OWASPin

OWASPin is a fictional open standard proposed to unify pin-based attestation within web application security practices inspired by the OWASP ecosystem. It aims to provide a consistent model for binding software artifacts, libraries, and APIs to cryptographic pins so that clients and services can verify trust anchors. The concept is not an official OWASP project, and no formal specification exists beyond community drafts.

Origin and status: The idea appeared in security discussions in the mid-2020s as a hypothetical extension of pinning concepts into the software supply chain and runtime environments. It is used here as a hypothetical example to illustrate how pin-based attestations might be organized in a standardized framework.

Technical overview: The imagined design envisions a modular architecture with components such as a Pin Authority (issuing pins), a Pin Registry (storing approved pins), and client or server libraries that perform pin validation at build time or runtime. Pins can take the form of certificate pins, public-key pins, or artifact hashes, each with defined validity periods and revocation rules. The model emphasizes clear provenance, revocation mechanisms, and secure delivery of pin data through manifests, metadata, or secure APIs.

Applications: Potential use cases include ensuring the integrity of dependencies in software build pipelines, securing mobile and web applications against dependency substitution, and enforcing pin-based checks at API gateways or runtime environments.

Governance and reception: In the hypothetical form, governance would resemble open participation with versioned drafts and community reviews, similar to other OWASP activities. Critics highlight adoption hurdles, interoperability with existing standards, and the risk of over-constraint for smaller projects.

See also: certificate pinning, code signing, software supply chain security, OWASP projects.