OWASP Top 10 at a glance
- Full name
- OWASP Top 10: The Ten Most Critical Web Application Security Risks
- Type
- Framework / guidance (voluntary good practice. There is no official certificate, though laws or contracts may refer to it)
- Is it mandatory?
- No. Voluntary awareness standard; referenced by PCI DSS, customers and pen testers
- Where it applies
- Global
- Published or enforced by
- OWASP Foundation (Open Worldwide Application Security Project), a non-profit
- Current version
- OWASP Top 10:2025 (replaces the 2021 edition)
- Who needs it
- Web and SaaS development teams
- Last reviewed
- Oct 30, 2026 · next review due Apr 30, 2027
The OWASP Top 10 is a list of the ten most critical security risks to web applications. It is published by the OWASP Foundation, a non-profit, and is free to use. The current edition is the OWASP Top 10:2025. It isn’t a law or a certifiable standard, but it is the most widely recognised starting point for secure web development, and many customers, auditors and frameworks refer to it.
What is the OWASP Top 10?
The Top 10 is an awareness document. Each entry is a category of weaknesses (mapped to CWE entries) with a description, examples of attack scenarios, and prevention advice. OWASP builds it from data contributed by security testing organisations and a community survey.
It is not a complete checklist. For a testable set of requirements, OWASP publishes the Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS).
History and why it was introduced
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2001 | OWASP founded as an open community for web application security |
| 2003 | First OWASP Top 10 published |
| 2004 to 2017 | Updated in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2017 |
| 2021 | New categories for insecure design, software and data integrity failures, and server-side request forgery |
| 2025 | Software supply chain failures and mishandling of exceptional conditions added; SSRF folded into broken access control |
The Top 10 was created because developers lacked a simple, prioritised view of the most common and damaging web security mistakes.
Main objectives:
- Raise awareness of the most critical web application risks.
- Give developers practical prevention guidance.
- Provide a shared language for developers, testers and customers.
Who uses the OWASP Top 10?
| Who | How |
|---|---|
| Software development companies and agencies | Secure coding training and code review checklists |
| SaaS providers | Baseline for secure development and penetration testing scope |
| Penetration testers | Common structure for web application test reports |
| Enterprise customers | Security questionnaires ask how you address it |
| Payment businesses | PCI DSS requires protection against common software attacks and cites industry standards such as OWASP |
Is it mandatory?
No. It is voluntary guidance. It becomes required in practice when:
- a customer contract or questionnaire asks you to address it;
- a tender requires OWASP-aligned testing;
- PCI DSS Requirement 6 applies to you and you use OWASP as your industry reference for preventing common vulnerabilities.
Key requirements: the Top 10:2025
| # | Risk | What goes wrong | How to prevent it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A01 | Broken Access Control | Users act outside their permissions: viewing other tenants’ data, changing IDs in URLs (IDOR), privilege escalation, CORS misconfiguration, server-side request forgery (now included here) | Deny by default; enforce access checks server-side on every request; check object ownership; centralise authorisation; test with multiple roles and tenants |
| A02 | Security Misconfiguration | Default credentials, verbose errors, open cloud storage, unnecessary features, missing security headers | Hardened, repeatable configuration through infrastructure as code; remove unused features; automated configuration scanning |
| A03 | Software Supply Chain Failures | Vulnerable or malicious dependencies, compromised build systems, untrusted packages and images | Maintain an SBOM; pin and verify dependencies; scan continuously; secure CI/CD; sign artefacts; vet new packages |
| A04 | Cryptographic Failures | Sensitive data sent or stored without strong encryption, weak algorithms, poor key management | TLS everywhere; encrypt sensitive data at rest; modern algorithms; managed key storage; strong password hashing (for example Argon2, bcrypt) |
| A05 | Injection | SQL, NoSQL, OS command, LDAP injection and cross-site scripting through untrusted input | Parameterised queries; safe APIs and ORMs; output encoding; input validation; content security policy |
