The OWASP Top 10 is the most referenced list of critical web application security risks, published by the Open Web Application Security Project. Understanding these vulnerabilities is the foundation of any application security program.
The OWASP Top 10 is not just an educational list — it is a testing standard. At SmartKali, every web application penetration test covers 100% of the OWASP Top 10 plus additional attack surfaces specific to your application.
A01 — Broken Access Control
The #1 risk. Occurs when users can act outside their intended permissions — accessing other users’ data (IDOR), accessing admin functions, or bypassing authorization checks. Example: changing a URL parameter from /account?id=123 to /account?id=124 to access another user’s account.
A02 — Cryptographic Failures
Previously called “Sensitive Data Exposure”. Covers weak encryption, transmitting sensitive data in cleartext, using deprecated algorithms (MD5, SHA1, DES), improper key management and missing HTTPS enforcement. Impact: exposure of passwords, credit cards and personal data.
A03 — Injection
SQL Injection remains the most classic attack. Untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. Types include SQL injection, NoSQL injection, OS command injection, LDAP injection and SSTI (Server-Side Template Injection). A single SQLi vulnerability can expose an entire database.
username: admin'--
password: anything
-- Results in: SELECT * FROM users WHERE username='admin'--' AND password='...'
A04 — Insecure Design
Security flaws introduced at the design phase, not just implementation. Examples: lack of rate limiting on login endpoints (enabling brute force), missing multi-factor authentication, or business logic flaws that allow price manipulation in e-commerce.
A05 — Security Misconfiguration
The most prevalent issue in cloud environments. Includes default credentials, exposed admin panels, unnecessary features enabled, verbose error messages revealing stack traces, and missing security headers. An S3 bucket left publicly readable is a textbook example.
A06 — Vulnerable and Outdated Components
Using libraries, frameworks or software with known vulnerabilities. The 2017 Equifax breach — exposing 147 million records — was caused by an unpatched Apache Struts vulnerability. Regularly auditing your software bill of materials (SBOM) is essential.
A07 — Identification and Authentication Failures
Weak authentication mechanisms: no multi-factor authentication, weak password policies, insecure session tokens, credential stuffing vulnerability, or session IDs exposed in URLs. Impact: account takeover at scale.
A08 — Software and Data Integrity Failures
Includes insecure deserialization and software supply chain attacks. The SolarWinds attack is the most famous example: malicious code injected into a legitimate software update compromised thousands of organizations worldwide.
A09 — Security Logging and Monitoring Failures
Without proper logging, attacks go undetected. The average time to identify a breach is still 204 days (IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2024). Missing audit trails, no alerting on failed login attempts and no centralized SIEM are common gaps.
A10 — Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
The attacker causes the server to make HTTP requests to unintended locations — typically internal services behind firewalls, cloud metadata endpoints (like AWS IMDSv1 at 169.254.169.254) or internal APIs. SSRF was the root cause of the Capital One breach in 2019.