API Penetration Testing
APIs are your attack surface — and they don't take weekends off.
REST & GraphQL security testing covering the full OWASP API Top 10.
Free 30-min scoping call · No commitment · Usually reply within 24 hours
What Gets Tested
Full OWASP API Security Top 10 coverage with manual testing. The subtle stuff — BOLA, mass assignment, logic abuse — is where attackers find their way in, and where scanners consistently fall short.
- BOLA / IDOR (Broken Object Level Authorization)
- Broken authentication & token security
- Broken Object Property Level Authorization
- Unrestricted resource consumption & rate limiting
- Broken function level authorization
- Excessive data exposure in responses
- Mass assignment & parameter tampering
- Security misconfiguration (CORS, headers, methods)
- Injection via API parameters (SQLi, XSS, SSTI)
- Improper inventory & undocumented endpoints
- GraphQL introspection & batching abuse
- JWT & OAuth token vulnerabilities
- API versioning & deprecated endpoint abuse
- Mobile/web client API abuse scenarios
Methodology: OWASP API Security Project + manual exploration with Burp Suite, Postman, and custom scripts. REST and GraphQL both covered.
Who Benefits Most
If your product has an API — and most do — it needs dedicated testing. Web and mobile app tests don't always go deep enough on the API layer.
Mobile App Backends
The API your iOS/Android app talks to often has weaker access controls than the web frontend. Separately tested, separately secured.
SaaS with Partner APIs
Exposing APIs to third-party integrators or customers? That's a high-trust surface that needs careful authorization testing.
Microservices Architectures
Service-to-service calls, internal APIs, and misconfigured trust boundaries are a goldmine for lateral movement.
Fintech & HealthTech
APIs handling transactions, PII, or health records where a broken authorization finding has real downstream impact.
Post Web-App Pentest
Your web pentest covered the frontend. The API layer deserves its own focused assessment — same codebase, very different threat model.
GraphQL-Heavy Products
GraphQL's flexible query model introduces specific risks — introspection leaks, batching abuse, and field-level authorization gaps.
What You Receive
A clear, actionable report your backend team can work from immediately — with real request/response evidence and concrete fixes, not vague recommendations.
- Executive summary for stakeholders
- Risk-ranked findings (Critical → Informational)
- Exact API requests & responses as evidence
- Step-by-step reproduction for every issue
- Business impact context per finding
- Targeted remediation with code-level guidance
- Findings walkthrough call with your team
- Free retest to verify fixes are solid
Download a redacted sample — real format, real depth, real findings. Judge the quality before you decide.
Priced for the Problem, Not the Provider
API testing is often the most efficient engagement — focused scope, tight timeline, maximum coverage of your actual attack surface. These rates reflect that efficiency intentionally, keeping serious testing accessible to teams of every size.
Starting from
Final price quoted after a free scoping call. Everything below is included.
What's always included
- Full OWASP API Top 10 coverage
- REST & GraphQL support
- Manual testing + custom scripts
- Risk-ranked report with evidence
- Remediation guidance
- Free retest of confirmed fixes
What affects the final price
Providing API documentation (Postman collection, OpenAPI spec) typically reduces the cost because I can move faster. Worth mentioning on the scoping call.
Common Questions
Do I need to share API documentation or source code?
Not required, but it helps. If you have a Postman collection or OpenAPI/Swagger spec, sharing it means I can cover more endpoints in the same time — which often reduces cost. Source code is optional and only needed for a code review engagement.
Can you test an API that requires special authentication (OAuth, API keys)?
Yes. I work with whatever auth mechanism your API uses — API keys, JWT, OAuth 2.0 flows, session tokens, etc. You'll provide test credentials/tokens before the engagement starts, and I test the authentication mechanism itself as part of the scope.
Is this different from a web app pentest?
Yes — significantly. A web app test focuses on the browser-facing surface. An API test goes deep on authorization logic, object-level access control, token integrity, and backend data exposure that often doesn't surface in a standard web pentest. Many of the most impactful real-world breaches are API issues, not web vulnerabilities.
How long does the engagement take?
A focused API engagement typically runs 3–7 business days from scoping to report, depending on the number of endpoints and complexity. You'll have a clear timeline before work starts.
Let's Audit Your API
Start with a free 30-minute call. Share your API's scope, stack, and what's keeping you up at night — I'll tell you exactly what I'd test and what a realistic engagement looks like.