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API Security-Developers Checklist-Hacktivists University

The document provides a comprehensive API Security Checklist that outlines essential security countermeasures for designing, testing, and releasing APIs. It covers various aspects such as authentication, access control, input validation, and logging, emphasizing best practices to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities. Additionally, it highlights the importance of integrating security into the CI/CD pipeline and monitoring API activities for enhanced protection.

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4 views

API Security-Developers Checklist-Hacktivists University

The document provides a comprehensive API Security Checklist that outlines essential security countermeasures for designing, testing, and releasing APIs. It covers various aspects such as authentication, access control, input validation, and logging, emphasizing best practices to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities. Additionally, it highlights the importance of integrating security into the CI/CD pipeline and monitoring API activities for enhanced protection.

Uploaded by

siblingzconsult
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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THEHACKTIVISTS.

COM

HACKTIVISTS
U N I V E R S I T Y
E M P OWE R IN G GR OWT H

APPLICATION
SECURITY
The Hacktivists™

API Security Checklist


Checklist of the most important security countermeasures when designing, testing, and releasing your
APII

Authentication
Use encryption on all sensitive data.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible.
Use Max Retry and account jail features to prevent brute-force attacks.
Avoid reinventing the wheel in token generation or password storage—use secure standards.
Use IP whitelisting for admin or critical APIs.
For sensitive operations, require re-authentication.

JWT (JSON Web Token)


Use a random, complicated key (JWT Secret) to make brute-forcing difficult.
Don’t extract the algorithm from the header—force it server-side (e.g., HS256 or RS256).
Set token expiration (TTL, RTTL) as short as possible.
Avoid storing sensitive data in the JWT payload, as it can be decoded easily.
Implement JWT Blacklisting for invalidated tokens (e.g., upon logout).
Rotate refresh tokens to limit long-term access risks.

OAuth
Always validate redirect_uri server-side and only allow whitelisted URLs.
Use response_type=code instead of response_type=token to exchange codes for tokens.
Use the state parameter with a random hash to prevent CSRF attacks in the OAuth process.
Define and validate scope parameters for each application.
Revoke tokens when user permissions are modified or a security event occurs.

The Hacktivists™
The Hacktivists™

Access Control
Use HTTPS to prevent MITM (Man in the Middle) attacks.
Limit requests with rate limiting and throttling to mitigate DDoS and brute-force attacks.
Apply Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) or Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC).
Enforce least privilege by restricting access to the minimal required.
Use API key management with strict expiration policies and scopes.
Implement CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) to control resource access from different
origins.
Use the ( HTTP Strict Transport Security ) HSTS header to avoid SSL Strip attacks.
Validate that API endpoints are properly scoped to user permissions.

Input Validation
Use the appropriate HTTP methods: GET for read, POST for create, PUT/PATCH for update, and
DELETE for removal. Respond with 405 Method Not Allowed when inappropriate methods are
used.
Validate the content-type on request headers and support only the required formats (e.g.,
application/json, application/xml).
Validate posted data types and sizes to prevent malicious input.
Use input validation libraries to prevent XSS, SQL injection, and command injection.
Avoid sending sensitive data (e.g., passwords, API keys) via the URL; use authorization headers.
Use API gateways to enable caching, rate limiting, schema validation, and dynamic deployments.
Implement size limits on request bodies to prevent buffer overflow and DoS attacks.
For APIs handling sensitive input, enforce strict input validation at both the server and client
side.

Processing & Backend Logic


Ensure all endpoints require authentication to avoid broken authentication.
Avoid exposing raw resource identifiers like user IDs in URLs (e.g., /user/654321/orders). Use
/me/orders or UUIDs instead.
Disable automatic deserialization of potentially untrusted data.
Implement timeouts for long-running requests to prevent excessive resource consumption.
Use workers and queues for processing large amounts of data asynchronously.
Don’t leave DEBUG mode enabled in production.
Apply strong validation on business logic to avoid insecure direct object references (IDOR).

The Hacktivists™
The Hacktivists™

Output Management
Send the X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff header to prevent MIME-type sniffing.
Use the X-Frame-Options: deny header to prevent clickjacking attacks.
Set the Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'none' header to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS).
Remove unnecessary headers such as X-Powered-By, Server, and X-AspNet-Version.
Always return proper HTTP status codes (e.g., 200 OK, 400 Bad Request, 401 Unauthorized).
Force the correct content-type for all responses (e.g., application/json).
Never return sensitive information like credentials or security tokens in the response.
Include rate-limiting headers (X-Rate-Limit-Limit, X-Rate-Limit-Remaining, X-Rate-Limit-Reset).

API Security Testing


Use automated security testing tools like OWASP ZAP or Burp Suite to test APIs.
Perform manual penetration testing for edge cases and business logic flaws.
Incorporate security testing into the CI/CD pipeline.
Conduct fuzzing tests to uncover buffer overflows and other input-based vulnerabilities.
Test for injection vulnerabilities (SQLi, XSS, NoSQLi).
Simulate real-world attacks such as session fixation or replay attacks.
Perform security code reviews to check for logic flaws and insecure practices.

CI & CD (Continuous Integration and Delivery)


Integrate security tests and checks into the CI pipeline (e.g., static analysis, dependency
scanning).
Ensure that deployment artifacts are signed for integrity verification.
Use deployment keys instead of passwords for authentication in CI/CD pipelines.
Implement container security scanning (e.g., for Docker images).
Design automated rollback mechanisms for faulty deployments.
Regularly update dependencies and apply patches.

Logging and Monitoring


Use centralized logging to capture and analyze API requests, errors, and traffic patterns.
Don’t log sensitive information such as passwords, tokens, or credit card details.
Set up real-time monitoring with alerts (e.g., Slack, SMS, Email) for abnormal activities.
Implement log retention policies for security forensics and auditing.
Test alerting systems to ensure they trigger on anomalous activities.

The Hacktivists™
The Hacktivists™

Enable logging of key API usage metrics such as success/failure rates, latency, and error codes.
Use an IDS/IPS system to monitor API requests and detect malicious activity.

Data Storage & Encryption


Encrypt sensitive data at rest using strong encryption algorithms (e.g., AES-256).
Use secure key management, such as Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), for encryption keys.
Enforce encryption for data in transit using TLS/SSL.
Use hashing algorithms (e.g., bcrypt, Argon2) for storing sensitive data such as passwords.
Implement automatic key rotation to protect against key compromise.
Ensure that sensitive session data, tokens, and API keys are securely stored.

API Rate Limiting & Quotas


Apply global and per-user rate limits to mitigate abuse.
Use a sliding window for rate limits to balance spikes in traffic.
Implement spike arrest and throttling policies to prevent sudden traffic surges.
Provide API consumers with information on quota usage.
Enforce geographic-based rate limiting to prevent abuse from certain regions.

API Gateway Security


Use an API Gateway to centralize security, authentication, rate limiting, and traffic
management.
Configure IP allowlists or denylists in the API gateway for enhanced security.
Use the gateway to enforce API schema validation and content validation (e.g., OpenAPI).
Enable caching for non-sensitive or public API resources to improve performance.

The Hacktivists™
HACKTIVISTS
U N I V E R S I T Y
E M POW ERING GROWT H

thehacktivists.com

/hacktivistsuniversity @HacktivistsUniversity /hacktivists-university

/hacktivistsuniversity @hacktivistuniv

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