| A06 | Insecure Design | Missing or ineffective security controls in the design itself, such as no rate limits on sensitive flows | Threat modelling; secure design patterns; abuse cases; security requirements in user stories |
| A07 | Authentication Failures | Credential stuffing, weak passwords, broken session handling, missing MFA | MFA; breached password checks; rate limiting; secure session management; standard identity providers |
| A08 | Software or Data Integrity Failures | Trusting updates, plugins, serialised data or CI/CD pipelines without integrity checks | Digital signatures; integrity verification; avoid unsafe deserialisation; protect pipelines |
| A09 | Security Logging and Alerting Failures | Attacks go unnoticed because events aren’t logged, monitored or alerted on | Log security events with context; protect logs; alert on suspicious activity; test detection |
| A10 | Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions | Errors and unexpected states cause failures that expose data or bypass controls (“failing open”) | Handle errors consistently; fail securely (closed); avoid leaking details in error messages; test edge cases |
What changed from 2021
| Change | Detail |
|---|---|
| New: A03 Software Supply Chain Failures | Expands 2021’s “Vulnerable and Outdated Components” to the whole supply chain |
| New: A10 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions | Error handling and failing open |
| Merged | Server-side request forgery (A10:2021) folded into Broken Access Control |
| Moved up | Security Misconfiguration rises from fifth to second |
| Renamed | “Identification and Authentication Failures” becomes “Authentication Failures”; “Security Logging and Monitoring Failures” becomes “Security Logging and Alerting Failures” |
How to build the OWASP Top 10 into development
- Train developers on the ten risks with examples in your own languages and frameworks.
- Add security to design: threat model new features and record security requirements in user stories (A06).
- Use secure defaults: frameworks with built-in output encoding, parameterised queries, CSRF protection and secure session handling.
- Centralise access control and write tests for multi-tenant isolation (A01).
- Secure the supply chain: dependency scanning, lockfiles, SBOMs, signed builds and protected CI/CD (A03, A08).
- Automate checks in CI: SAST, dependency scanning, secrets scanning, infrastructure as code scanning, and DAST against staging.
- Review code with a security checklist based on the Top 10.
- Log and alert on authentication failures, access denials and admin actions (A09).
- Pen test before major releases and at least yearly.
- Use ASVS to set testable requirements by application risk level.
Documentation and policies
- Secure development policy referencing the OWASP Top 10 and ASVS
- Secure coding guidelines for your languages and frameworks
- Threat models for significant features
- Code review checklist
- Dependency and third-party component policy
- SBOMs for releases
- CI/CD security configuration
- Penetration test reports and remediation records
- Developer training records
Audits and assessments
- No certification. You cannot be “OWASP certified”.
- Penetration tests commonly report findings against Top 10 categories.
- Customer reviews ask for evidence of secure development and testing.
- PCI DSS assessments check that software development addresses common vulnerabilities.
Cost
| Cost area | What drives it |
|---|---|
| The Top 10 | Free |
| Training | Courses or internal sessions |
| Tooling | SAST, DAST, SCA and secrets scanning; open-source and commercial options |
| Penetration testing | Application size and complexity |
| Developer time | Fixing findings and building secure defaults |
Benefits
- Fewer exploitable vulnerabilities in production.
- Faster, cheaper fixes when issues are caught early.
- Credible answers to customer security questionnaires.
- Common language between developers and security testers.
- Support for PCI DSS, SOC 2, ISO 27001 and the EU Cyber Resilience Act.
Risks of ignoring it
- Data breaches through well-known, preventable flaws.
- Failed penetration tests and blocked enterprise deals.
- Supply chain compromises through dependencies.
- Regulatory consequences where personal or card data is exposed.
Common mistakes
- Treating it as a complete standard. Use ASVS for full requirements.
- Relying only on scanners, which miss most access control and design flaws.
- Client-side access checks without server-side enforcement.
