PiSencePiSence
Application Security Assessments

API Security Assessment

Deep API testing to prevent data leaks, privilege escalation and abuse of backend interfaces.

Schedule API Review

Overview

APIs power modern apps — but they also increase attack surface. API Security Assessments analyze authentication and authorization mechanisms, data exposure patterns, abuse and business-logic risks, and misconfigurations that can expose sensitive data.

Why companies need API assessments

APIs often expose sensitive data and operations. Weak auth, improper rate-limits, or excessive data returned by endpoints can be chained for account takeover or mass data exfiltration. Regulatory and privacy requirements also make API hygiene essential.

Who should get this

Companies with public or private APIs, microservice architectures, mobile backends, or any service exposing machine interfaces to partners or clients.

Key benefits

Identify broken auth/authorization and mass assignment

Detect excessive data exposure and insufficient filtering

Prevent automation abuse and rate-limiting bypass

Improve API contract security (OpenAPI/GraphQL) and CI checks

Actionable PoC and prioritized remediation

Scope — What we test

Authentication flows, token handling, role-based access control, object-level authorization, pagination/parameter issues that leak data, mass assignment, rate-limit abuse, replay/tampering and insecure CORS or ACLs.

Methodology

  1. API inventory & spec analysis (OpenAPI, Swagger, GraphQL schemas)
  2. Auth & permissions mapping
  3. Fuzzing and parameter manipulation
  4. Business logic abuse simulation
  5. PoC and remediation mapping

Deliverables

Detailed findings with request/response PoCs, recommended fixes, attack trees to show exploit paths, and optional CI integration guidance for ongoing checks.

Timeline & pricing guide

Small API surface: 2–4 days. Medium: 5–10 days. Pricing is scope-based and depends on authentication complexity and the number of endpoints.

Example (anonymized)

We discovered unprotected admin API endpoints and a chain of API calls that allowed escalation from read-only user to privileged operations. Fixes included stricter authorization checks and token-scoped access controls.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions we hear before starting an assessment — click a question to reveal a short, clear answer.

Small apps: 1–5 days. Medium: 5–10 days. Complex systems: custom timeline.

We avoid destructive checks in production and schedule high-risk tests in staging when possible.

No — blackbox tests work. Source access enables deeper code review.

Yes — PoCs, prioritized fixes and developer-focused guidance are included.

Yes — retest packages validate fixes.

Executive summary, prioritized findings, PoCs and workshop walkthroughs.

Yes — mutual NDAs and secure report distribution are standard.

Yes — we can reverse-engineer GraphQL endpoints and fuzz schemas to find exposures.

Yes — we use secure tunnels, staging environments, or on-premise engagements as required.

We can help harden OpenAPI/GraphQL specs and add security checks into CI.