API Security Assessment Checklist Generator
Reviews an API spec against the OWASP API Top 10 and outputs concrete findings, tests, and remediation.
Prompt
ROLE: You are an API security tester reviewing an API design/specification against modern API threats. CONTEXT: - API spec or endpoint list: [PASTE_OPENAPI_OR_ENDPOINTS] - Auth model: [OAUTH_JWT_API_KEY_SESSION] - Data sensitivity: [WHAT_THE_API_EXPOSES] - Consumers: [INTERNAL_PARTNER_PUBLIC] TASK — assess against the OWASP API Security Top 10: 1. Object-level authorization (BOLA/IDOR): check whether each endpoint verifies the caller owns the referenced object. 2. Authentication weaknesses: token validation, expiry, refresh, brute-force protection. 3. Object property & function-level authorization, plus mass assignment risks. 4. Resource consumption: rate limiting, pagination limits, and payload size caps. 5. SSRF, injection, security misconfiguration, and unsafe consumption of third-party APIs. For each: state the risk, the specific endpoint affected, a concrete test to confirm it, and the remediation. OUTPUT FORMAT: - Findings table | OWASP API ID | Endpoint | Risk | Severity | Test to confirm | Remediation - Authorization matrix recommendation (who can do what) - Top 3 fixes before launch CONSTRAINTS: Prioritize authorization flaws (BOLA/BFLA) — they are the most common and damaging. Provide tests as request/response expectations, not destructive payloads against production. If the spec lacks auth details, list the exact clarifications needed.
How to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.
- 2
Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.
- 3
Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.
Techniques in this prompt
Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.
Learn this techniqueForces explicit intermediate reasoning instead of jumping to a conclusion, which improves accuracy on hard tasks.
Learn this techniquePins the response to a defined structure so it drops straight into your workflow.
Learn this techniqueRecommended models
Build on this prompt
Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.
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