- Ignoring transitive dependencies.
- Detailed error messages in production.
Challenges for IT companies
- Multi-tenant SaaS, where one access control bug can expose every customer.
- Huge dependency trees in JavaScript and Python ecosystems.
- Fast release cycles that leave little time for manual review.
- Plugins and extensions in platforms such as WordPress and LMS systems, which bring third-party code into your application.
Best practices
- Put tenant isolation tests in your automated test suite.
- Block builds on critical dependency vulnerabilities with a clear exception process.
- Use a central authorisation library or policy engine.
- Keep plugins and themes to a vetted minimum and update them promptly.
- Track vulnerability fix times as a team metric.
Tools that help
| Category | Supports |
|---|---|
| SAST | A05, A04, A10 |
| Software composition analysis and SBOM tools | A03 |
| DAST and API security testing | A01, A02, A05, A07 |
| Secrets scanning | A02, A04 |
| Infrastructure as code scanning | A02 |
| Artefact signing | A08 |
| SIEM and application logging | A09 |
| Web application firewall | Defence in depth against several categories |
How the OWASP Top 10 relates to other frameworks
| Framework | Relationship |
|---|---|
| OWASP ASVS | Detailed, testable application security requirements |
| NIST SSDF | Secure software development practices at organisation level |
| SBOM and SLSA | Supply chain transparency and build integrity, supporting A03 and A08 |
| PCI DSS | Requirement 6 covers secure development and common vulnerabilities |
| CIS Controls | Control 16 covers application software security |
| EU Cyber Resilience Act | Legal security requirements for products with digital elements |
Real-world examples
- Supply chain attacks. Incidents such as the compromise of the xz Utils open-source library in 2024 show why supply chain failures now have their own category.
- Access control. Insecure direct object reference flaws, where changing an ID in a request exposes another user’s data, are among the most commonly reported findings in bug bounty programmes.
- Illustrative scenario, not a real company: an LMS development agency adds tenant isolation tests, dependency scanning and a plugin vetting process after a customer’s penetration test finds an access control flaw in a custom course module.
Frequently asked questions
What is the latest OWASP Top 10? The OWASP Top 10:2025.
What is number one in the OWASP Top 10:2025? A01 Broken Access Control.
What are the new categories in 2025? A03 Software Supply Chain Failures and A10 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions.
Is the OWASP Top 10 a compliance standard? No. It is an awareness document. ASVS provides testable requirements.
Can my company be OWASP certified? No. OWASP does not certify organisations or products.
Does PCI DSS require the OWASP Top 10? PCI DSS requires protection against common software vulnerabilities and refers to industry standards; OWASP is the most common reference.
How often is the Top 10 updated? Roughly every three to four years.
Next steps
- Train your developers on the 2025 list.
- Add dependency scanning and SBOM generation to your CI pipeline.
- Write tenant isolation and access control tests.
- Schedule a penetration test that covers all ten categories.
Official sources
How this guide is kept accurate. It is written from the official text (OWASP Top 10:2025 (replaces the 2021 edition)) and the sources above, last reviewed on Oct 30, 2026. Standards and frameworks are reviewed every 6 months, and straight away when a new version, amendment or ruling is published. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For decisions about your own obligations, speak to a qualified adviser.
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I’m Vishavjeet Choubey, an Enterprise LMS Architect with 10+ years of experience helping businesses, coaches, universities, and online academies build and scale powerful digital learning platforms. I specialize in enterprise LMS architecture, WordPress, WooCommerce, LifterLMS, LearnDash, Moodle, custom plugin development, and AI-driven automation. I build scalable LMS platforms, high-converting eCommerce solutions, and custom WordPress applications designed to improve user experiences, streamline operations, and drive measurable business growth. My approach combines deep WordPress and LMS engineering expertise with modern AI automation to reduce manual work, improve efficiency, and help organizations launch, scale, and grow faster.