Agentic API penetration testing

Planck Operator points an autonomous agent at your API. From your OpenAPI spec it tests every operation the way an attacker would: BOLA, BFLA, broken auth, and injection across user roles, and proves each finding with the exact request and response. Continuous, and safe against production.

The Live Run

From one endpoint to every account, watch the agent work

Point Operator at an API and watch it map, chain a real exploit, and prove it, live. A cinematic walkthrough of a single agentic run, start to finish.

operator.planckdefense.com / live-run EXPLOITING
PHASE  Engine started · API agent, 34 operations in scope
AGENT  replaying analyst token as admin · cross-account BOLA
FINDING  Unauthenticated endpoint leaks admin credentials · critical
AI     Attack path ← Operator: login to root, 7 steps
›_ watch the full run →
Meet Operator
What It Is

What is Planck Operator?

Planck Operator is an autonomous, agentic API penetration testing agent. From your OpenAPI spec it tests every operation the way an attacker would, reasons across them to find the broken object and function level authorization (BOLA and BFLA) that scanners cannot, and reports only findings it has already reproduced. Each is rated with a CVSS v3.1 vector and, on demand, signed off by a senior offensive security team.

Who it's for

Teams shipping faster than an annual pentest can cover

  • SaaS and multi-tenant platforms where tenant isolation has to hold
  • Fintech, SaaS, and AI companies under continuous compliance pressure: SOC 2, PCI DSS 4.0, HIPAA
  • Engineering-led security teams that want exploit proof in their own tools, not a PDF once a year
What it replaces

The once-a-year snapshot, not the people

  • Replaces the annual point-in-time test with continuous coverage on every change
  • Replaces scanner alert queues with findings that are reproduced before they reach you
  • Keeps your senior consultants for the deep, creative work automation cannot yet reason through
Category
Agentic API penetration testing · autonomous API security testing
Also known as
Autonomous API pentesting, continuous API testing, spec-driven API security
Coverage
REST, GraphQL, and gRPC APIs, plus the agents and RAG systems behind them
Method
OWASP API Security Top 10, ASVS, PTES, NIST SP 800-115, CVSS v3.1
Delivery
Managed capability · fixed scope and price · findings routed to your existing tools
Provider
Planck Defense & Aerospace
Proof

Findings are cheap. Proof is the product.

A scanner hands you a list of maybes. The agent hands you a finding it already reproduced, with the exact requests, responses, and steps that make it true. If it cannot prove a thing, that thing never reaches your report.

Every result carries a CVSS v3.1 vector you can verify yourself, the components it touches, and remediation aimed at the layer that must change. When you want a person's signature on it, a senior practitioner validates it before it lands.

CRITICAL Broker token in JS bundle grants admin API
  • discovered a public JavaScript bundle
  • extracted a broker token committed into the bundle
  • replayed the token against the admin API and authenticated
  • reached 14,213 order records across tenant boundaries
SeverityCritical · CVSS 9.1
EvidenceRequests, responses, repro steps
VerifiedReproduced 2 of 2
StandardOWASP API Security Top 10

Example finding. Target details redacted.

How It's Different

Not a scanner, not a once a year snapshot

The agent sits where scanners, annual manual tests, and one-shot AI tools each fall short: continuous coverage, proven exploitability, and a human you can put behind any finding.

Planck Operator Vulnerability scanner Annual manual pentest Single-shot AI tool
CadenceContinuous, on every changeContinuous but shallowOnce a yearA single run
What you receiveExploit-proven findingsUnverified alertsVerified snapshotOften unverified output
Attack chainingMulti-step, across operationsNoneDepends on the testerLimited
False positivesReproduced before deliveryHighLowCan be high
CoverageEvery API operation, re-testedSignature basedScoped snapshotSingle target
Human validationOn demand, same teamNoneInherentUsually none
Safe in productionNon-destructive, scoped, kill switchUsuallyManual careVaries
How It Works

One agent, the full attack sequence

You give it your API base URL and OpenAPI spec. It parses the spec, tests every operation the way an attacker would, and proves what it finds, without a human driving each step. You set the scope and read the results.

Target and scope

You provide a verified domain, the API base URL, and one bearer token per user role. Scope is a hard boundary enforced in software, and every request stays under your base URL.

