APIs allow easy communication between the apps, making them essential for modern digital ecosystems. However, with that convenience comes risk - attackers often seeks authentication weaknesses, injection attacks, and misconfigurations. To stay secure, security engineers should employ robust testing practices to identify and resolve vulnerabilities before they compromise applications.
API Security Testing Vendors and API Scanning Tools help automate this process by scanning APIs, checking access controls, and performing the accurate risk assessments.
In this blog you will gain the about API security testing tools and their main features, how to choose the right tool for your business. Learn more about the top 10 API tools for ensuring robust API protection and gain the confidence to make informed decisions.
What are API Security Testing Tools?
API security testing tools or API security scanning tools help find vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security issues across API endpoints. It enables the detection of complex API requests and responses for vulnerabilities, including broken authentication, improper access control, and injection attacks. By automating security reviews, they enable security engineers to identify threats that could lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, or service disruptions.
Many solutions provide comprehensive reports with relevant information, offering a sense of security and assurance. These tools also ensure that APIs follow best practices. The best API Security testing Tools connect easily with CI/CD pipelines and allow organizations to find security risks before attackers exploit them.
Key Features of API Security Scanning Tools
API scanning tool or API security scanning tools help to identify vulnerabilities and implement the security best practices. Here are some features to protect APIs:
Authentication and Authorization Testing
Strong authentication and authorization systems help to prevent unauthorized access to APIs. API Scanning tools analyze OAuth, API keys, JWTs, and role-based access to help ensure sufficient enforcement. These tools detect weak authentication policies and improper access controls. They also analyze token expiration, refresh techniques, and session management. Identifying authentication vulnerabilities helps to prevent credential abuse and privilege escalation.
Input Validation and Injection Prevention
APIs must check all user inputs to avoid security vulnerabilities. An API scanning tool helps detect vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, XML external entity (XXE) attacks, and command injection. They analyze API requests to detect risky data processing behaviors. Enforcing strict input validation keeps attackers from executing malicious payloads. Managing these issues reduces the likelihood of unauthorized data access and system damage.
Rate Limiting and DoS Protection
APIs should handle request throttling to prevent abuse and service interruptions. Security tools utilize numerous API calls to verify the application of rate-limiting policies and identify misconfigurations that could render a system vulnerable to such attacks. Identifying vulnerabilities in the DoS will go a long way toward preventing breaches and service disruptions.
Identify Security Misconfiguration
Security misconfigurations expose APIs to unauthorized access, data leakage, and exploitation. API security testing tools can discover a wide range of issues from missing security headers and exposed debug endpoints to deficient access controls. Identifying these misconfigurations enables security engineers to enhance API security. Regular security checks allow security engineers to verify that APIs are correctly installed and can protect organizations against emerging threats.
Automated Vulnerability Scanning and Reporting
Continuous security tests help security engineers identify vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. Security tools utilize API scanning to identify issues such as broken authentication, insecure endpoints, and outdated connections. They provide comprehensive reports, categorize risks according to severity levels, and offer remediation methods to address these risks. Regular vulnerability scanning ensures that APIs meet security best practices. Automation reduces manual effort and improves overall security posture.
CI/CD Pipeline Integration
Combining security testing into CI/CD workflows ensures that vulnerabilities are detected early. API Protection tools work with development pipelines to automate security checks. They use security policies before deployment, preventing vulnerable APIs from entering production. Detecting and fixing vulnerabilities during development will reduce remediation costs. Combining security with CI/CD pipelines will improve API security without slowing down development.
How to Choose the Right API Scanning Tools
Here is how to choose before choosing the best API security testing tool:
Vulnerability Detection Features
The tool should be able to identify various types of API vulnerabilities, like authentication issues, injection attacks, misconfigurations, and rate-limiting concerns. Deep scanning detects vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. These API protection tools offer in-depth analysis of API requests and responses, revealing hidden risks. Security engineers should prioritize methods for detecting both known and developing threats. A powerful vulnerability detection tool improves overall API protection.
Integration with Existing Workflows
API protection tools should integrate easily with existing development and security workflows, such as Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) processes, issue tracking systems, and security management tools. This ensures continuous and automated security testing without disrupting development operations. Integration with these tools allows for quick identification and resolution of security issues, benefiting from immediate notifications and detailed data.
Ease of Use and User Experience
An effective API protection tool should be easy to install and feature automatic scanning capabilities. Automated vulnerability detection reduces manual work and enables continuous security testing. Security engineers should choose tools that have simple interfaces and provide clear remedial instructions. These tools should provide in-depth reports and feature intuitive reporting capabilities that enable security engineers to easily prioritize and address risks.
Compliance and Security Standards
Organizations should ensure that API scanning tools comply with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If they follow these rules and provide complete compliance checks, it allows organizations to meet regulatory requirements. Security engineers should check if the tool has built-in compliance checks. Adherence to security standards decreases the risks associated with non-compliance. A tool for compliance auditing allows for regulatory reporting.
Effective Reporting and Remediation Guidance
Security engineers can easily manage vulnerabilities with the help of comprehensive reports that separate risks by priority and provide remediation methods. The tool should provide data about vulnerabilities and suggest solutions. Clear reporting enables security teams to monitor security trends and dashboards that highlight security risks, facilitating informed decision-making. These insights simplify remediation and improve API security posture.
Top 10 API Security Testing Tools
Here are the 2025’s best API security testing tools and API security testing vendors that enable organizations to perform automatic scanning and authentication testing, helping them protect their data.
