Home/Shadow API Discovery

Shadow API Discovery You can't protect what you can't see.

Shadow APIs — undocumented, forgotten, or zombie endpoints — are the soft underbelly of modern apps. Karbon's API security platform watches live traffic, builds an inventory of every endpoint, and flags the ones nobody told security about.

Traffic-derived inventory

Karbon learns your real API surface from live traffic — not a stale OpenAPI spec — so shadow and zombie endpoints can't hide.

Drift detection

When a new endpoint appears or an old one changes shape, you're alerted. No more surprise routes shipped on Friday.

Sensitive-data flags

Endpoints returning PII, tokens, or secrets are highlighted so you can lock down the riskiest paths first.

Schema-aware

REST, GraphQL, and gRPC are parsed and understood, not just logged as opaque URLs.

Frequently asked questions

What is a shadow API?
A shadow API is an endpoint that exists in production but isn't in your documentation, gateway, or security review — often a leftover from an old feature or a route shipped without sign-off. Because nobody's watching it, it's a prime target. Karbon finds these from live traffic.
How does discovery work without a spec?
Karbon observes real requests and responses passing through the proxy and reconstructs the API surface from them. It doesn't depend on an OpenAPI file that may be outdated or missing.
Is this part of a broader API security platform?
Yes. Discovery feeds the same platform that handles API rate limiting, bot mitigation, and abuse detection, so inventory and enforcement stay in sync.