OWASP Top 10: What Changed in 2023

The OWASP Top 10 for 2021 (still the current reference in 2023) reflects years of data from real-world vulnerabilities. For penetration testers and red teamers, it's the baseline for web application testing. Here's what we're seeing in practice.

Broken Access Control Stays on Top

Broken access control remains the most common serious vulnerability. IDOR, privilege escalation, and misconfigured access controls appear in almost every engagement. The fix is often straightforward — proper authorisation checks, principle of least privilege — but the implementation is consistently wrong.

Cryptographic Failures

Weak or missing encryption, deprecated algorithms, and improper key management are everywhere. We still find TLS misconfigurations, hardcoded secrets, and data stored without encryption. Cryptographic failures often enable other attacks.

Injection: Still Relevant

SQL injection, command injection, and template injection haven't gone away. Modern frameworks reduce some risks, but we find injection in APIs, admin interfaces, and legacy code paths. Parameterised queries and input validation remain essential.

Our penetration tests map findings to OWASP categories and prioritise by real-world impact. Contact us for web application security assessments.

Operational Implications

The key takeaway from this topic is execution discipline: identify exploitable paths early, assign ownership quickly, and validate remediation under realistic conditions. Teams that operationalise security into release and change workflows generally reduce high-risk exposure windows and avoid repeat findings.

Use this insight to prioritise what is exploitable now, what can chain into broader impact, and what should be validated again after fixes are deployed. Evidence-led prioritisation consistently produces faster and more durable risk reduction than checklist-only approaches.

Implementation Checklist

• Define a clear owner for each critical finding and remediation deadline.
• Validate exploitability before and after remediation with reproducible evidence.
• Document impact in business terms for leadership, not just technical severity.
• Schedule follow-up verification so fixes are confirmed, not assumed.

Related Next Steps

Translate this topic into action by aligning the right engagement model to your current risk profile. For targeted validation, start with Security Services. For practical examples of measurable outcomes, review Case Studies. You can also browse the latest guidance in our blog archive.

Need a Practical Plan?

If you want this assessed against your own environment, we can scope it quickly and provide an evidence-focused route to remediation. Get in touch and we will recommend the most effective next step based on your architecture, timeline, and risk priorities.