Require authorization for API requests

reference australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read sc-api-request-authorization.md

Use the glide.basicauth.required.api property to enhance security for basic authorization for incoming REST requests.

If glide.basicauth.required.api isn't set to the recommended value of true, then Basic Authentication on API requests are disabled which leads to unauthenticated access to instance data.

Ensure the property glide.basicauth.required.api exists in the System Properties [sys_properties] table and is set to true.

Warning: This is a safe harbor property, meaning the value can't be altered once it's changed. It is non-revertible.

More information

Attribute	Description
Configuration name	glide.basicauth.required.api
Configuration type	System Properties (/sys_properties_list.do)
Data type	Boolean
Recommended value	true
Default value	true
Fallback value	false
Category	API and web service
Security risk	Severity score: 8.6 CVSS rating: High Security risk details: Unauthenticated access to API data, when combined with misconfigured guest user role, poses a significant risk of unauthorized data exposure.
Functional impact	None
Dependencies and prerequisites	None

**Parent Topic:**[API and web service](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/instance-security-hardening-settings/sc-api-web-service.md)

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---
title: Require authorization for API requests
description: Use the glide.basicauth.required.api property to enhance security for basic authorization for incoming REST requests.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-security/instance-security-hardening-settings/sc-api-request-authorization.html
release: australia
product: Instance Security Hardening Settings
classification: instance-security-hardening-settings
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [API and web service, Hardening settings, Platform Security]
---

# Require authorization for API requests

Use the **glide.basicauth.required.api** property to enhance security for basic authorization for incoming REST requests.

If **glide.basicauth.required.api** isn't set to the recommended value of **true**, then Basic Authentication on API requests are disabled which leads to unauthenticated access to instance data.

Ensure the property **glide.basicauth.required.api** exists in the System Properties \[sys\_properties\] table and is set to **true**.

**Warning:** This is a safe harbor property, meaning the value can't be altered once it's changed. It is non-revertible.

## More information

<table id="table_ajc_b43_3kb"><thead><tr><th>

Attribute

</th><th>

Description

</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>

Configuration name

</td><td>

**glide.basicauth.required.api**

</td></tr><tr><td>

Configuration type

</td><td>

System Properties \(/sys\_properties\_list.do\)

</td></tr><tr><td>

Data type

</td><td>

Boolean

</td></tr><tr><td>

Recommended value

</td><td>

true

</td></tr><tr><td>

Default value

</td><td>

true

</td></tr><tr><td>

Fallback value

</td><td>

false

</td></tr><tr><td>

Category

</td><td>

[API and web service](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/instance-security-hardening-settings/sc-api-web-service.md)

</td></tr><tr><td>

Security risk

</td><td>

-   Severity score: 8.6
-   CVSS rating: High
-   Security risk details: Unauthenticated access to API data, when combined with misconfigured guest user role, poses a significant risk of unauthorized data exposure.

</td></tr><tr><td>

Functional impact

</td><td>

None

</td></tr><tr><td>

Dependencies and prerequisites

</td><td>

None

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>**Parent Topic:**[API and web service](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/instance-security-hardening-settings/sc-api-web-service.md)