Course Overview
Large organizations are expanding their business by targeting the audience by providing web services and platforms for automated services, where APIs are commonly used. The issue is that APIs are rarely tested for any security issues, and in the event that they are, they do not undergo rigorous testing.
API Penetration testing is essentially the investigation of an API's functions to discover the loopholes in the API and their methods of exploitation. It will take an extremely skilled penetration tester with prior knowledge of APIs to conduct these tests and uncover any issues.
During this course, you will receive training on the various methods of an API and its functioning, along with the basics of how to conduct testing on it.
50 modules covering REST, GraphQL, JWT, OAuth & OWASP API Top 10
Hands-on Postman & Burp Suite integration for real API traffic interception
GraphQL introspection, SSRF, CORS, XXE, and template injection techniques
JWT signature attacks, OAuth exploitation, and privilege escalation
Automated pentesting with Burp, ZAP, and CI/CD integration
Prerequisites
Should be familiar with basic concepts of Kali Linux Framework & Web Application Testing.
Training Modules
- What Is An API?
- API Workflow (client–server Model)
- Types Of APIs (REST, SOAP, GraphQL)
- Real-world API Usage
- API Architecture Basics
- Installing Postman (Windows/Linux)
- Creating Workspace
- Collections & Environments
- Sending First Request
- Import/export APIs
- What Is Proxy?
- Setting Proxy In Postman
- Integrating With Burp Suite
- Capturing API Traffic
- Debugging Proxy Issues
- VA Vs PT Definitions
- Key Differences
- Tools Used In VA Vs PT
- When To Use Each
- Real-world Examples
- 1xx–5xx Categories
- Common Codes (200, 403, 500)
- Misconfigured Responses
- Security Impact
- Setting Up Vulnerable Labs
- Tools Required
- Local Vs Cloud Labs
- Practice Platforms (crAPI, DVWA)
- Authentication Issues
- Authorization Flaws
- Input Validation Bugs
- Business Logic Flaws
- Misconfigurations
- API Keys & Tokens
- Authentication Methods (JWT, OAuth)
- Headers & Body Structure
- Testing Integrations
- Identifying Dead Endpoints
- Tools & Automation
- Security Risks
- Hidden Endpoints Discovery
- GraphQL Basics
- Queries & Mutations
- Schema & Resolvers
- REST Vs GraphQL
- Query Abuse
- Over-fetching Data
- Authorization Issues
- Nested Query Attacks
- Introspection Concept
- Extracting Schema
- Information Disclosure
- Prevention
- Crawling APIs
- Finding Endpoints
- Extracting Parameters
- Automation Techniques
- REST Principles
- JSON Structure
- Differences & Use Cases
- Security Concerns
- Query Parameters
- Path Parameters
- Parameter Tampering
- Injection Points
- What Is Directory Listing
- Finding Exposed Directories
- Exploitation
- Mitigation
- Finding Server Info
- Banner Grabbing
- Risks & Exploits
- Fixing Exposure
- API Abuse
- Brute Force Attacks
- Rate Limit Bypass
- Prevention
- Stack Trace Basics
- Triggering Errors
- Information Leakage
- Secure Error Handling
- HTTP Methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
- Method Tampering
- Hidden Methods
- Exploiting Misconfigurations
- Types Of SQLi (error, Blind)
- Injection Points In APIs
- Exploitation Techniques
- Prevention
- Token Validation Flaws
- Token Leakage
- Overexposed API Responses
- Data Filtering Issues
- SSRF Basics
- Internal Service Access
- Cloud SSRF Attacks
- Prevention
- CORS Policy Basics
- Misconfigurations
- Exploitation
- Secure Setup
- Package Confusion Concept
- Exploiting Internal Dependencies
- Real-world Attacks
- Prevention
- CDN-based Attacks
- Cache Poisoning
- Edge Misconfigurations
- Mitigation
- Unicode Spoofing
- Phishing Techniques
- Detection Methods
- Prevention
- Sensitive Fields Leakage
- API Response Filtering
- Debug Endpoints
- Secure Design
- Weak Token Generation
- Brute Forcing Tokens
- Predictable Tokens
- Fixing Token Security
- Credential Stuffing
- Reset Flaws
- Session Hijacking
- Prevention
- PII Leakage
- Encryption Issues
- Data In Transit/storage
- Best Practices
- Broken Authentication
- IDOR Vulnerabilities
- Privilege Escalation
- Prevention
- Logging Sensitive Data
- Improper Storage
- Backup Leaks
- Secure Storage
- JWT Structure
- Token Tampering
- Weak Signing
- Exploitation
- Signature Bypass
- Weak Keys
- Algorithm Confusion
- Validation Flaws
- How HS256 Works
- Secret Key Usage
- Cracking Weak Secrets
- Secure Implementation
- "alg:none" Attack
- Bypassing Authentication
- Detection & Prevention
- Vertical Escalation
- Horizontal Escalation
- Role Manipulation
- Fixes
- Removing Signature Validation
- Exploiting Weak Verification
- Secure Validation
- Static Code Analysis
- Finding Vulnerabilities
- Secure Coding Practices
- Tools
- SSTI Basics
- Exploiting Templates
- RCE Scenarios
- Prevention
- CAPTCHA Weaknesses
- Automation Bypass
- Logic Flaws
- Mitigation
- OAuth Flow
- Token Leakage
- Redirect Attacks
- Misconfiguration Exploitation
- XML Requests And XML Attack
- Resource Exhaustion
- Prevention
- Automation Tools
- Scanners (Burp, ZAP)
- CI/CD Integration
- Limitations
- Header Injection
- Response Splitting
- Exploitation
- Prevention
- Dangling DNS
- Cloud Misconfigurations
- Exploitation
- Fixing
- Token Flaws
- Reset Link Issues
- Account Takeover
- Prevention
- Cache Poisoning
- Unauthorized Purge
- Mitigation
Why Choose This Course?
This course has been designed for professionals who are looking to shift their career to the field of cybersecurity
This course covers both operational and technical aspects that will help the candidate to contribute significantly to their organization
The course focuses on providing the required technical skills to perform API security assessments