Parse the spec

It parses your OpenAPI or Swagger spec and lists every documented operation, method, and parameter in scope. Only documented operations are tested, no blind fuzzing.

Reason and cross-test

For every operation it reasons about what an attacker would try, and replays one role’s requests as another to reach the authorization flaws (BOLA and BFLA) that scanners cannot.

Test, verify, report

It tests, chains what it finds, reproduces each result to strip out noise, rates it with CVSS v3.1, and delivers it with the evidence attached. Anything it cannot prove does not reach your report.

Capabilities

What the agent does on its own

Each stage feeds the next, so the testing at the end is aimed by everything the discovery at the start turned up. No inventory to hand over, no scan to configure, no result to hand-triage before it means something.

Spec-driven

Every operation, parsed

From your OpenAPI or Swagger spec it builds the full list of operations, methods, parameters, and request bodies in scope, so nothing documented goes untested.

Authorization

Cross-account BOLA & BFLA

With one token per user type, it replays one role’s requests as another to surface the object and function level authorization flaws that dominate real API breaches.

Authentication

Token and session testing

It probes for forgeable or non-expiring tokens, weak JWT handling, and unauthenticated endpoints that should require a session, the failures that undo every other control.

Injection

Injection and mass assignment

It tests every parameter the spec exposes for injection, and probes for mass assignment and object-property abuse: setting fields you should not, reading fields that should never leave the server.

Chaining

Autonomous testing and chaining

It plans and runs test cases against each operation, then chains what it finds. A leaked token becomes an authenticated call; a permissive endpoint becomes access; a single low finding becomes a real path in.

Continuous

Continuous re-testing

Your API changes with every deployment. The agent re-runs on every change, so a new endpoint shipped on a Tuesday is tested that week, not at next year’s assessment. Coverage tracks your spec, not the calendar.

Coverage

Every operation your API exposes

The agent tests across the same disciplines our consultants do, structured against published frameworks so every finding traces back to a known attack class rather than a tester's improvisation.

Use Cases

Where teams point the agent first

One capability, several jobs. Most teams start with the surface that changes fastest or worries them most.

Continuous

An API that never sits still

You ship API changes daily. The agent re-tests every operation on your cadence, so a new endpoint never quietly becomes an exposure.

Pre-release

An API release before it ships

Point the agent at your API in staging and get an exploit-level read before your users, or an attacker, do.

Multi-tenant SaaS

Isolation that has to hold

Cross-tenant access, object-level authorization, and shared infrastructure tested the way one customer would try to reach another.

Partner APIs

The endpoints partners reach

Third-party and partner-facing APIs tested for the authorization gaps that expose one tenant, or one integration, to another.

Between engagements

Coverage between annual tests

Hold the line day to day, then bring in our consultants for the deep, creative work when it matters.

Agent APIs

The APIs behind your AI

Tool and function-call abuse, and the APIs your agents can reach, tested the way an attacker would drive them.

Safe in Production

Autonomous, and under your control

Running an attacker against your live systems is only acceptable if the controls are real. Ours are enforced in software, not promised in a slide.

Boundary

Scope is a wall

Testing stays inside the assets and windows you define, enforced in the system rather than left to a tester's judgment in the moment. Discovery never becomes a reason to reach further.

Restraint

Non-destructive by default

The agent runs read-mostly, honors rate limits, and paces its traffic. Anything with real side effects is blocked unless you authorize it in writing.

Control

Approval gate and kill switch

Sensitive actions wait for your explicit approval, and you can stop any run instantly. You are never watching a black box you cannot halt.

Accountability

Human validation on demand

Route any finding, or an entire run, through a senior practitioner before it reaches your tracker, when you want a person accountable for the result.

Fits Your Workflow

Findings land where your team already works

The run is autonomous. The output arrives in the tools your engineers live in, so a proven finding becomes a ticket, a pull request comment, or an alert without anyone passing a PDF around.

PULL REQUEST COMMENTS SLACK JIRA SERVICENOW CI PIPELINES SIEM WEBHOOK & API SIGNED PDF
Why Trust It

Autonomous, backed by a security firm

The agent is fast and never stops. What makes its output usable is the standard behind it. A finding either reproduces or it does not appear in your report. A severity number either follows CVSS v3.1 or it does not get printed. Autonomy buys you speed and constancy, not a lower bar for evidence.

