Many will know that after the OWASP Top 10 2021, we jumped straight into OWASP Top 10 2025. Why is there no OWASP Top 10 2024?
Introduction
Many of the readers of this blog will know about the OWASP Top 10. The OWASP Top 10 2024 is a list of top 10 most dangerous flaws directed toward applications: this list often includes security flaws like SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), and others.
Why is OWASP Top 10 Important?
The OWASP Top 10 2024 list is important because it outlines the most dangerous security flaws directed at applications: in other words, the OWASP Top 10 2024 list includes ways to deal with the most pressing security issues of the present year.
By mitigating all or at least most of the OWASP Top 10 2024 flaws, developers can sleep soundly knowing that their application is more secure.
Why is There No OWASP Top 10 2024?
Now, for the burning question – why are there only a couple of editions of the OWASP Top 10? The answer is simple: there is no OWASP Top 10 2024 because the OWASP Top 10 list is updated every three to four years. The last “full” edition of the OWASP security issue listing pertains to the OWASP Top 10 2021 – a year riddled with COVID and a year that closed approximately four years ago; the OWASP team is working towards a full update of the OWASP listing and it should be available in 2025:
At present, however, the newest completed version of OWASP is the 2021 edition.
How is OWASP Top 10 2024 Created?
In regards to the creation of OWASP Top 10 2024, the OWASP team has to go through multiple phases to collect and evaluate information, and last but not least, dissect it and publicize the information about OWASP Top 10 2024 for everyone to peruse. The steps are as follows:
- Data collection – the OWASP Top 10 2024 team collects data about vulnerabilities. Data is collected through industry experts and those who want to share data regarding web application vulnerabilities with OWASP.
- Data normalization – data is normalized and evaluated: OWASP experts evaluate the data and judge its accuracy, its relevance, and other things.
- Documentation updates – the documentation of OWASP Top 10 is starting to be updated.
- Industry survey – an industry survey of security experts takes place to ensure that the OWASP Top 10 listing is as accurate as it can get for the present day.
- Review process – a review process follows and after evaluation by international experts, OWASP Top 10 2024 is released for the general public.
- International translations – after the most recent version of OWASP Top 10 is released to the public, the OWASP team introduces international translations.
After these steps have been completed, the OWASP Top 10 2024 list is available for everyone to review and peruse however they desire – after 4 years, the OWASP listing will be updated.
Beyond OWASP Top 10 2024 – Data Breach Search Engines
The OWASP Top 10 exists because nefarious parties on the web steal data: data that, once stolen, is perused by hackers to mount identity theft, credential stuffing, and other attacks. To protect yourself from them, make good use of data breach search engines like BreachDirectory: data breach search engines will not only inform you whether your data is at risk but also tell you what actions you should take to lessen your exposure and protect yourself from identity theft.
The BreachDirectory API is also of interest to those who want to implement the data inside BreachDirectory into their applications to assist their use case. The BreachDirectory API can also be used in bulk to scan through and receive responses whether multiple accounts are at risk at once. Also, always keep in mind that you can register for data breach notifications to be notified whenever your email address appears in a data breach.
Summary
There is no OWASP Top 10 2024 listing because the OWASP listing is updated every 4 years – there have been updates in 2013, 2017, 2021 and the most recent update is coming our way in 2025.
Regardless, updates every 4 years don’t mean that we should not be wary about the safety of our data: making use of data breach search engines and other applications relevant to the safety of our data is paramount because these applications will tell us what data of ours is stolen and what we can do about it – they will also enable us to register for data breach notifications to be notified when our data is stolen.