1. Akto
Akto is an API security platform that offers continuous monitoring, automated API security testing, and accurate risk analysis. It enables security engineers to continuously identify vulnerabilities, such as authentication issues, misconfigurations, and injection attacks. It seamlessly integrates with CI/CD to enable proactive API security solutions without impacting development operations.
Key Features
Enables automated API security testing and risk assessments
Continuously monitors APIs to identify risks.
Integrates easily with CI/CD processes.
It allows for finding authentication and authorization vulnerabilities.
Provides deep insights and security reports
2. OWASP ZAP
OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is an open-source security testing tool that detects vulnerabilities in APIs and web applications. It also allows for penetration testing and security assessments. Security engineers can leverage ZAP's plugin support to enhance security analysis.
Source: OWASP ZAP
Key Features
Supports both manual and automated penetration testing.
offers plugins for extended functionality
Detects injection issues, broken authentication, and misconfigurations.
Integrates easily with CI/CD pipelines.
3. Postman
Postman is an API development and testing tool that offers various security testing features. It allows security engineers to inspects API requests, analyze authentication strategies, and detect weaknesses. Postman has a simple interface and easy automation features that simplify and speed API security assessments.
Source: Post man
Key Features
API Request Interception and Security Testing
Supports OAuth, API keys, and JWT authentication validation.
Automated test scripts to detect vulnerabilities.
API response validation and error handling checks.
Integrates with CI/CD pipelines for automated testing.
4. Burp Suite
Burp Suite is a penetration testing tool that offers full API security testing features. It provides deep security analysis by monitoring and changing API calls. Security engineers use Burp Suite to perform manual and automated API security checklist.
Source: Burp Suite
Key Features
Track, analyze, and change API communication.
Performs scans for injection attacks, authentication issues, and security misconfigurations.
Automated vulnerability scan and risk assessment
Complete reporting and security insights
Connect with external security testing tools
5. APIsec
APIsec is a completely automated API security testing platform that continuously monitors APIs for vulnerabilities. It offers deep risk checks and connects with DevSecOps workflows. APIsec allows security engineers to find vulnerabilities without the need of any human.
Source: APIsec
Key Features
Automated API security testing and continuous monitoring
Detection of authentication and access control vulnerabilities.
Compatible with CI/CD pipelines for immediate security verification.
Check compliance with OWASP API Security Top 10.
6. 42Crunch
42Crunch is an API security platform that focuses on automated security audits, policy enforcement, and compliance validation. It helps security engineers to detect weaknesses in authentication, authorization, and data exposure. 42Crunch utilizes continuous monitoring and risk checks to ensure that APIs adhere to security best practices and industry requirements.
Source: 42Crunch
Key Features
API protection review and vulnerability evaluation
Enforcing security policies to prevent misconfigurations
Automated testing of authentication, authorization, and input validation
Continuous API security monitoring and risk assessment.
Connection with API Gateways and Security Tools
7. Apigee
Apigee is an API management platform that offers various security testing features. It supports API traffic monitoring, security enforcement, and automated threat detection. Security engineers use Apigee to defend APIs from common risks.
Source: Apigee
Key Features
API traffic analysis and anomaly detection.
Authentication and authorization enforcement with OAuth and JWT
Rate limiting and DDoS protection for API endpoints
Security monitoring and compliance checks.
Connectivity of cloud-based security solutions
8. Cequence
Cequence is an API security tool that prevents bot attacks, API abuse, and data breaches. It allows continuous API discovery, risk checks, and automated threat detection. Cequence helps security engineers avoid API attacks and utilize security standards without compromising performance.
Source: Cequence
Key Features
Allows to discover APIs and perform continuous risk checks
Detecting API attacks by bots and credential stuffing attacks.
Uses automatic security policy enforcement.
Provides protection against DDoS attacks based on AI and data theft
9. AppKnox
AppKnox is a security testing platform that uses API vulnerability scanning as part of its security suite. It allows security engineers to identify API misconfigurations, weak authentication, and injection vulnerabilities. AppKnox allows to perform both automated and manual security checks.
Source: AppKnox
Key Features
It allows API vulnerability scanning to find authentication and authorization issues
It helps to find injection attacks, configuration errors, and data exposure risks
Performs compliance tests to follow industrial security rules
Performs API security risk checks and provides deep reporting.
Compatibility with DevSecOps processes for continuous testing.
10. Probely
Probely is an API security scanner that detects vulnerabilities in APIs and web applications. It integrates automated security testing with practical remedy suggestions. Security engineers use Probely to validate the security of APIs continuously.
Source: Probely
Key Features
Automatic API Security scanning tools for OWASP API Security Top 10 Risks
Detecting authentication, authorization, and data exposure flaws
Connect with the development and API Scanning tool for smooth testing.
Compliance reporting for regulatory security criteria.
Continuous security testing requires minimal manual work.
Conclusion: Choosing the Right API Scanning Tool
An API security scanning tool is essential for protecting applications against new threats. Security engineers should utilize automated testing methods to identify vulnerabilities, implement robust authentication methods, and prevent API attacks.
Akto is an API security platform that enables organizations to perform continuous security testing and accurately identify risks, while also easily integrating with CI/CD. It automates vulnerability checks, allowing security engineers to identify authentication issues, misconfigurations, and injection risks. Schedule an API Security demo today to see how Akto can help you protect your organization.
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