The OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023 Edition) reflects the maturity of threats against modern interfaces and continues to be the industry standard for classifying API risks in 2026. Unlike traditional web applications, APIs expose business logic and data endpoints directly, requiring a layered defense strategy that prioritizes performance and distributed security.
In this updated guide with insights and techniques, we detail each risk and how to mitigate them.
API1:2023 — Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA)
What it is: Failure to verify if the authenticated user has permission to access a specific object via ID.
- Attack Example: A user changes the ID in the URL from
/api/v1/orders/1001to/1002and accesses third-party data. - Technical Mitigation: 1. Use UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers) or non-predictable IDs instead of sequential numbers. 2. Implement ownership checks on every request in the backend.
- Global Infrastructure: Use serverless computing to validate if the JWT token’s
sub(subject) matches the requested resource owner before the request even reaches the data center.
API2:2023 — Broken Authentication
What it is: Authentication implementations that allow token compromise or credential exploitation.
- Mitigation: Implement OAuth2/OIDC with short-lived tokens and refresh token rotation.
- On Distributed Computing Platform: Perform JWT signature verification and token blacklist management at the edge, ensuring low latency and high performance.
API3:2023 — Broken Object Property Level Authorization
What it is: This category unifies the former Mass Assignment and Excessive Data Exposure. Occurs when the API allows reading or altering sensitive properties of an object (e.g., isAdmin, balance).
- Mitigation: Use DTOs (Data Transfer Objects) and apply a strict field allow-list.
- WAAP Usage: Configure the Web Application Firewall to perform JSON Schema validation, automatically blocking payloads that contain undocumented or sensitive properties.
API4:2023 — Unrestricted Resource Consumption
What it is: Lack of limits for CPU, memory, or bandwidth consumption.
- Mitigation: Define payload size limits and strict timeouts.
- On Global Infrastructure: Apply granular Rate Limiting and Throttling by IP or API Key to protect the data center against abusive spikes.
API5:2023 — Broken Function Level Authorization
What it is: Failure to restrict administrative functions (e.g., /admin/v1/users) to privileged profiles.
- Mitigation: Implement rigorous RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) on all endpoints.
- Edge Nodes: Block access to administrative routes by default on Global Infrastructure, allowing them only under specific network and authentication conditions.
API6:2023 — Unrestricted Access to Sensitive Business Flows
What it is: Abuse of business logic, such as bots performing ticket scalping or coupon fraud.
- Mitigation: Implement frequency limits based on business processes, not just technical traffic.
- Bot Management: Use behavioral analysis and fingerprinting to distinguish between humans and malicious automations in real time.
API7:2023 — Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
What it is: Occurs when the API receives a URL and tries to access it without validation, potentially exposing internal data center services.
- Mitigation: Don’t process responses from user-provided URLs and maintain an allow-list of permitted domains.
- WAAP: Block requests with parameters pointing to internal IP addresses (RFC1918), cloud provider metadata, or loopback addresses.
API8:2023 — Security Misconfiguration
What it is: Insecure TLS configurations, missing headers, or verbose error messages.
- Mitigation: Use TLS 1.3 and sanitize error responses in the production environment.
- Sanitization: Use Global Infrastructure to standardize security headers and remove sensitive infrastructure information in responses (like
X-Powered-By).
API9:2023 — Improper Inventory Management
What it is: Lack of governance over Shadow APIs and legacy (zombie) versions.
- Mitigation: Use API Discovery tools to map traffic in real time on Global Infrastructure and identify undocumented endpoints.
API10:2023 — Unsafe Consumption of APIs
What it is: Trusting data from third-party APIs without rigorous validation.
- Mitigation: Treat all external integration as untrusted traffic. Apply schema validation, sanitization, and quota limits on all data from external partners.
Layered Defense Table (OWASP 2023)
| Risk | Backend Mitigation | Defense on Global Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|
| BOLA | UUIDs and Owner Checks | JWT Claims Validation |
| Property Auth | DTOs and Whitelists | JSON Schema Enforcement (WAF) |
| SSRF | Domain Whitelisting | IP/Metadata Blocklisting |
| Bots | Business Logic Throttling | Behavioral Analysis (Bot Manager) |
Conclusion
Mitigating the OWASP API Security Top 10 in 2026 requires a vision that unites security and performance. By moving detection intelligence and threat blocking to the Distributed Computing Platform, organizations reduce origin load and ensure only legitimate, validated traffic reaches their application.
Next Steps:
- Check out our API Security Checklist for implementation.
- Explore API security best practices for layered defense.
- Compare attack surfaces in REST vs. GraphQL.
- Learn about Azion’s WAAP Solutions.