GraphQL Under Siege: 5 Critical API Security Pitfalls
GraphQL APIs introduce unique security challenges. We cover the five most common vulnerabilities we find during API pentests — from introspection leaks to nested query DoS attacks.
Overview
GraphQL is powerful, flexible, and increasingly popular — but it introduces security challenges that traditional REST APIs don't face. Here are the five most common issues we encounter during API security assessments.
1. Introspection Enabled in Production
GraphQL introspection lets anyone query the entire schema. In production, this hands attackers a complete map of your API surface.
2. Broken Object-Level Authorization (BOLA)
GraphQL resolvers often lack per-field authorization checks. We frequently find that users can query data belonging to other users by simply changing an ID argument.
3. Nested Query Denial of Service
Deeply nested queries can consume exponential server resources. Without query depth limiting, a single request can bring down the API.
4. Batch Query Attacks
GraphQL allows sending multiple operations in a single request. Attackers use this to bypass rate limiting on authentication endpoints — sending thousands of login attempts in one HTTP request.
5. Field-Level Information Disclosure
Error messages in GraphQL often reveal internal field names, types, and database structure — even when introspection is disabled.
Remediation Summary
- Disable introspection in production
- Implement query depth and complexity limits
- Add per-resolver authorization checks
- Rate-limit by operation count, not just HTTP requests
- Sanitize error messages
— Closing
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