implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch skill (Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills)
- Install
- SKILL.md (verbatim)
- Overview
- When to Use
- Prerequisites
- Core Concepts
- API Audit (Static Analysis)
- API Conformance Scan (Dynamic Testing)
- CI/CD Pipeline Integration
- API Protect (Runtime Protection)
- Remediation Workflow
- Key Security Checks
- References
- Other files in this skill
- references/api-reference.md (verbatim)
- 42Crunch API Security Audit
- OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023)
- Security Score Deductions
- CI/CD Integration (GitHub Actions)
- References
What it does. Implements API security testing on the 42Crunch platform, combining Part of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills (817 security skills) (mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills).
| Upstream | mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills |
| Skill file | skills/implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch/SKILL.md |
| License | Apache-2.0 (skill folder LICENSE) |
| Author | mukul975 |
| Fetched | 2026-09-10 |
Install
npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch, or copy the skill folder into~/.claude/skills/implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch/.- Raw file:
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/HEAD/skills/implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch/SKILL.md
SKILL.md (verbatim)
name: implementing-api-security-testing-with-42crunch
description: Implements API security testing on the 42Crunch platform, combining
API Audit for static analysis of OpenAPI definitions, API Conformance Scan for
dynamic vulnerability testing, and API Protect for runtime threat prevention, integrated
into CI/CD pipelines and IDEs. Use when shift-left testing APIs for OWASP API Security
Top 10 vulnerabilities or setting up 42Crunch audit and conformance scanning.
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: api-security
tags:
- api-security
- 42crunch
- openapi
- api-audit
- api-scan
- conformance-testing
- shift-left
- ci-cd-security
- owasp-api-top-10
version: '1.0'
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
nist_csf:
- PR.PS-01
- ID.RA-01
- PR.DS-10
- DE.CM-01
mitre_attack:
- T1190
- T1059.007
- T1552.001
Implementing API Security Testing with 42Crunch
Overview
42Crunch is an API security platform that combines Shift-Left security testing with Shield-Right runtime protection. It provides API Audit for static security analysis of OpenAPI definitions, API Conformance Scan for dynamic vulnerability detection, and API Protect for real-time threat prevention. The platform integrates into CI/CD pipelines and IDEs to identify OWASP API Security Top 10 vulnerabilities before and after deployment.
When to Use
- When deploying or configuring implementing api security testing with 42crunch capabilities in your environment
- When establishing security controls aligned to compliance requirements
- When building or improving security architecture for this domain
- When conducting security assessments that require this implementation
Prerequisites
- 42Crunch platform account (free tier available for evaluation)
- OpenAPI Specification (OAS) v2.0, v3.0, or v3.1 definitions for target APIs
- IDE with 42Crunch extension (VS Code, IntelliJ, or Eclipse)
- CI/CD pipeline (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps, or GitLab CI)
- Running API instance for dynamic scanning (conformance scan)
- Node.js or Python environment for CLI tooling
Core Concepts
API Audit (Static Analysis)
API Audit performs static security analysis of OpenAPI definitions without requiring a running API. It evaluates the specification against 300+ security checks organized into categories:
Security Score Categories:
- Data Validation: Schema definitions, parameter constraints, response validation
- Authentication: Security scheme definitions, scope requirements
- Transport Security: Server URL schemes, TLS requirements
- Error Handling: Error response definitions, information leakage prevention
Running API Audit via VS Code Extension:
- Install the 42Crunch extension from the VS Code marketplace
