What is OWASP Top 10? Definition & Explanation
The OWASP Top 10 is a regularly updated standard awareness document published by the Open Web Application Security Project, listing the most critical web application security risks. The current edition (2021, with the 2025 update in progress) is the de facto starting point for application security programs worldwide.
In-Depth Explanation
The current OWASP Top 10 (2021) categories include: A01 Broken Access Control, A02 Cryptographic Failures, A03 Injection (including SQLi and XSS), A04 Insecure Design, A05 Security Misconfiguration, A06 Vulnerable and Outdated Components, A07 Identification and Authentication Failures, A08 Software and Data Integrity Failures (covers supply-chain attacks like SolarWinds), A09 Security Logging and Monitoring Failures, and A10 Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF — newly added after Capital One). OWASP also maintains adjacent Top 10 lists for API Security, LLM/AI Applications (the OWASP Top 10 for LLMs is now in v2 covering prompt injection, sensitive info disclosure, supply chain, etc.), Mobile, Cloud, and Serverless. The OWASP organization (now the OWASP Foundation) develops the SAMM and ASVS frameworks, the OWASP ZAP DAST scanner, the Cheat Sheet Series, and dozens of other freely available resources used as training, audit baselines, and pentest scope by virtually every AppSec team globally.
Why It Matters for Security
The OWASP Top 10 is the most widely cited application-security reference in the world — every PCI DSS audit, SOC 2 review, pentest report, and AppSec curriculum references it. PCI DSS 4.0 specifically requires that web applications be tested against the OWASP Top 10. The companion OWASP API Security Top 10 and LLM Top 10 cover the rapidly growing API and AI attack surfaces. Application security programs that systematically address the Top 10 categories prevent the vast majority of real-world web breaches.
Related Tools
- GitHub Advanced Security
CodeQL SAST, Copilot Autofix, secret scanning with push protection, Dependabot SCA.
- Dependabot Security
GitHub-native automated dependency updates and security vulnerability patching for repositories.
- OWASP ZAP
Free open-source web application security scanner with active scanning and fuzzing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does OWASP Top 10 mean in cybersecurity?
The OWASP Top 10 in cybersecurity is a standard awareness document published by the Open Web Application Security Project listing the most critical web application security risks — currently including Broken Access Control, Cryptographic Failures, Injection, Insecure Design, Security Misconfiguration, and SSRF among others.
Why is OWASP Top 10 important?
The OWASP Top 10 matters because it is the most widely cited application-security reference globally. PCI DSS 4.0 specifically requires web applications to be tested against it, and every pentest report, SOC 2 audit, and AppSec curriculum references it. Companion lists for API and LLM security extend the framework to modern attack surfaces.