Behind the agent is a senior offensive security team. They can validate any finding before it reaches you, and go deep on the hard targets where a person still outreasons automation. When you want a human engagement, it is the same people, on the same standard.

  • Proof, not probability. Each finding ships with the exact requests, responses, and reproduction steps behind it, so your engineers confirm it in minutes.
  • Reproduced before delivery. Anything the agent cannot reproduce is never shown to you, so what reaches your team is signal, not noise.
  • Severity you can verify. Every finding carries a CVSS v3.1 vector and maps to a published attack class, not a tester's improvisation.
  • A senior team behind it. The same practitioners can validate any finding and go deep on the hard targets when you need them.
Standards

Aimed by recognized method, not improvisation

The agent's test library is structured against the same published frameworks our consultants work from, so a finding traces back to a known attack class and a severity you can verify yourself.

OWASP WSTG OWASP API SECURITY TOP 10 OWASP ASVS OWASP LLM TOP 10 PTES NIST SP 800-115 MITRE ATT&CK CVSS V3.1
FAQ

The questions security teams ask first

What is agentic penetration testing?

Agentic penetration testing uses an autonomous AI agent that reasons its way through an attack the way a human tester would: it maps the operations your API exposes, decides what to test, chains findings into real exploit paths, and reproduces each result before reporting it. Unlike a vulnerability scanner, which runs fixed signatures and hands you unverified alerts, an agentic pentester adapts to what it finds and proves exploitability. Planck Operator is an agentic penetration testing agent that runs this sequence continuously and rates every finding with CVSS v3.1.

Who is Planck Operator for?

Planck Operator is built for security and engineering teams whose APIs change faster than an annual test can cover: SaaS and multi-tenant platforms, fintech, healthcare, and AI companies, and any team under continuous compliance pressure from SOC 2, PCI DSS 4.0, or HIPAA. It suits teams that want exploit-proven findings delivered into the tools they already use, rather than a point-in-time PDF once a year.

How is Planck Operator different from a vulnerability scanner?

A vulnerability scanner matches signatures and returns a queue of unverified alerts you have to triage. Planck Operator reproduces every finding before it reaches you, chains individually low findings into the real path an intruder would walk, re-maps the full surface on every change instead of relying on a static signature set, and lets you route any finding through a senior practitioner for a human signature. You receive proof, not a list of maybes.

Can it run against production safely?

Yes. The agent defaults to non-destructive testing, honors rate limits, and enforces scope in software rather than in a tester's memory. Anything with real side effects waits for your written approval, you can restrict it to staging, and you can stop any run instantly with the kill switch.

Will it drown us in false positives?

No. Every finding is reproduced before it is reported, with the requests, responses, and steps that prove it. Anything the agent cannot reproduce is never shown to you, and you can route findings through a senior practitioner for a second signature before they reach your tracker.

Does it replace penetration testing?

It replaces the annual snapshot, not the people. The agent gives you continuous breadth and proven exploitability day to day. Our consultants still go deep on business logic, chained abuse, and the creative work automation cannot yet reason through. Both use the same report format and severity scale.

Is the output accepted for compliance?

Findings map to the standards auditors expect: PTES and NIST SP 800-115 for method, OWASP WSTG, ASVS, the API Security Top 10 and the LLM Top 10 for coverage, and CVSS v3.1 for severity. Where a framework requires an assessment signed by an accredited human, a certified practitioner on our team reviews and signs the report.

Where does it run, and what happens to our data?

It runs from infrastructure we scope with you, and it can be routed through your own egress where a fixed source address is required. Engagement data is encrypted in transit and at rest, access is limited to the assigned team, and everything is handled under the commitments on our Trust and Data Handling page.

How is it delivered and priced?

Operator is delivered as a managed capability rather than a tool we hand you. Tell us the size and cadence of the surface you want covered and we return a defined scope and a fixed price. If you already run periodic testing with us, it slots alongside that work on the same terms.

Get Started

Point the agent at your API

Give us a domain and the rules of engagement. We will return a scoped run and show you what it surfaces, including the assets you did not know were yours.