API9:2023 Improper Inventory Management - OWASP API Security Top 10

Overview

This article discusses the security risk of improper inventory management in APIs. It covers the threat agents and attack vectors, security weaknesses, and impacts. The article also provides example attack scenarios and tips on how to prevent such vulnerabilities.

Description

API9:2023 Improper Inventory Management is a critical security risk that organizations should be aware of. It involves vulnerabilities in API versions or endpoints left unpatched, leading to unauthorized access and data leakage. This article provides insights into the causes, impacts, and prevention measures for this risk.

How to Prevent ?

To prevent API9:2023 Improper Inventory Management, organizations should take the following steps: - Build an inventory of all API hosts and document key aspects like environment, network access, and version. - Document integrated services and their data flow to ensure proper monitoring. - Generate and maintain comprehensive API documentation, including authentication, errors, rate limiting, and endpoints. - Restrict access to API documentation to authorized users. - Implement API security measures for all exposed versions. - Use non-production data for non-production API deployments and ensure they have the same security measures. - Upgrade older API versions with security improvements or migrate to the latest version.

Example Attack Scenarios:

• Scenario #1 - Brute Force Password Reset:  A researcher discovered a beta API host that lacked a rate-limiting mechanism for password reset tokens. By leveraging brute force, they were able to reset passwords for any user.

• Scenario #2 - Unauthorized Data Access:  A consulting firm built a malicious app that gained consent from users to access their personal information. Due to improper data flow monitoring, the firm was able to access private information of millions of users and later sold it for malicious purposes.