API Security & Discovery

API Penetration Testing
Australia

APIs are the entry point for 80% of modern corporate data breaches. Standard automated scanners miss complex logic flaws. We ingest live traffic, threat model your active footprint, and discover exposed shadow APIs to deliver senior-led manual validation.

Engagements starting from A$5,200 ex GST
View Pricing & Scope See Attack Paths
The Authorization Gap

Why Traditional Security Fails APIs

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) and automated network scanners are designed to look for known signature patterns and syntax errors (like SQL injection or XSS). However, they cannot comprehend the context of your API's business logic.

  • Bypassing WAF Syntax Rules: Attacks like Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA) manipulate standard values (e.g. changing id=1001 to id=1002 in an API request). Because the syntax is valid, the WAF allows it through.
  • Excessive Data Exposure: Backend APIs frequently return complete, raw JSON payloads containing sensitive metadata or password hashes, relying on the frontend to filter them out. Attackers intercept the direct API response.
  • Shadow Endpoints: Deprecated APIs, test builds (/v1/debug), and staging environments remain active but undocumented, creating unmonitored entry points.
WAF Inspection Engine
Standard Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Blocked by WAF
Classic SQL Injection Payload Blocked by WAF
BOLA Exploit (id=1001 -> id=1002) Bypasses WAF (Allowed)

Since the BOLA request structure contains perfectly valid HTTP parameters, traditional perimeter firewalls cannot verify if the user has the authority to request that specific object ID.

Logic Vulnerability Chains

Example API Attack Paths We Validate

We chain seemingly minor API configuration and logic flaws together to simulate a dedicated adversary breaching your sensitive systems.

Parameter Tampering (BOLA) → Modify AccountID Value → Bypass Object Access Check → Mass Customer PII Exfiltration
Verbose API Profile Output → JSON Includes Password Hashes → Intercept Response Package → Full Administrator Account Takeover
WAF Traffic Log Analysis → Map Active Staging Endpoint (/debug) → Identify Lack of Auth Controls → Direct Write/Read Database Access
Our Delivery Workflow

Traffic-Driven API Threat Modelling

We do not just ask you for a Swagger file, hit run on a scan, and print a PDF. We leverage active and passive analysis of your real-world API traffic to ensure complete, compliance-ready assurance.

01
Live Traffic Ingestion
We ingest traffic logs from your Web Application Firewall (WAF) or API Gateway to dynamically map how your systems interact under normal operation.
02
Shadow API Mapping
By dissecting inputs, outputs, requests, and responses from the traffic, we identify undocumented endpoints and legacy "Shadow APIs" that developers left behind.
03
Active Threat Modelling
We build a dynamic threat model of your API architecture based on actual live routes, highlighting structural access controls and authentication boundaries.
04
Manual Logic Exploitation
Our senior ethical hackers manually verify the threat model, testing authorization limits (BOLA/BFLA), token security, and GraphQL recursion loops.
05
Business Flow Triage
We test sensitive transactional logic (such as payment processing and account creations) to ensure attackers cannot manipulate API flows for fraud.
06
Jira & Slack Integration
Discovered vulnerabilities are verified manually, stripped of false positives, and pushed directly as actionable tickets into your Jira or Slack backlogs.

How API Penetration Testing Compares

Compliance standards like APRA CPS 234, SOC2, and ISO 27001 require rigorous, independent assurance. Here is why basic scanners fall short.

Security Metric Lean Security Manual Pentest Automated API Scanners Standard Network Pentesting
Discovers Shadow & Legacy APIs Active discovery via live logs No (Requires Swagger upload) No (Tests ports only)
Identifies Access Control Flaws (BOLA) Yes (Manual context verification) No (Cannot verify role logic) No (Only checks HTTP headers)
GraphQL / REST Logic Exploitation Yes (Deep logic validation) No (Fails on nested queries) No
Actionable Verified POC Proof Yes (Verified, zero noise) No (High false positive rate) Yes
Actionable Results

Compliance-Ready Deliverables

We provide the technical depth your development team needs to remediate fast, and the high-level compliance attestations your board, customers, and auditors require.

Complete API Inventory & Endpoint Map
Executive Vulnerability Attestation Certificate
Detailed Technical Exploit Walkthroughs
Prioritised Remediation Advice with POC Proofs
API Penetration Testing Package
Deep manual verification of up to 20 endpoints, including active shadow API discovery.
From A$5,200 ex GST
Fixed-fee pricing is available for standard structures. Larger microservices or complex GraphQL gateways are scoped and priced dynamically.
Get a Custom Scoping Proposal
Common Enquiries

Frequently Asked Questions

What if our API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI/Postman) is out-of-date or missing?
That is our key differentiator. Unlike traditional security providers, we do not require fully polished documentation to begin. We can ingest live traffic logs directly from your Web Application Firewall (WAF) or API Gateway. By analyzing actual requests and payloads, we map out the active endpoints, trace inputs and outputs, and uncover undocumented "Shadow APIs" that your team might have forgotten about. We build our own map of your system to ensure nothing is missed.
Do you test in our production or staging environment?
Whenever possible, we recommend testing in a staging or UAT environment that mirrors production data structures. This allows us to perform aggressive validation checks (such as input validation, rate limiting, and write-authorization bypasses) without the risk of impacting real users. If testing must be performed in production, we carefully tune our payloads to prevent disruption.
How do you verify authorization and access controls (BOLA / BFLA)?
We require at least two distinct test user accounts for each authorization level or role (e.g. two client accounts, two admins). We then log in, extract session tokens (JWTs, cookies, etc.), and attempt to make requests using user A's token to access, modify, or delete resources belonging to user B. This manual authorization boundary check is the only reliable way to catch BOLA/BFLA vulnerabilities.

Secure your API endpoints.

Stop relying on compliance checklists. Map your actual API footprint and secure your backend connections with senior-led threat validation.

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