- Open an OpenAPI specification file (YAML or JSON)
- Click the security audit icon in the editor toolbar
- Review the security score (0-100) and individual findings
- Address issues using the inline remediation guidance
Example OpenAPI Definition with Security Controls:
openapi: 3.0.3
info:
title: Secure User API
version: 1.0.0
servers:
- url: https://api.example.com/v1
description: Production server (HTTPS only)
security:
- BearerAuth: []
paths:
/users/{userId}:
get:
operationId: getUserById
summary: Retrieve user by ID
parameters:
- name: userId
in: path
required: true
schema:
type: string
format: uuid
pattern: '^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$'
maxLength: 36
responses:
'200':
description: User details
content:
application/json:
schema:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
'400':
description: Invalid request
content:
application/json:
schema:
$ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
'401':
description: Unauthorized
'404':
description: User not found
components:
securitySchemes:
BearerAuth:
type: http
scheme: bearer
bearerFormat: JWT
schemas:
User:
type: object
required:
- id
- email
properties:
id:
type: string
format: uuid
readOnly: true
email:
type: string
format: email
maxLength: 254
name:
type: string
maxLength: 100
pattern: '^[a-zA-Z\s\-]+$'
additionalProperties: false
Error:
type: object
required:
- code
- message
properties:
code:
type: integer
format: int32
message:
type: string
maxLength: 256
additionalProperties: false
API Conformance Scan (Dynamic Testing)
The conformance scan dynamically tests a running API against its OpenAPI contract to detect runtime vulnerabilities including OWASP API Security Top 10 issues:
Scan v2 Configuration:
# 42c-conf.yaml
version: "2.0"
scan:
target:
url: https://api.example.com/v1
authentication:
- type: bearer
token: "${API_TOKEN}"
in: header
name: Authorization
settings:
maxScanTime: 3600
requestsPerSecond: 10
followRedirects: false
tests:
owasp:
- bola
- bfla
- injection
- ssrf
- massAssignment
- excessiveDataExposure
Running Conformance Scan via CLI:
# Install the 42Crunch CLI
npm install -g @42crunch/cicd-cli
# Run conformance scan
42crunch-cli scan \
--api-definition ./openapi.yaml \
--target-url https://api.example.com/v1 \
--token $CRUNCH_TOKEN \
--min-score 70 \
--report-format sarif \
--output scan-report.sarif
CI/CD Pipeline Integration
GitHub Actions Integration:
name: API Security Testing
on:
push:
paths:
- 'api/**'
- 'openapi/**'
jobs:
api-security:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: 42Crunch API Audit
uses: 42Crunch/api-security-audit-action@v3
with:
api-token: ${{ secrets.CRUNCH_API_TOKEN }}
collection-name: "my-api-collection"
min-score: 75
upload-to-code-scanning: true
- name: 42Crunch Conformance Scan
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
uses: 42Crunch/api-conformance-scan@v1
with:
api-token: ${{ secrets.CRUNCH_API_TOKEN }}
target-url: ${{ secrets.STAGING_API_URL }}
scan-config: ./42c-conf.yaml
Jenkins Pipeline Integration:
pipeline {
agent any
stages {
stage('API Security Audit') {
steps {
script {
def auditResult = sh(
script: '''
42crunch-cli audit \
--api-definition openapi.yaml \
--token ${CRUNCH_TOKEN} \
--min-score 75 \
--report-format json \
--output audit-report.json
''',
returnStatus: true
)
if (auditResult != 0) {
error("API Security Audit failed - score below threshold")
}
}
}
}
stage('Conformance Scan') {
when { branch 'main' }
steps {
sh '''
42crunch-cli scan \
--api-definition openapi.yaml \
--target-url ${STAGING_URL} \
--token ${CRUNCH_TOKEN} \
--scan-config 42c-conf.yaml
'''
}
}
}
post {
always {
archiveArtifacts artifacts: '*-report.*'
publishHTML([
reportDir: '.',
reportFiles: 'audit-report.html',
reportName: 'API Security Report'
])
}
}
}
API Protect (Runtime Protection)
API Protect deploys as a micro-gateway in front of API endpoints to enforce the OpenAPI contract at runtime:
# api-protect-config.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
name: api-protect-config
data:
protection-config.json: |
{
"apiDefinition": "/config/openapi.yaml",
"enforcement": {
"validateRequests": true,
"validateResponses": true,
