Defending against API business-level attacks

Finally, let us conclude this chapter by looking at the two business-level vulnerabilities included in the OWASP API Security Top 10 2023.

Unrestricted access to sensitive business flows

This vulnerability results when an attacker can abuse the standard flow of an API-based application to subvert the original business intent to their benefit. Typical examples include abuse of airline ticket booking systems, online event ticketing systems, or various online retailers.

The exact nature of the abuse will depend on the specifics of the industry and how their API design maps to their business flows. Unfortunately, this is one of the hardest vulnerabilities to defend against because, unlike many of the others covered already, there is no single point of fix. In fact, the APIs themselves may be flawless, but by being used in a nefarious fashion, they expose the business to risk.

Typically, risk minimization involves both the business...