In today’s increasingly digital ecosystem, attackers are shifting away from manual hacks toward automated threats that exploit web applications at scale. To address this, OWASP (Open Worldwide Application Security Project) released the Automated Threats to Web Applications (OATv2), which identifies 21 critical automated threats that security professionals must understand, monitor, and mitigate.
These threats are often carried out using bots, scripts, and headless browsers, targeting business logic vulnerabilities and operational gaps in web applications. Below is a concise summary table of all 21 threats as per OWASP’s official project:
| OAT Code | Threat Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| OAT-001 | Carding | Testing stolen or generated card details for validity |
| OAT-002 | Token Cracking | Brute-forcing predictable or weak token values |
| OAT-003 | Ad Fraud | Generating fake impressions or clicks for monetary gain |
| OAT-004 | Fingerprinting | Gathering client/device info to evade detection |
| OAT-005 | Scalping | Buying high-demand items unfairly fast before users can |
| OAT-006 | Expediting | Speeding up workflows to gain early or unfair access |
| OAT-007 | Credential Cracking | Brute-forcing username/password combinations |
| OAT-008 | Credential Stuffing | Using breached credentials to gain unauthorized access |
| OAT-009 | CAPTCHA Defeat | Bypassing or automating CAPTCHA protections |
| OAT-010 | Card Cracking | Trying combinations of card data to validate transactions |
| OAT-011 | Scraping | Extracting content or data from web pages |
| OAT-012 | Cashing Out | Converting compromised accounts into monetary value |
| OAT-013 | Sniping | Exploiting timing in auctions or flash deals to gain advantage |
| OAT-014 | Vulnerability Scanning | Automatically scanning for weaknesses and exploits |
| OAT-015 | Denial of Service | Overloading systems to degrade or deny service |
| OAT-016 | Skewing | Tampering with feedback, polls, or stats |
| OAT-017 | Spamming | Flooding systems with malicious or irrelevant content |
| OAT-018 | Footprinting | Mapping systems and identifying potential attack surfaces |
| OAT-019 | Account Creation | Automating the creation of fake or fraudulent accounts |
| OAT-020 | Account Aggregation | Collecting account data across multiple services |
| OAT-021 | Denial of Inventory | Holding inventory in carts to prevent legitimate purchases |
What: Validating stolen/generated credit card details via payment forms.
Exploitation: Bots fill out payment forms with thousands of card numbers to find valid ones. This is often combined with anonymized proxies to avoid detection.
Benefit to Attacker: Successfully validated cards can be used for fraud or sold on dark web markets, with verified status fetching higher prices.
Bounty Amount: $300 - $1,000 (based on impact and volume).
What: Guessing weak, predictable, or poorly implemented tokens.
Exploitation: Attackers use automation to try millions of token combinations, targeting password reset links, file URLs, or session tokens.
Benefit: Gaining access to user sessions, sensitive files, or API endpoints without authentication.
Bounty Amount: $500 - $2,000.
What: Faking ad engagement for financial gain.
Exploitation: Bots load pages and trigger clicks or impressions repeatedly, often mimicking human behavior.
Benefit: Attackers profit via inflated metrics or sabotage competitors by draining their ad spend.
Bounty Amount: $250 - $1,000.
What: Collecting device/browser identifiers to bypass security controls.
Exploitation: JavaScript and other scripts analyze user-agent strings, fonts, screen resolution, canvas rendering, and more.
Benefit: Allows bots to appear as legitimate users, persist sessions, and avoid detection.
Bounty Amount: $100 - $800.
What: Buying limited-quantity items before real users.
Exploitation: Bots monitor product availability and auto-complete purchases within milliseconds.
Benefit: Reselling at marked-up prices; common in concert tickets, GPUs, and sneakers markets.
Bounty Amount: $500 - $2,500.
What: Accelerating workflows to gain unfair advantages.
Exploitation: Bypassing client-side logic, queue systems, or throttles via API automation.
Benefit: Early product access, bypassing waiting lines, or limited beta features.
Bounty Amount: $300 - $1,500.
