Best Practices for Secure API Development

{
  "title": "Best Practices for Secure API Development",
  "description": "Explore approaches to securely develop APIs and protect them from common security threats.",
  "category": "Security",
  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "secure-api-authentication",
      "description": "Ensure APIs implement strong authentication mechanisms, such as OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect, to verify user identities and control access.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API endpoints must implement strong authentication mechanisms like OAuth 2.0 or OpenID Connect."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-authorization",
      "description": "Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict API access based on user roles and permissions.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API endpoints must implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict access based on user roles and permissions."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-encryption",
      "description": "Ensure all API communications use TLS 1.3 or higher to encrypt data in transit.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API communications must use TLS 1.3 or higher to encrypt data in transit."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-input-validation",
      "description": "Validate and sanitize all API inputs to prevent injection attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "All API inputs must be validated and sanitized to prevent injection attacks."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-rate-limiting",
      "description": "Implement rate limiting to prevent abuse and mitigate denial-of-service (DoS) attacks.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API endpoints must implement rate limiting to prevent abuse and mitigate DoS attacks."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-logging-monitoring",
      "description": "Maintain detailed logs of API requests and responses, and monitor for anomalies to detect potential security incidents.",
      "severity": "warning",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API systems should maintain detailed logs and monitor for anomalies to detect potential security incidents."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-error-handling",
      "description": "Implement proper error handling to avoid exposing sensitive information in API error messages.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API error messages must not expose sensitive information."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-versioning",
      "description": "Use clear versioning schemes (e.g., v1, v2) to manage API changes and maintain backward compatibility.",
      "severity": "warning",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "APIs should use clear versioning schemes to manage changes and maintain backward compatibility."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-documentation",
      "description": "Provide comprehensive API documentation, including security considerations and usage guidelines.",
      "severity": "warning",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "APIs should have comprehensive documentation, including security considerations and usage guidelines."
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "secure-api-dependency-management",
      "description": "Regularly update and patch API dependencies to address known vulnerabilities.",
      "severity": "error",
      "patterns": [
        {
          "pattern": ".*",
          "message": "API dependencies must be regularly updated and patched to address known vulnerabilities."
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}