API Security Testing

API security testing (AST) refers to the process of evaluating the security of software applications to identify potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses that attackers could exploit. It aims to detect and address security flaws before they can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the application or its data.

Traceable's API Security Testing (AST) allows you to test your application against various vulnerabilities and security gaps before they are deployed in both production and pre-production environments. API security testing gives your developers and product security engineers the right context about vulnerabilities so that they can prioritize the threats that may arise because of gaps in API specifications and implementation. Traceable’s AST is built on top of an API Catalog that provides the necessary context to run heavily contextualized tests, prioritize the mitigation of vulnerabilities, and build resilient systems. The following section explains the AST architecture and how various components interact together to test for vulnerabilities in your application.

The API security testing suite performs specific tests or attacks on APIs. You can choose from the XAST or DAST approach to run the tests. These tests intelligently leave those APIs from tests that have been inactive for a long time or have never been used. However, XAST is highly superior in detecting vulnerabilities while ensuring a low rate of false positives.

To start the security tests, you can either use Traceable generated OpenAPI specification or upload your API specification. If the test results report vulnerabilities in your APIs, you can directly create a JIRA ticket for your developers and product security engineers. For more information on JIRA integration, see JIRA. The following diagram summarizes the process of API security testing:

Traceable advantage

With Traceable’s AST, you are not only testing for vulnerabilities; you are adopting a strategic, informed approach to API security. A few advantages of using Traceable:

• Comprehensive Coverage — Traceable’s solution covers the complete OWASP API Top 10, ensuring your APIs are safeguarded against the most critical security risks.

• DevSecOps-First Approach — AST integrates seamlessly with your CI/CD pipeline, using our native plugins available for all major CI/CD providers, fostering a DevSecOps-first culture.

• Informed by Production Data — Traceable’s dynamic testing is enriched with production insights, allowing for robust security even before your APIs hit production.

• Rapid, Context-Rich Scans — Leverage Traceable's unique intelligence for focused tests that deliver results quickly without compromising on depth or accuracy.

• Custom Specification Integration — Introduce your own OpenAPI Specifications or Postman Collections to tailor security tests specifically for your environment.

• Automated Addition of APIs — Traceable automatically adds new and updated APIs to test suites. You do not need to upload specifications, update collections, etc.

Traceable's API Security Testing is more than a tool, it is a shift-left approach that embeds security into every stage of your API lifecycle. By providing detailed insights and prioritizations, AST enables your development and security teams to tackle the most pressing threats with confidence and precision.

The below table lists down the comparison between Traceable’s XAST and other DAST tools:

CI/CD integrations

Traceable’s CI/CD Integrations can be used to test your software continuously builds for active vulnerabilities and get comprehensive reports, which will help decide if a build should pass or not based on new or existing vulnerabilities exposed by the new code.

• Extensive security testing coverage for microservices and APIs.

• Generate tests from live functional traffic for targeted security testing based on actual payloads

• Insertion into DevSecOps with Scan initiation and Vulnerability Management from scan findings.

• Inserts security seamlessly into existing functional tests in the same pipeline with full automation.

• Risk-based prioritization using asset inventory, threat intel, and predictive modeling.

• Decide whether to pass or fail the build based on security issues introduced in it.

Traceable provides the following CI/CD integrations:

• GitHub actions

• Jenkins

• GitLab

• Azure DevOps

For more information, see CI/CD integrations.