Governance Intelligence · Framework

OWASP Mobile Top 10

Top 10 mobile application security risks

Risk FrameworkMobile App SecurityBanking Critical

The OWASP Mobile Top 10 ranks the most critical risks for mobile applications. Banking governance programs use it to prioritize remediation, drive release gates, and align with regulator expectations.

Risks

M1–M10

M1, M3, M5, M8

Banking Critical

Highest-priority for BFSI

Mapped Mandates

Countries

100%

MASVS Cross-map

All risks → MASVS controls

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Governance Snapshot

M-Top10 • live APK index

Live

Category coverage

71%

Improper Credential Usage

62%

Inadequate Supply Chain Security

66%

Insecure Authentication / Authorization

84%

Insecure Communication

70%

Security Misconfiguration

Overview

Security Goals

Why governance, AppSec and audit teams adopt this framework.

Credential Protection

Prevent secret leakage and credential reuse.

Authentication Strength

Eliminate auth bypass and session fixation.

Comms Integrity

TLS pinning, no cleartext, no fallback.

Release Hardening

Debug-off, backup-off, no test endpoints.

Tamper Resistance

Detect repackaging and runtime patching.

Control Domains

Framework Control Domains

Per-domain coverage, common failures and APK evidence — expand each for detail.

5 control domains · 71% avg coverage

Improper Credential Usage

Hardcoded keys, tokens or credentials embedded in the app binary.

Coverage71%

Checks

✓No hardcoded secrets
✓Secure credential storage
✓Key rotation supported

Common Failures

✗API keys in strings.xml
✗Firebase tokens hardcoded
✗OAuth client secret in APK

APK Finding Examples

AWS key detected
JWT secret in binary

Recommended SDKs

HashiCorp VaultAWS Secrets ManagerAndroid Keystore

View Remediation →

Inadequate Supply Chain Security

Compromised SDKs, outdated dependencies, build pipeline trust failures.

Coverage62%

Checks

✓SBOM published
✓Dependencies pinned
✓Build pipeline signed

Common Failures

✗Outdated WebView
✗Unpatched OkHttp
✗Compromised analytics SDK

APK Finding Examples

Critical CVE in transitive dep

Recommended SDKs

Snyk SCAMend SCADependency Track

View Remediation →

Insecure Authentication / Authorization

Broken session handling, missing step-up, weak biometric flows.

Coverage66%

Checks

✓Step-up on high-risk actions
✓Server-side auth checks
✓Biometric via OS APIs

Common Failures

✗Client-side auth decisions
✗Static OTP
✗Permanent sessions

APK Finding Examples

Session ID predictable
Step-up missing on transfer

Recommended SDKs

FIDO2Auth0Okta

View Remediation →

Insecure Communication

Missing TLS pinning, cleartext fallback, weak ciphers.

Coverage84%

Checks

✓TLS 1.2+ enforced
✓Certificate pinning
✓No cleartext

Common Failures

✗usesCleartextTraffic=true
✗Trust-all manager
✗No pinning

APK Finding Examples

Cleartext endpoint
Pinning missing

Recommended SDKs

OkHttp pinningTrustKitApproov

View Remediation →

Security Misconfiguration

Release builds shipped with debug flags, backup enabled or test endpoints.

Coverage70%

Checks

✓Debug disabled
✓Backup disabled
✓Release hardened

Common Failures

✗allowBackup=true
✗Debuggable release
✗Test endpoints reachable

APK Finding Examples

Debug build flag
allowBackup=true

Recommended SDKs

R8 / ProGuardPlay App Signing

View Remediation →

Banking Implications

Why OWASP Mobile Top 10 matters for Mobile Banking

Recommended posture by app type and the regulators that reference this framework.

high risk

Retail Banking

Account takeover, credential theft, MITM exposure.

Recommended

Focus on M1, M3, M5, M8

critical risk

Payments

Transaction integrity, overlay defense.

Recommended

Focus on M3, M5, M8 + RASP

high risk

Open Banking

API exposure across third parties.

Recommended

M1, M3, M5 + PSD2 SCA

critical risk

Crypto / Wallet

Irreversible transactions, high attacker value.