What: Brute-forcing login credentials by trying many permutations.
Exploitation: Tools like Hydra or custom scripts attempt common username/password combos.
Benefit: Account takeovers, insider data theft, and privilege escalation.
Bounty Amount: $800 - $5,000.
What: Testing credentials from data breaches across multiple platforms.
Exploitation: Bots automate login attempts using leaked databases.
Benefit: High success rate due to user password reuse, enabling widespread account hijacks.
Bounty Amount: $500 - $3,000.
What: Circumventing human verification systems.
Exploitation: Using AI/ML models to solve CAPTCHAs or outsourcing to human farms.
Benefit: Enables seamless bot operations even on protected portals.
Bounty Amount: $200 - $1,000.
What: Attempting combinations of credit card fields to guess valid sets.
Exploitation: Targeting forms with little or no validation throttling.
Benefit: Compromising usable card data, especially when CVV or expiration dates are guessed.
Bounty Amount: $300 - $1,500.
What: Extracting content or data in bulk.
Exploitation: Headless browsers, HTTP clients, or crawlers parse and store site data.
Benefit: Competitor intelligence, content theft, or creation of fake news platforms.
Bounty Amount: $100 - $750.
What: Profiting from compromised accounts/assets.
Exploitation: Redeeming reward points, gift cards, or transferring funds.
Benefit: Direct monetary value from previously hacked data.
Bounty Amount: $500 - $3,000.
What: Targeting auction systems or flash sales to win just-in-time.
Exploitation: Monitoring auction countdowns and placing final bids via bots.
Benefit: Winning valuable assets with minimal competition, then reselling them.
Bounty Amount: $250 - $1,200.
What: Scanning systems for known weaknesses.
Exploitation: Tools like Burp, Nmap, or custom scripts map flaws (e.g., XSS, LFI, SQLi).
Benefit: Preparing ground for exploits or selling found vulnerabilities.
Bounty Amount: $1,000 - $10,000 (severity dependent).
What: Making applications unusable through overload.
Exploitation: HTTP floods, UDP amplification, or slow requests (e.g., Slowloris).
Benefit: System disruption, extortion, or political pressure.
Bounty Amount: $300 - $2,000.
What: Distorting metrics, reviews, or user input stats.
Exploitation: Bots submit fake ratings, poll answers, or reviews en masse.
Benefit: Misleading perception, harming competitors, or gaming algorithms.
Bounty Amount: $150 - $900.
What: Inserting malicious or irrelevant content.
Exploitation: Automated posting to comment sections, forums, or user inputs.
Benefit: Drive traffic to malicious sites, SEO abuse, or phishing.
Bounty Amount: $200 - $1,000.
What: Mapping system architecture or public-facing services.
Exploitation: Gathering DNS records, ports, subdomains, and IPs.
Benefit: Identifies weak points for targeted attacks.
Bounty Amount: $300 - $1,200.
What: Registering bulk accounts for abuse.
Exploitation: Scripts fill out forms, bypass captchas, and verify emails.
Benefit: Enables spamming, fraud, and building botnets.
Bounty Amount: $200 - $800.
What: Collecting user info from multiple accounts/platforms.
Exploitation: Using credential stuffing and scraping to gather user history.
Benefit: Profiling, social engineering, identity theft.
Bounty Amount: $400 - $2,000.
What: Placing products in carts to prevent actual purchases.
Exploitation: Bots rapidly add items to carts without purchasing.
Benefit: Sabotage competitors, create artificial scarcity.
Bounty Amount: $500 - $2,000.
Automated threats aren’t just about brute-force attacks — they’re about business logic abuse, competitive disruption, and fraud at scale. Every modern web application must consider bot management, rate limiting, anomaly detection, and behavioral analytics to counteract these threats.
Security professionals must stay updated, not only by reading, but also by simulating and mitigating these scenarios.
Reference Disclaimer: This content is derived and expanded upon from the official OWASP resource: OWASP Project - Automated Threats to Web Applications.
Stay secured, stay curious. 🦇