This may include incorrect data types, missing required fields, or values outside of the expected range. Accepting such invalid data can lead to unexpected behavior, security vulnerabilities, or data corruption. It also makes the API more prone to attacks, as malicious users may try to exploit the endpoint by sending unexpected or malformed data.
An attacker might attempt to send a specially crafted payload to the API that contains malformed or invalid data, hoping that the system will process it without validation. For example, an attacker could submit an out-of-bound value for a numerical field, causing the system to crash or behave unexpectedly. If the API accepts this negative or invalid data, it could result in service downtime, unexpected behavior, or even the exploitation of system vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows or injection attacks. Ensuring the API only accepts valid data prevents such malicious attempts.
