Automated API Penetration Testing (Pentesting): Find Vulnerabilities Before Attackers Do
Manual API testing reviews happen once a year. Your API deploys every day. ApyGuard's automated API penetration testing runs on every deployment, covering all ten OWASP API Security Top 10 categories with AI-generated attack requests tailored to your specific API endpoints and schema.
Import your OpenAPI spec, configure authentication, and get a prioritized vulnerability report in under 30 minutes. No scheduling, no engagement letters, no waiting.
Automated pentesting from $129/month -- vs. $5,000-$30,000 for a manual engagement.
35%
more vulnerabilities found vs. traditional scanners
90%
fewer false positives
500+
APIs scanned
<30m
from spec to first report
From Spec to Vulnerability Report in Four Steps
Connect your API once. ApyGuard handles the attack generation, request execution, and findings triage automatically.
Connect your API
Import your OpenAPI spec or use the ApyGuard browser extension to capture your API endpoints. ApyGuard reads your endpoint definitions, parameters, and authentication requirements.
Configure auth and scan scope
Provide API keys, auth tokens, or OAuth credentials for authenticated endpoints. Select which OWASP API Top 10 categories to include -- or run a full scan across all ten.
AI generates attack requests
ApyGuard's AI generates attack payloads tailored to each endpoint's schema, parameters, and authentication model. Not signature-based -- each request is adapted to your specific API structure.
Receive a prioritized vulnerability report
Every finding is categorized by OWASP category, severity (Critical / High / Medium / Low), and affected endpoint. Each entry includes the request that triggered the finding and the recommended fix.
No OpenAPI spec yet? Use the ApyGuard browser extension to capture your API endpoints and generate a spec automatically.
100% OWASP API Security Top 10 Coverage
ApyGuard tests for every category in the OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023) with attack requests adapted to your specific API schema and authentication model.
Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA)
Tests whether one user can access or modify another user's objects by manipulating resource IDs.
Broken Authentication (Broken Auth)
Probes authentication mechanisms for weaknesses: missing token validation, weak JWT secrets, expired token acceptance.
Broken Object Property Level Authorization (Mass Assignment)
Tests whether endpoints expose or accept object properties they should not -- including admin fields and hidden attributes.
Unrestricted Resource Consumption (Rate Limiting)
Verifies that endpoints enforce rate limits, payload size limits, and resource quotas to prevent abuse.
Broken Function Level Authorization (BFLA)
Tests whether standard users can access admin or privileged functions by changing HTTP methods or URL paths.
Unrestricted Access to Sensitive Business Flows (Business Logic)
Identifies flows that can be exploited at scale -- bulk discount abuse, automated account creation, reservation hoarding.
Server Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Tests whether endpoints that accept URLs or file paths can be tricked into making internal network requests.
Security Misconfiguration (Misconfiguration)
Checks for missing security headers, verbose error messages, default credentials, and open CORS policies.
Improper Inventory Management (Shadow APIs)
Discovers undocumented or deprecated endpoints that are still active but not in the official API specification.
Unsafe Consumption of APIs (3rd Party)
Evaluates whether your API trusts data from third-party integrations without proper validation or sanitization.
AI-Generated Attack Requests, Not Signatures
Traditional API scanners replay a library of pre-written attack payloads against every endpoint. If your API uses unusual parameter names, custom response structures, or non-standard authentication, signature-based scanners miss the vulnerabilities specific to your implementation.
ApyGuard reads your OpenAPI specification and generates attack requests tailored to each endpoint's actual schema. A BOLA test for your /users/{userId}/orders endpoint uses real user IDs from your API, not generic numeric sequences. A mass assignment test targets the exact object properties your API accepts, not a generic list of common field names.
This approach finds 35% more vulnerabilities than signature-based scanners and produces 90% fewer false positives -- because every finding was triggered by a request that your specific API responded to unexpectedly.
Add a Pentest Gate to Your CI/CD Pipeline
ApyGuard integrates with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Jenkins. Add a security scan step that runs on every pull request or deployment. The scan exits with a non-zero status on critical or high findings, blocking the build before a vulnerability reaches production.
- name: API Pentest Scan
uses: apyguard/pentest-action@v1
with:
api-spec: ./openapi.yaml
api-url: ${{ secrets. API_URL }}
api-key: ${{ secrets. APYGUARD_KEY }}
fail-on: highThe same configuration works for GitLab CI and Jenkins with equivalent syntax. API credentials are passed as environment secrets and are never written to logs or build artifacts.
What a Scan Report Includes
Every finding includes enough context to reproduce, understand, and fix the vulnerability without additional investigation.
Findings by severity
Each vulnerability is classified as Critical, High, Medium, or Low based on exploitability and business impact.
Exact request and response
The scan report includes the full HTTP request that triggered the finding so your team can reproduce it immediately.
Remediation steps
Each finding includes a plain-language explanation and a specific code-level recommendation for the fix.
CI/CD gate status
When run in a pipeline, the report includes a pass/fail status and a machine-readable exit code for build automation.
After remediating findings, use behavior profiling to confirm fixed endpoints stay fixed -- daily authenticated scans alert you the moment a response regresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a scan take?
Most APIs complete a full OWASP API Top 10 scan in under 30 minutes. Scan time depends on the number of endpoints and the depth of testing configured. Targeted single-category scans typically complete in under 10 minutes.
What authentication configuration is needed?
ApyGuard supports API key authentication, Bearer token authentication, and OAuth 2.0 client credentials. You provide credentials once during setup; they are encrypted at rest and used only to execute scans.
How do findings get to developers?
Findings are available in the ApyGuard dashboard immediately after the scan completes. When run in a CI/CD pipeline, the scan exits with a non-zero status code on critical or high findings, blocking the build. Webhook delivery to Slack or Jira is also supported.
How does automated pentesting differ from a manual penetration test?
Manual pentests are scheduled engagements that take weeks to arrange and produce a point-in-time report. ApyGuard runs on every deployment, against every endpoint, in minutes. It does not replace a manual pentest for compliance purposes but eliminates the gap between annual reviews where most vulnerabilities go undetected.
Find Vulnerabilities Before Your Next Deployment Ships
Connect your API spec and run your first automated penetration test in under 30 minutes. No credit card required.
Review the API security best practices guide for the full framework covering authentication, authorization, rate limiting, and runtime monitoring.