42Crunch vs Prompt Security

What middleBrick covers

Black-box scanning with no agents or code access required
12 OWASP API Top 10 (2023) detection categories
OpenAPI 3.0/3.1 and Swagger 2.0 parsing with $ref resolution
Authenticated scans with strict header allowlist
Continuous monitoring and scan diffing in Pro tier
Multiple integration options including CLI and GitHub Action

Target audience and deployment model

middleBrick is a self-service black-box scanner for teams that need fast, low-friction API risk discovery without requiring code access or agents. You submit a URL and receive a letter-grade risk score with prioritized findings in under a minute. In contrast, Prompt Security positions itself as a developer-centric platform that integrates into CI/CD and development workflows, emphasizing policy-as-code and developer feedback loops. If your team wants a lightweight scanning step that does not require SDKs or authentication, the self-service model is a simpler operational fit.

Feature scope and detection coverage

middleBrick scans API surfaces for 12 categories aligned to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), including authentication bypass, BOLA, BFLA, property over-exposure, input validation, rate limiting, data exposure, encryption, SSRF, inventory issues, unsafe consumption, and LLM/AI security through adversarial probe tiers. The tool also parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 with recursive $ref resolution and cross-references spec definitions against runtime behavior. Prompt Security focuses heavily on application-layer vulnerabilities such as prompt injection, jailbreaks, and LLM-specific risks, with less emphasis on traditional API security categories like authentication misconfigurations or schema-based authorization flaws. For organizations needing broad API security coverage mapped to OWASP API Top 10, the scope of middleBrick is more comprehensive for API-specific issues.

Authenticated scanning and access controls

middleBrick supports authenticated scans at the Starter tier and above, including Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies. Domain verification is enforced via DNS TXT records or an HTTP well-known file so that only the domain owner can scan with credentials. The scanner forwards a strict allowlist of headers, limiting traffic to Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* headers. Prompt Security’s authenticated workflows are oriented around developer environments and CI/CD contexts, with configuration focused on policy enforcement and test assertions rather than credential domain gating. If your security workflow requires strict control over which headers are sent during authenticated scans, middleBrick’s header allowlist and domain gate may align better with cautious operational practices.

Pricing tiers and monitoring posture

middleBrick offers a free tier with three scans per month and CLI access, a Starter plan at 15 APIs with monthly scans and email alerts, a Pro plan with continuous monitoring, scheduled rescans, diff detection, and compliance reporting, and an Enterprise tier with unlimited APIs and SSO. Continuous monitoring in Pro includes diffs between scans, hourly rate-limited email alerts, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks that auto-disable after repeated failures. Prompt Security’s pricing and monitoring model is oriented around developer usage and policy gating in pipelines, with less emphasis on long-term scan diffing and compliance report generation. Teams that require ongoing tracking of security score drift and scheduled rescans will find the Pro monitoring features more aligned with sustained risk management.

Integration ecosystem and output formats

middleBrick provides multiple integration options including a Web Dashboard for reports and trend tracking, a CLI via an npm package with JSON and text output, a GitHub Action for CI/CD gating, an MCP server for AI coding assistants, and a programmable API for custom integrations. Prompt Security emphasizes integration into development tooling and CI pipelines, with a focus on policy-as-code enforcement and developer feedback. For organizations with existing automation around GitHub Actions or custom tooling, both platforms offer API-based integration, but middleBrick’s inclusion of an MCP server offers an additional channel for AI-assisted security queries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does either tool perform active exploitation like SQL injection?

Neither tool performs active exploitation such as SQL injection or command injection; they focus on detection and reporting rather than intrusive payload execution.

Which tool provides stronger compliance mappings?

middleBrick maps findings directly to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023). For other frameworks, it supports audit evidence collection and control alignment without claiming certification or guaranteed compliance.

Can these tools replace a human pentester for high-risk audits?

They cannot replace a human pentester for high-stakes audits, as business logic vulnerabilities and advanced adversarial techniques require domain expertise that automated scanners do not cover.

How are LLM-specific risks handled?

middleBrick includes LLM/AI security testing with adversarial probes across multiple tiers, focusing on jailbreaks, data exfiltration attempts, and prompt injection techniques. Prompt Security centers its offering more deeply on LLM application security and developer-facing guardrails.