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Black Hat GraphQL

Attacking Next Generation APIs

Author Nick Aleks, Dolev Farhi
Foreword by Opheliar Chan
Ebook (EPUB)
No Starch | No Starch Press
On sale May 23, 2023 | 320 Pages | 9781718502857
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Written by hackers for hackers, this hands-on book teaches penetration testers how to identify vulnerabilities in apps that use GraphQL, a data query and manipulation language for APIs adopted by major companies like Facebook and GitHub.

Black Hat GraphQL is for anyone interested in learning how to break and protect GraphQL APIs with the aid of offensive security testing. Whether you’re a penetration tester, security analyst, or software engineer, you’ll learn how to attack GraphQL APIs, develop hardening procedures, build automated security testing into your development pipeline, and validate controls, all with no prior exposure to GraphQL required.

Following an introduction to core concepts, you’ll build your lab, explore the difference between GraphQL and REST APIs, run your first query, and learn how to create custom queries.

You’ll also learn how to:

  • Use data collection and target mapping to learn about targets  
  • Defend APIs against denial-of-service attacks and exploit insecure configurations in GraphQL servers to gather information on hardened targets
  • Impersonate users and take admin-level actions on a remote server
  • Uncover injection-based vulnerabilities in servers, databases, and client browsers
  • Exploit cross-site and server-side request forgery vulnerabilities, as well as cross-site WebSocket hijacking, to force a server to request sensitive information on your behalf
  • Dissect vulnerability disclosure reports and review exploit code to reveal how vulnerabilities have impacted large companies

This comprehensive resource provides everything you need to defend GraphQL APIs and build secure applications. Think of it as your umbrella in a lightning storm.
"Black Hat GraphQL is the best resource for anyone looking to test GraphQL for vulnerabilities. Not only did Aleks and Farhi write the book, but they also created the vulnerable application used in the books labs and created a suite of tools specially designed for analyzing weaknesses within GraphQL APIs. This is a must-read book for those in API security."
—Corey Ball, author of Hacking APIs
 
"This book brought me from zero to ‘incredibly dangerous’ in ten chapters. The authors break down complex topics, making them easy to understand, as well as outlining pros and cons of each feature, tool, and tactic. The book also has quite a bit of foreshadowing, mentioning how certain parts of GraphQL work, and how they will be exploited later. The authors share not only several hands-on labs, but several tools they created themselves and open-sourced for all to use. If you are going to be PenTesting GraphQL systems, or are charged with protecting such a system, this book is a must-have."
—Tanya Janca, founder of We Hack Purple
 
“With the increasing number of web platforms built on top of GraphQL, this book is an essential resource for all security practitioners. By covering both the basics and advanced topics, Nick and Dolev have created the ultimate guide to hacking GraphQL.”
—Luca Carettoni, Doyensec
 
"Knowing how to secure GraphQL is often the first question most users have after they have that "ah ha!" moment about how cool it is. While Apollo and others have written a lot of great documentation on best security practices, Black Hat GraphQL is the most comprehensive look from the other side. This is not just a book for red teamers or penetration testers. Any GraphQL developer will learn a lot here."
—Tad Whitaker, Apollo GraphQL
 
"I study my way up in cybersecurity, in part, through books. While many of the books I use don't actually bring something new to the table, Black Hat GraphQL is definitely an exception. My copy, believe it or not, is oversaturated with highlights. And that probably says it all." 
—Cristi Vlad, @CristiVlad25, cybersecurity researcher
Dolev Farhi is a security engineer and author of Black Hat Bash (No Starch Press, forthcoming in 2025). He has extensive experience leading security engineering teams in the Fintech and cybersecurity industries and is currently a distinguished security engineer at Palo Alto Networks, where he builds defenses for the largest cybersecurity company in the world. He has provided training for official Linux certification tracks and, in his spare time, enjoys researching vulnerabilities in IoT devices and building open source offensive security tools.


Nick Aleks is a leader in Toronto's cybersecurity community and a distinguished and patented security engineer, speaker, and researcher. He is currently the Senior Director of Security at Wealthsimple, leads his own security firm, ASEC.IO, and is a Senior Advisory Board member for HackStudent, George Brown, and the University of Guelph’s Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence programs. A founder of DEFCON Toronto, he specializes in offensive security and penetration testing and has over 10 years of experience hacking everything from websites, safes, locks, cars, drones, and even smart buildings.
Nick Aleks View titles by Nick Aleks
Dolev Farhi View titles by Dolev Farhi
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Primer on GraphQL
Chapter 2: Setting Up a GraphQL Security Lab
Chapter 3: The GraphQL Attack Surface
Chapter 4: Reconnaissance
Chapter 5: Denial of Service
Chapter 6: Information Disclosure
Chapter 7: Authentication and Authorization Bypasses
Chapter 8: Injection
Chapter 9: Request Forgery and Hijacking
Chapter 10: Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Exploits
Appendix A: GraphQL API Testing Checklist
Appendix B: GraphQL Security
Resources
Index

About

Written by hackers for hackers, this hands-on book teaches penetration testers how to identify vulnerabilities in apps that use GraphQL, a data query and manipulation language for APIs adopted by major companies like Facebook and GitHub.