"blockOnFailure": true,
"logLevel": "warn"
},
"rateLimit": {
"enabled": true,
"requestsPerMinute": 100,
"burstSize": 20
},
"allowlist": {
"contentTypes": ["application/json"],
"methods": ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE"]
}
}
Remediation Workflow
When 42Crunch identifies issues, follow this remediation process:
- Triage: Review findings sorted by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
- Analyze: Understand the specific security control missing from the OpenAPI definition
- Fix: Apply the recommended changes to the specification
- Validate: Re-run audit to confirm the score improvement
- Deploy: Push the updated specification through the CI/CD pipeline
Common Audit Findings and Fixes:
| Finding | Severity | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No authentication defined | Critical | Add securitySchemes and security requirements |
| Missing input validation | High | Add type, format, pattern, maxLength constraints |
| Server URL uses HTTP | High | Change server URLs to HTTPS |
| No error responses defined | Medium | Add 4xx and 5xx response definitions |
| additionalProperties not restricted | Medium | Set additionalProperties: false on object schemas |
| Missing rate limiting | Medium | Add x-rateLimit extension or use API Protect |
Key Security Checks
42Crunch evaluates APIs against these critical security areas:
- BOLA Prevention: Validates that object-level authorization patterns are defined
- BFLA Prevention: Checks for function-level access control definitions
- Injection Prevention: Ensures input parameters have proper type/format/pattern constraints
- Data Exposure: Verifies response schemas limit returned properties
- Security Misconfiguration: Checks authentication schemes, transport security, CORS settings
- Mass Assignment: Validates that request bodies use explicit property allowlists
References
- 42Crunch API Security Platform: https://42crunch.com/api-security-platform/
- 42Crunch Documentation: https://docs.42crunch.com/
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud 42Crunch Integration: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/defender-for-cloud/onboarding-guide-42crunch
- OWASP API Security Top 10 2023: https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0x00-header/
- Jenkins Plugin for 42Crunch: https://plugins.jenkins.io/42crunch-security-audit/
Other files in this skill
references/api-reference.md (verbatim)
2 placeholder credentials shortened to pass the site's secret filter.
API Reference: Implementing API Security Testing with 42Crunch
42Crunch API Security Audit
# Upload OpenAPI spec for audit
curl -X POST https://platform.42crunch.com/api/v2/apis \
-H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_KEY \
-F "specfile=@openapi.yaml"
# Get audit report
curl https://platform.42crunch.com/api/v2/apis/{api_id}/assessmentreport \
-H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_KEY
OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023)
| ID | Risk | Audit Check |
|---|---|---|
| API1 | Broken Object Level Auth | BOLA path patterns |
| API2 | Broken Authentication | Security schemes |
| API3 | Broken Object Property Auth | Mass assignment |
| API4 | Unrestricted Resource Consumption | Rate limits |
| API5 | Broken Function Level Auth | Admin endpoints |
| API8 | Security Misconfiguration | HTTP, CORS, headers |
Security Score Deductions
| Issue | Deduction | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| No security schemes | -30 | CRITICAL |
| Security disabled on endpoint | -25 | CRITICAL |
| No global security | -20 | HIGH |
| HTTP server URL | -15 | HIGH |
| No input schema | -15 | HIGH |
| Mass assignment risk | -10 | MEDIUM |
| Unbounded string param | -5 | MEDIUM |
CI/CD Integration (GitHub Actions)
- uses: 42Crunch/api-security-audit-action@v3
with:
api-token: ${{ secrets.CRUNCH_TOKEN }}
min-score: 70
References
- 42Crunch Platform: https://42crunch.com/
- OWASP API Top 10: https://owasp.org/API-Security/
- 42Crunch GitHub Action: https://github.com/42Crunch/api-security-audit-action
Back to mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills (817 security skills) or Agent skills.