingress

NGINX / Apache

reverse-proxy & API

Traefik

cloud-native proxy

MuleSoft

Anypoint API Manager

42Crunch · Akamai · F5

dedicated API security

// Standards

Mapped to what your auditors check.

OWASP API Top 10

2023 edition · tactic-by-tactic mapping.

OWASP ASVS L2/L3

Application-layer security verification.

OWASP MASVS

Mobile-app & companion API alignment.

NIST SP 800-204

Microservices & API security architecture.

NIST SP 800-63

Digital-identity guidelines for AuthN.

FAPI 2.0

Financial-grade API for BFSI / open-banking.

PCI-DSS 6.2 · 6.3

Secure-coding & pentest for card-data APIs.

HIPAA §164.312

Technical safeguards for healthcare APIs.

ISO/IEC 27001

A.8.26 application-security requirements.

GDPR · DPDP

Data-minimisation & purpose-limit in API design.

RBI · SEBI

BFSI API-security expectations (India).

Account Aggregator

NBFC-AA & FIU API conformance (India).

// Why INSEC

Built for how modern teams actually ship APIs.

Manual First

BOLA, mass assignment, and business-logic flaws don't get caught by scanners. Our auditors hand-craft exploits against your logic.

Spec-Aware Testing

We import your OpenAPI / GraphQL schema / Postman / HAR · coverage is the full documented surface plus the undocumented shadows.

Dev-Readable Findings

Each finding ships with exact curl / Postman PoC, CWE, CVSS, API Top 10 ref, & a specific code/config fix. Your devs merge the PR the same day.

Modern Stack Fluent

REST is the easy part. We also test GraphQL introspection & depth-DoS, gRPC streaming, WebSocket trust-boundaries, gateway-level bypass.

Fixed Quote · 48h Start

Scope-driven fixed pricing, 48h kickoff, free retest on critical & high within 30 days.

Confidential by Design

NDA first. Scoped test accounts. Data redacted in reports. All evidence encrypted, retention under your control.

// Engagement Timeline

Kickoff to retest in 2-4 weeks.

WEEK 0

Scoping & ROE

API inventory, auth model, user roles, scope caps, test accounts, OpenAPI / Postman import.

WEEK 1

Discovery & Surface

Documented + undocumented endpoints, schema drift, shadow/zombie-API hunt.

WEEK 2

Manual Exploitation

Auth, BOLA, input, logic, rate-limit, gateway · daily status · immediate critical-finding escalation.

WEEK 3

Reporting & Debrief

Exec + technical report, API Top 10 + CWE + CVSS, PoC collection, live walkthrough with dev + sec.

WEEK 4+

Remediation & Retest

Fix-support office hours. Free retest of critical/high findings within 30 days.

// FAQ

What API & product teams ask first.

Is this the same as web application VAPT?
Overlapping but distinct. Web VAPT focuses on UI + front-end + backend APIs behind the UI. API audits go deeper on API-specific issues (BOLA, mass assignment, schema abuse, gateway config, OAuth, GraphQL-specific attacks) and cover APIs that have no UI at all — partner APIs, mobile backends, microservice-to-microservice. Many clients run both; some combine them in one engagement.
Do you need our OpenAPI / GraphQL schema?
Strongly preferred, not required. With the schema / Postman collection / HAR, coverage is significantly higher and faster. Without it, we discover endpoints passively (proxy, traffic analysis, OSINT) — this takes longer and may miss internal-only endpoints.
Will testing disrupt production or hit rate limits?
Default is no. Tests are throttled, destructive operations are excluded, and any action that could trigger costs (bulk email, SMS, payments) is scoped out unless explicitly authorised. We default to staging where representative.
Can you test authenticated / user-specific flows?
Yes — that's where most BOLA / IDOR live. We need multiple test accounts (min 2 users per role) to test horizontal-privilege boundaries and at least one elevated-role account to test vertical.
Do you test GraphQL specifically?
Yes — GraphQL has its own attack surface: introspection abuse, batching DoS, depth/complexity DoS, field-level authorization, directive abuse, cost analysis bypass. We use graphql-cop, InQL, and manual query-tree testing.
How do you handle false positives?
Every finding is manually validated with a working PoC (curl / Postman). Scanner-only findings without repro don't ship. If we can't reproduce, you don't see it.
Will this satisfy our PCI / SOC 2 / HIPAA requirement?
Yes — our report format satisfies PCI-DSS 6.2/11.4 pentest, SOC 2 CC7.1, HIPAA §164.312, and ISO 27001 A.8.26. Letter of attestation provided on request.
How much does it cost?
Scope-driven. Small APIs (<50 endpoints, single role) start ₹1.2L. Typical SaaS API audit ₹2L–₹6L. Complex multi-service, multi-role, BFSI / health-grade engagements quoted post-scoping.
// Get Started

Find the BOLA before your customers do.

Book a free 30-minute scoping call. Share your OpenAPI / Postman / GraphQL spec — we'll send a fixed quote inside 48 hours.

Email Us → Call +91 9433 93 2620
✉ contact@insec.in ☎ +91 9433 93 2620