Description
An operation’s externalDocs.url links to detailed guidance for that API call. Incorrect addresses or unrelated material can obscure its specific rules. OpenAPI 3.0 can also resolve relative URLs against the server URL.
Potential impact
Consumers may miss call sequencing or input requirements, increasing implementation and troubleshooting effort.
Remediation
Specify the actual documentation for the operation. Check the base server address and operation-level server overrides for relative URLs, and verify that the documentation tool opens the intended page.
Examples
These OpenAPI 3.0 examples compare an operation’s / link with an explicit documentation URL. Since / is permitted as a relative reference, its syntax alone does not establish that the link fails.
Before
{
"openapi": "3.0.0",
"info": {
"title": "Simple API Overview",
"version": "1.0.0",
"contact": {
"name": "contact",
"url": "https://www.google.com/",
"email": "user@gmail.com"
}
},
"paths": {
"/": {
"get": {
"operationId": "listVersionsv2",
"summary": "List API versions",
"externalDocs": {
"url": "/"
},
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "200 response",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"examples": {
"foo": {
"value": {
"versions": [
{
"status": "CURRENT",
"updated": "2011-01-21T11:33:21Z",
"id": "v2.0",
"links": [
{
"href": "http://127.0.0.1:8774/v2/",
"rel": "self"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
After
{
"openapi": "3.0.0",
"info": {
"title": "Simple API Overview",
"version": "1.0.0",
"contact": {
"name": "contact",
"url": "https://www.google.com/",
"email": "user@gmail.com"
}
},
"paths": {
"/": {
"get": {
"operationId": "listVersionsv2",
"summary": "List API versions",
"externalDocs": {
"url": "http://docs.my-api.com/store-orders.htm"
},
"responses": {
"200": {
"description": "200 response",
"content": {
"application/json": {
"examples": {
"foo": {
"value": {
"versions": [
{
"status": "CURRENT",
"updated": "2011-01-21T11:33:21Z",
"id": "v2.0",
"links": [
{
"href": "http://127.0.0.1:8774/v2/",
"rel": "self"
}
]
}
]
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
The revised operation identifies a documentation page. Check that the material actually describes this operation and replace the example address.