Black Hat GraphQL is for anyone interested in learning how to break and protect GraphQL APIs with the aid of offensive security testing. Whether you’re a penetration tester, security analyst, or software engineer, you’ll learn how to attack GraphQL APIs, develop hardening procedures, build automated security testing into your development pipeline, and validate controls, all with no prior exposure to GraphQL required.

Following an introduction to core concepts, you’ll build your lab, explore the difference between GraphQL and REST APIs, run your first query, and learn how to create custom queries.

You’ll also learn how to:

  • Use data collection and target mapping to learn about targets  
  • Defend APIs against denial-of-service attacks and exploit insecure configurations in GraphQL servers to gather information on hardened targets
  • Impersonate users and take admin-level actions on a remote server
  • Uncover injection-based vulnerabilities in servers, databases, and client browsers
  • Exploit cross-site and server-side request forgery vulnerabilities, as well as cross-site WebSocket hijacking, to force a server to request sensitive information on your behalf
  • Dissect vulnerability disclosure reports and review exploit code to reveal how vulnerabilities have impacted large companies

This comprehensive resource provides everything you need to defend GraphQL APIs and build secure applications. Think of it as your umbrella in a lightning storm.

Reviews

"Black Hat GraphQL is the best resource for anyone looking to test GraphQL for vulnerabilities. Not only did Aleks and Farhi write the book, but they also created the vulnerable application used in the books labs and created a suite of tools specially designed for analyzing weaknesses within GraphQL APIs. This is a must-read book for those in API security."
—Corey Ball, author of Hacking APIs
 
"This book brought me from zero to ‘incredibly dangerous’ in ten chapters. The authors break down complex topics, making them easy to understand, as well as outlining pros and cons of each feature, tool, and tactic. The book also has quite a bit of foreshadowing, mentioning how certain parts of GraphQL work, and how they will be exploited later. The authors share not only several hands-on labs, but several tools they created themselves and open-sourced for all to use. If you are going to be PenTesting GraphQL systems, or are charged with protecting such a system, this book is a must-have."
—Tanya Janca, founder of We Hack Purple
 
“With the increasing number of web platforms built on top of GraphQL, this book is an essential resource for all security practitioners. By covering both the basics and advanced topics, Nick and Dolev have created the ultimate guide to hacking GraphQL.”
—Luca Carettoni, Doyensec
 
"Knowing how to secure GraphQL is often the first question most users have after they have that "ah ha!" moment about how cool it is. While Apollo and others have written a lot of great documentation on best security practices, Black Hat GraphQL is the most comprehensive look from the other side. This is not just a book for red teamers or penetration testers. Any GraphQL developer will learn a lot here."
—Tad Whitaker, Apollo GraphQL
 
"I study my way up in cybersecurity, in part, through books. While many of the books I use don't actually bring something new to the table, Black Hat GraphQL is definitely an exception. My copy, believe it or not, is oversaturated with highlights. And that probably says it all." 
—Cristi Vlad, @CristiVlad25, cybersecurity researcher

Author

Dolev Farhi is a security engineer and author of Black Hat Bash (No Starch Press, forthcoming in 2025). He has extensive experience leading security engineering teams in the Fintech and cybersecurity industries and is currently a distinguished security engineer at Palo Alto Networks, where he builds defenses for the largest cybersecurity company in the world. He has provided training for official Linux certification tracks and, in his spare time, enjoys researching vulnerabilities in IoT devices and building open source offensive security tools.


Nick Aleks is a leader in Toronto's cybersecurity community and a distinguished and patented security engineer, speaker, and researcher. He is currently the Senior Director of Security at Wealthsimple, leads his own security firm, ASEC.IO, and is a Senior Advisory Board member for HackStudent, George Brown, and the University of Guelph’s Master of Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence programs. A founder of DEFCON Toronto, he specializes in offensive security and penetration testing and has over 10 years of experience hacking everything from websites, safes, locks, cars, drones, and even smart buildings.
Nick Aleks View titles by Nick Aleks
Dolev Farhi View titles by Dolev Farhi

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: A Primer on GraphQL
Chapter 2: Setting Up a GraphQL Security Lab
Chapter 3: The GraphQL Attack Surface
Chapter 4: Reconnaissance
Chapter 5: Denial of Service
Chapter 6: Information Disclosure
Chapter 7: Authentication and Authorization Bypasses
Chapter 8: Injection
Chapter 9: Request Forgery and Hijacking
Chapter 10: Disclosed Vulnerabilities and Exploits
Appendix A: GraphQL API Testing Checklist
Appendix B: GraphQL Security
Resources
Index

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