OWASP Top 10: the most critical web vulnerabilities
Published by an international community of experts, the OWASP Top 10 lists the most common and most dangerous web application flaws. It is an essential reference for prioritizing your security efforts rather than trying to fix everything at once.
What is the OWASP Top 10?
The OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is an international nonprofit community working to improve the security of web applications. It publishes guides, standards, and open-source tools recognized across the profession.
Its best-known document, the OWASP Top 10, ranks the ten categories of the most critical web vulnerabilities, based on real-world data reported by the community. First published in 2003 and regularly updated since (latest major edition in 2021), it remains the reference for prioritizing an approach to application security.
The most critical categories
Broken access control
The first category in the 2021 ranking. A user accesses data or functions not intended for them (IDOR, privilege escalation).
Injection
SQL, system commands, ORM queries... uncontrolled data is interpreted as code by the target application.
Cryptographic failures
Sensitive data stored or transmitted without encryption appropriate protection, or with obsolete algorithms.
Security misconfiguration
Default settings left in place, unnecessary services exposed, overly verbose error messages: flaws that are often avoidable.
Who is concerned?
Toute organisation qui expose une application web ou une API — site vitrine, plateforme SaaS, back-office métier, API partenaires, est concernée, quelle que soit sa taille ou la technologie utilisée. Les mêmes catégories de failles reviennent, projet après projet, indépendamment du langage ou du framework. C'est précisément ce qui rend le Top 10 OWASP utile : il ne s'agit pas d'un référentiel théorique, mais d'un condensé de ce que les penetration tests encounter most often in the field.
From ranking to remediation
The OWASP Top 10 is not a checklist to tick off: it is a prioritization tool. An audit or a pentest structured around this framework makes it possible to cover the most likely and highest-impact attack scenarios first, before focusing on more exotic cases. This approach naturally fits with our security audits and with the integration of automated checks (SAST, dependency analysis) directly into the development lifecycle.
Reduce your exposure, step by step
Map your application attack surface
Inventory exposed applications and APIs, including those that are forgotten or poorly documented.
Audit against the OWASP framework
Conduct a pentest structured around the ten Top 10 categories, under real-world attack conditions.
Prioritize by real-world criticality
Rank discovered vulnerabilities according to their impact and real-world exploitability, not only their theoretical severity.
Fix technical vulnerabilities
Prioritize high-impact flaws (access control, injection), with verified fixes.
Integrate security into the development lifecycle
Add automated checks (SAST, dependency analysis) to the CI/CD pipeline to detect regressions early.
Retest regularly
Schedule checks at every major change and whenever a new dependency is integrated.
Why work with BCIT?
Pentests structured around OWASP
Our penetration tests systematically cover the ten Top 10 categories, with scenarios tailored to your application.
Field-proven expertise
Our consultants combine automated scanning and manual exploitation to identify what tools alone cannot see.
From audit to remediation
Beyond the report, we support remediation and the implementation of lasting controls.
Votre application est-elle exposée aux failles du Top 10 OWASP ?
Let's take 15 minutes to assess your application attack surface and lay the groundwork for a pentest tailored to your context.
OWASP Top 10: the most critical web vulnerabilities
Published by an international community of experts, the OWASP Top 10 lists the most common and most dangerous web application flaws. It is an essential reference for prioritizing your security efforts rather than trying to fix everything at once.
What is the OWASP Top 10?
The OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) is an international nonprofit community working to improve the security of web applications. It publishes guides, standards, and open-source tools recognized across the profession.
Its best-known document, the OWASP Top 10, ranks the ten categories of the most critical web vulnerabilities, based on real-world data reported by the community. First published in 2003 and regularly updated since (latest major edition in 2021), it remains the reference for prioritizing an approach to application security.
The most critical categories
Broken access control
The first category in the 2021 ranking. A user accesses data or functions not intended for them (IDOR, privilege escalation).
Injection
SQL, system commands, ORM queries... uncontrolled data is interpreted as code by the target application.
Cryptographic failures
Sensitive data stored or transmitted without encryption appropriate protection, or with obsolete algorithms.
Security misconfiguration
Default settings left in place, unnecessary services exposed, overly verbose error messages: flaws that are often avoidable.
Who is concerned?
Toute organisation qui expose une application web ou une API — site vitrine, plateforme SaaS, back-office métier, API partenaires, est concernée, quelle que soit sa taille ou la technologie utilisée. Les mêmes catégories de failles reviennent, projet après projet, indépendamment du langage ou du framework. C'est précisément ce qui rend le Top 10 OWASP utile : il ne s'agit pas d'un référentiel théorique, mais d'un condensé de ce que les penetration tests encounter most often in the field.
From ranking to remediation
The OWASP Top 10 is not a checklist to tick off: it is a prioritization tool. An audit or a pentest structured around this framework makes it possible to cover the most likely and highest-impact attack scenarios first, before focusing on more exotic cases. This approach naturally fits with our security audits and with the integration of automated checks (SAST, dependency analysis) directly into the development lifecycle.
Reduce your exposure, step by step
Map your application attack surface
Inventory exposed applications and APIs, including those that are forgotten or poorly documented.
Audit against the OWASP framework
Conduct a pentest structured around the ten Top 10 categories, under real-world attack conditions.
Prioritize by real-world criticality
Rank discovered vulnerabilities according to their impact and real-world exploitability, not only their theoretical severity.
Fix technical vulnerabilities
Prioritize high-impact flaws (access control, injection), with verified fixes.
Integrate security into the development lifecycle
Add automated checks (SAST, dependency analysis) to the CI/CD pipeline to detect regressions early.
Retest regularly
Schedule checks at every major change and whenever a new dependency is integrated.
Why work with BCIT?
Pentests structured around OWASP
Our penetration tests systematically cover the ten Top 10 categories, with scenarios tailored to your application.
Field-proven expertise
Our consultants combine automated scanning and manual exploitation to identify what tools alone cannot see.
From audit to remediation
Beyond the report, we support remediation and the implementation of lasting controls.
Votre application est-elle exposée aux failles du Top 10 OWASP ?
Let's take 15 minutes to assess your application attack surface and lay the groundwork for a pentest tailored to your context.