Application Security · AS-Q10

Question: Are applications tested for business logic flaws and abuse scenarios beyond technical vulnerabilities?

  1. Objective — Why This Matters
    Attackers exploit logic gaps — not just code bugs — to bypass workflows. Testing business logic ensures systems behave securely under edge conditions.

  2. Maturity Levels (0–5)

0 — Unaware
No logic abuse testing.
1 — Ad Hoc
Functional QA sometimes finds logic gaps.
2 — Defined
Threat scenarios for logic abuse documented.
3 — Managed
Negative test cases executed each sprint.
4 — Integrated
Automated fuzzing or abuse-case simulation in pipelines.
5 — Optimized
Continuous monitoring of behavior analytics for misuse detection.
  1. How to Level Up
From → To Actions
0 → 1 Train QA to identify business logic anomalies.
1 → 2 Document threat scenarios and abuse cases.
2 → 3 Incorporate negative test cases in regression suites.
3 → 4 Integrate fuzzing and automation (e.g., OWASP FuzzDB).
4 → 5 Correlate app telemetry to detect emerging logic abuses.

  1. People / Process / Technology Enablers
    People – QA, AppSec, Product Managers.
    Process – Threat modeling, regression testing.
    Technology – OWASP FuzzDB, ZAP, Selenium scripts.

  2. Evidence Required
    Threat model records, test plans, abuse scenario logs.

  3. Metrics / KPIs
    • number of logic flaws identified during testing
    • percentage of abuse cases automated in CI/CD
    • average time from discovery to fix

  4. Low-Cost / Open-Source Options (MSME)

Purpose Tool Notes
Threat modeling OWASP Threat Dragon Visual modeling of logic flows.
Fuzzing OWASP FuzzDB / ZAP Generate invalid input for negative testing.
Tracking DefectDojo Record and triage logic flaws.

  1. Common Pitfalls
    QA limited to functional testing; missing real-world misuse simulation.

  2. Compliance Mapping

Standard Clauses / Notes
ISO 27001 A.8.25 / A.8.28.
NIST CSF 2.0 PR.IP-1 / DE.CM-1.
CERT-In 2022 Secure testing practices.
NIRMATA Scoring AS-Q10 ≥ Level 4 requires automated abuse testing.