OWASP Top 10 Web Application Security Risks (2021)
The OWASP Top 10 has been the de facto standard for web application security since its first publication in 2003, updated approximately every 3-4 years based on community data and security research. This is the 2021 edition — the most recent published ranking as of this writing.
| Rank | Vulnerability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A01 | Broken Access Control | Unauthorized data access | Server-side validation, least privilege, deny by default |
| A02 | Cryptographic Failures | Sensitive data exposure | TLS 1.3, AES-256, proper key management |
| A03 | Injection | Code execution, data breach | Parameterized queries, input validation, WAF |
| A04 | Insecure Design | Systemic vulnerabilities | Threat modeling, secure design patterns |
| A05 | Security Misconfiguration | System compromise | Secure defaults, automated configuration scanning |
| A06 | Vulnerable Components | Known exploits | Dependency scanning, timely patching |
| A07 | Authentication Failures | Account takeover | MFA, secure session management, rate limiting |
| A08 | Data Integrity Failures | Unauthorized modifications | Code signing, integrity verification, CI/CD security |
| A09 | Logging Failures | Undetected breaches | Comprehensive logging, SIEM integration, monitoring |
| A10 | SSRF | Internal system access | URL whitelist, network segmentation, validation |
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