test_api_security
Run API security testing (REST + GraphQL) following OWASP API Top 10. Tests for: BOLA/IDOR, JWT alg-confusion, OAuth callback validation, rate-limit bypass, mass assignment, GraphQL introspection. Returns immediately with engagement_id; agent runs asynchronously.
This record as markdown: /tools/0xsteph-pentest-ai/test-api-security.md
What test_api_security does on Pentest Ai
AI agents invoke test_api_security to trigger actions in Pentest Ai. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why test_api_security is rated High
This tool actively executes security tests against live API endpoints, including exploitation techniques like JWT algorithm confusion, OAuth callback manipulation, and IDOR probing. These are real offensive operations against external systems. While framed as a pentest tool, misuse could trigger unintended side effects on target systems (rate-limit abuse, unauthorized data access via IDOR).
From the tool's definition Run API security testing (REST + GraphQL) following OWASP API Top 10. Tests for: BOLA/IDOR, JWT alg-confusion, OAuth callback validation, rate-limit bypass, mass assignment, GraphQL introspection.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs test_api_security safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Pentest Ai, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For test_api_security, this is the rule to start with:
test_api_security stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Pentest Ai, apply this rule, and every test_api_security call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about test_api_security
Run API security testing (REST + GraphQL) following OWASP API Top 10. Tests for: BOLA/IDOR, JWT alg-confusion, OAuth callback validation, rate-limit bypass, mass assignment, GraphQL introspection. Returns immediately with engagement_id; agent runs asynchronously. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Pentest Ai MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Pentest Ai MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for test_api_security: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Pentest Ai. Nothing to install.
test_api_security is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the test_api_security rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for test_api_security. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
test_api_security is provided by the Pentest Ai MCP server (0xsteph/pentest-ai). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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