API Penetration Testing
Expose and fix vulnerabilities across your API endpoints.
What this assessment covers.
APIs are the backbone of modern applications, connecting services and exchanging data across systems. DERISK’s API Penetration Testing service provides a thorough assessment of your API security posture, identifying vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive data or enable unauthorised access to backend services.
Our testing covers authentication and authorisation controls, access management, input validation, business logic flaws, API endpoint analysis, and security configuration reviews. We test REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs, ensuring comprehensive coverage across all your API surfaces with findings validated by experts and delivered through the DERISK PTaaS platform.
How we test.
A structured, expert-led methodology from initial reconnaissance through to real-time reporting and remediation guidance.
- 01
API Discovery & Enumeration
We map every API endpoint, parameter, and method your application exposes — including undocumented or hidden endpoints — to establish the full scope of testing.
- 02
Authentication & Authorisation Assessment
We test token-based authentication, API keys, OAuth flows, and access control to ensure users can’t bypass permissions or access another user’s data.
- 03
Business Logic & Input Validation Testing
We probe input validation, rate limiting, and application-specific logic to uncover flaws like mass assignment, parameter tampering, and race conditions.
- 04
Attack Simulation across endpoints
We simulate real-world attacks — injection, broken object-level authorisation, and excessive data exposure — across REST, GraphQL, and SOAP endpoints.
- 05
Real-time findings published to the DERISK PTaaS portal
Confirmed vulnerabilities appear on the PTaaS portal as they are discovered, with proof-of-concept and remediation guidance for fast action.
- 06
Reporting & Remediation guidance
You receive a comprehensive report with risk-rated findings, CVSS scores, and API-specific remediation steps aligned with OWASP API Security Top 10.
Why teams choose us.
Expert-led, manually validated, and delivered through the DERISK PTaaS platform for continuous visibility and rapid remediation.
Outstanding Features
- ✓Assessment aligned with the latest OWASP API Security Top 10
- ✓Real-time visibility into discovered API vulnerabilities and remediation progress through the DERISK PTaaS platform
- ✓Testing across REST, GraphQL, and SOAP APIs
- ✓Business logic and access control testing beyond automated scanning
Why Choose Our Service?
- ▸Preventive detection: Discover API weaknesses before they become entry points for attackers
- ▸Realistic simulation: Validate security using attack scenarios targeting exposed API services
- ▸Continuous visibility: Track findings, remediation, and retesting through a centralised PTaaS portal
- ▸Proactive fortification: Strengthen API security with practical recommendations tailored to your development lifecycle
Frameworks & standards.
Testing is aligned with industry-recognised frameworks and standards to ensure comprehensive, repeatable coverage.
What you receive.
Everything you need to understand, prioritise, and remediate findings — delivered through the platform with ongoing validation.
API Pentest questions.
Which API styles do you test?
REST, SOAP and GraphQL, plus the gateways and authorisation layers in front of them. Each has a dedicated DERISK service if you need deeper, protocol-specific coverage.
What are the most common API findings you see?
Broken object-level and function-level authorisation dominate, followed by excessive data exposure, missing rate limiting and mass-assignment flaws. These are the issues that scanners miss most often because they require understanding what each endpoint is supposed to allow.
Do you need our API documentation?
OpenAPI, Swagger or Postman collections speed the engagement up considerably and improve coverage, but they are not required — we can enumerate and map undocumented endpoints as part of reconnaissance.
How are findings delivered?
Every engagement runs through the DERISK PTaaS platform, so findings appear live rather than in a PDF weeks later. You get real-time results, collaborative remediation, on-demand retesting, remediation tracking and native Jira and Slack integration.
Often scoped together.
REST API Pentest
Expose and fix vulnerabilities across your REST API endpoints.
GraphQL API Pentest
Expose and fix vulnerabilities across your GraphQL API endpoints.
SOAP API Pentest
Expose and fix vulnerabilities across your SOAP API services.
Web App Pentest
Identify vulnerabilities in your web applications before attackers do.
Ready to secure your assets with API Pentest?
Get in touch with DERISK to schedule an assessment or learn more about how our expert-led testing can strengthen your security posture.
Request a demo ↗