Recommended

Full Top 10 + RASP

Regulator Mapping

Where OWASP Mobile Top 10 is referenced

RequiredRecommendedReferencedInformational

UAE CB

referenced

GCC

SAMA

referenced

GCC

MAS TRM

recommended

APAC

RBI

referenced

APAC

APRA CPS 234

referenced

APAC

FFIEC

referenced

Americas

PSD2 / EBA

recommended

DORA

recommended

Cross Mapping

Framework Coverage Matrix

How this framework maps across MASVS, OWASP Mobile, PCI DSS, PSD2, DORA and central-bank guidance.

CoveredPartialNot coveredN/A

Control	MASVS	OWASP Mobile	PCI DSS Mobile	PSD2	DORA	UAE CB
Credential Storage (M1)	●	●	●	◐	◐	●
Auth Strength (M3)	●	●	●	●	●	●
TLS Pinning (M5)	●	●	◐	◐	◐	●
Release Hardening (M8)	●	●	●	◐	●	●
Tamper Resistance (M9)	●	●	○	○	◐	●

Live APK Governance

How MobAIsec evaluates OWASP Mobile Top 10

Sample governance report from a recent assessment — coverage, gaps and top violations.

Live preview

Critical gaps4

High gaps6

Medium gaps7

Coverage heatmap

71%

62%

66%

84%

70%

Top Violations

Run on your APK →

Hardcoded API key in resources
M1
critical
Pinning missing on payment API
M5
critical
Debug flag enabled in release
M8
high
Outdated WebView with known CVE
M2
high
Step-up missing on transfer
M3
high

Upload your APK to receive a OWASP Mobile Top 10 assessment

Get coverage score, missing controls, severity-weighted gaps and a board-ready PDF.

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Threat Intelligence

Threats this framework defends against

Curated mobile attack patterns aligned to the controls above.

All threat intel →

Threat

Root / Jailbreak detection

Prevent rooted-device fraud and runtime privilege abuse.

Read intel →

Threat

SSL pinning bypass

Detect and resist Frida / proxy interception of TLS.

Read intel →

Threat

Overlay attacks

Block credential and OTP theft from malicious overlays.

Read intel →

Threat

Runtime tampering

Detect APK repackaging, dynamic patching and hooking.

Read intel →

Threat

Frida detection

Prevent instrumentation-based runtime manipulation.

Read intel →

Country Mandates

Mandates using OWASP Mobile Top 10

Country regulators that reference this framework — usage confidence and mapped control count.

Browse all jurisdictions →

UAE

CBUAE

38 controls

Usage confidence92%

View country requirements →

Singapore

MAS

42 controls

Usage confidence96%

View country requirements →

India

RBI

34 controls

Usage confidence88%

View country requirements →

European Union

EBA / PSD2

46 controls

Usage confidence94%

View country requirements →

United Kingdom

FCA / PRA

36 controls

Usage confidence89%

View country requirements →

Saudi Arabia

SAMA

32 controls

Usage confidence86%

View country requirements →

Trust & Adoption

Used across banking security programs

Mobile banking security teams use this framework to establish secure release gates and runtime baselines.

BFSI release gates

Used as the canonical risk taxonomy in banking AppSec gates.

Regulator audits

Findings consistently referenced in mobile audit reports.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

For BFSI CISOs, AppSec, audit and governance teams.

How is OWASP Mobile Top 10 different from MASVS?

MASVS defines verification requirements (what to check). Top 10 ranks risks (what attackers exploit). Most BFSI programs use both — Top 10 for prioritization, MASVS for evidence.

Which Mobile Top 10 items are most critical for banking?

M1 (Credentials), M3 (Authentication), M5 (Insecure Communication) and M8 (Misconfiguration) account for the majority of bank-app exploitation paths.

Does MobAIsec score apps against the OWASP Mobile Top 10?

Yes — every assessment includes per-risk coverage with severity-weighted scoring and cross-mapping to MASVS controls.

Start now

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✓Framework coverage score
✓Missing controls list
✓Fraud readiness signal
✓Executive PDF report
✓Banking mandate mapping
✓Remediation guidance

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