9 Tools to Fix GraphQL Security Vulnerabilities

Posted by George W on in Hosting Tips

For those who don’t know, Facebook developed GraphQL, an API query language and runtime that is now open-source (relief).

Like all software, GraphQL has advantages and disadvantages of its own.

Cons pertaining to features or functionality may be disregarded. What if I told you that GraphQL has a list of security flaws?

Do not fret. You can find and address GraphQL security flaws using a number of tools.

But first, let’s look at what GraphQL is and what its weaknesses are before I introduce you to the tools.

What is GraphQL?

Think of yourself as a customer ordering lunch at a restaurant as an example of GraphQL.

You might not, however, want the exact dish that is listed on the menu. You might occasionally want to add or take away some ingredients. Let’s say you want to alter the food to your liking because you are allergic to nuts.

Consider GraphQL as a waiter who delivers exactly what you ordered after customizing it, but GraphQL operates on server-side data.

Modern applications can get you specific data using this technology, saving you a lot of bandwidth and enhancing the user experience.

Vulnerabilities of GraphQL

Here is a list of potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by those with nefarious motives to access private data.

  • Over-fetching and under-fetching: This flaw has the potential to overuse server resources. It is possible to over-fetch (get more data than requested) or under-fetch (get less data than asked and force the user to request data multiple times) data from GraphQL if the instructions for doing so are incorrect.
  • Excessive data exposure: The crucial data is exposed when the access control is configured incorrectly. And if the server permits unauthorized access, any skilled hacker can easily access the data.
  • Nested queries issue: You can ship complex queries because by default there is no complexity limit. Consider nested complex queries that will consume all system resources, causing sluggish response times and even the possibility of a DOS (Denial of Service) attack.
  • Injections: Since GraphQL is merely a query language that accepts user input, if your API is insecure, malicious code can be injected into it, making your database, file system, network, and even OS vulnerable.
  • GraphQL bombs: These were found in August 2022 and have an impact on APIs that use GraphQL file uploads. This is a DOS (Denial of Service) attack that involves flooding the GraphQL endpoint with HTTP requests.
  • Misconfigured HTTP headers: Although it might seem insignificant, I assure you that it can cause much more harm than you might realize. It can be a gateway for attacks like CSRF (Cross-Site Request Forgery), MIME sniffing, Man in the Middle attack, and many more if it is not configured correctly.
  • Rate limiting is misconfigured or not configured: Rate limiting simply restricts how many requests a client can make in a given amount of time. And if that isn’t configured, a DOS threat could result!

Scary, huh? Doesn’t it?

GraphQL vulnerabilities can be found, fixed, and your server can be secured using some of the best tools I’ll share with you right now. The tools we’ll talk about are listed here in brief.

1. Escape GraphQL Security

With its GeaphQL security checker, Escape continues to design its products with developers in mind.

Since you are one of the few security service providers, you can be sure that the brand-new vulnerability will be quickly scanned.

There is however more to it:

  • It takes about 60 seconds to start the first scan!
  • Escape’s database has been kept up-to-date on vulnerabilities.
  • Shows real risks rather than showing issues that might be a risk.
  • Integration with your favorite developer tools.

Therefore, Escape can be your next stop if you’re looking for a quick and simple way to check GraphQL vulnerability.

2. Inviciti GraphQL Scanner

Inviciti, formerly known as Netsparker, is one of the most reputable and well-known brands among scanning APIs.

However, a customer wants to know how many different kinds of attacks it can handle, so here is a list of serious threats and vulnerabilities that this product can scan for:

  • Blind command injection
  • Blind SQL injection
  • Command injection
  • Remote code execution
  • Server-side Request Forgery

A strong defense against contemporary assaults.

3. StackHawk GraphQL security testing

The best thing about using StackHawk’s GraphQL testing is that it scans every pull request for all GraphQL vulnerabilities.

And if that salient feature isn’t enough to win you over, StackHawk also offers the following intriguing features:

  • Automated security testing.
  • Lightning-fast testing and fixing
  • Easy UI
  • Magnificent documentation for easy self-fixing

Pretty cool. Right?

4. Beagle Security

Beagle Security is an expert at offering automated web application security testing solutions and aids businesses in locating and resolving security flaws.

And their four distinguishing characteristics truly make them unique:

  • Intensive and active testing
  • Integrated with CI/CD
  • Detailed reports
  • Detailed fix suggestions from security experts

You can also use their free website assessment checker to find vulnerabilities in your site.

5. Qualysec GraphQL API Penetration Testing

Qualysec is a cybersecurity assessment service that offers expert GraphQL API Penetration Testing so you can find vulnerabilities, fix them, and be sure of all security issues.

And the following are some of the intriguing features they offer:

  • Product analyzed for the OWASP Top 10 GraphQL API Testing to get protected against the most common threats.
  • Dynamic API testing.
  • Static API testing.
  • Software composition analysis.

A penetration report, retest report, letter of attestation, and security certificate are all included in their outstanding vulnerability scan report, which also includes security features.

6. AppCheck Security Scanning

You can test APIs with the full support of Appcheck, but it does more than that. It has numerous features, including SPA crawling, endpoint discovery, and others.

There’s more to it, though:

  • Saves time with practical workflow.
  • Compatible with Jira, TeamCity, and other development tools.
  • Discover zero days, plus 100,000+ known security flaws and full OWASP.

A pretty huge list of features. Isn’t it?

7. Bright Security API Testing

Bright security services offer seamless integration with SDLC, CI/CD, and git workflows and are designed for contemporary microservice environments to make it as simple as possible to find vulnerabilities.

Here are a few crucial aspects of Bright security:

  • Convenient CLI for developers
  • 100% SaaS-based
  • CI/CD Integration
  • Vulnerabilities mapped to OWASP API Security Top 10

8. Synopsis API Security Testing

An API testing tool from Synopsis can automatically find your application’s exposed endpoints while continuously running in the background.

Are you still not persuaded? Here are some additional amazing qualities:

  • Pinpoints flaws in code and data with visual mapping
  • Automatic vulnerable discovery
  • Threat and risk assessments

9. GraphQL dot Security

Nothing beats the offering from graphql.security if you’re looking for a free option and okay with having fewer features.

Since Escape also produced this item, you can rely on their quality assurance procedures.

And a few of the salient characteristics are:

  • Up-to-date database of Escape
  • No registration required
  • Ability to check endpoint in a single click
  • Free service

Therefore, I would highly recommend using graph.security if you’re just getting started with your online business and have financial restrictions.

Conclusion

I’ve covered the most important GraphQL flaws in this tutorial, along with the best resources for locating and repairing them.

I hope this advice will be useful to you.