Alternatives to 42Crunch for Auditor-requested API inventory

When auditors request a complete API inventory, the evidence must be timely, repeatable, and tied to a recognized control framework. middleBrick is a black-box scanner designed to discover and assess APIs without requiring code access, agents, or SDK integration. It parses OpenAPI specifications, resolves recursive $ref chains, and correlates spec definitions with runtime behavior to surface undefined security schemes, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. The tool maps findings to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), supports audit evidence for SOC 2 Type II, and aligns with control validation required under PCI-DSS 4.0. It does not replace an auditor, and it does not certify compliance.

middleBrick performs black-box scanning using read-only methods (GET and HEAD) and text-only POST for LLM probes, which minimizes operational risk. The scanner identifies an API through domain verification gates, ensuring only the domain owner can submit credentials for authenticated scans. Supported authentication methods include Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies, with a strict allowlist of headers that are forwarded. The tool discovers inventory-related issues such as missing versioning, legacy path patterns, and server fingerprinting. It also detects unsafe consumption patterns, including excessive third-party URLs and webhook/callback surfaces that increase supply chain risk.

The scanner evaluates 12 security categories aligned to the OWASP API Top 10 (2023), enabling evidence collection for audits that reference SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS 4.0. It detects authentication bypasses, JWT misconfigurations such as alg=none or exposed sensitive claims, and authorization issues like BOLA/IDOR and BFLA/privilege escalation. Additional coverage includes input validation anomalies (CORS wildcards, dangerous HTTP methods), data exposure risks (PII patterns, API key formats, error leakage), and encryption misconfigurations (HTTPS redirects, HSTS, cookie flags). SSRF probes target URL-accepting parameters and internal IP detection, while LLM security testing includes 18 adversarial probe types across multiple scan tiers.

middleBrick parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 documents and resolves nested $ref structures to build a complete interface model. It cross-references the spec against runtime observations to highlight discrepancies such as undefined security schemes, sensitive fields exposed through over-provisioned endpoints, and deprecated operations that should be retired. The analysis identifies missing pagination controls and security scheme mismatches, providing concrete evidence that helps teams address gaps highlighted during an auditor-requested inventory. These capabilities support audit evidence generation without claiming certification or compliance status.

For recurring inventory validation, middleBrick offers a Web Dashboard for scan management, trend tracking, and downloadable compliance PDFs. The CLI supports on-demand scans with JSON or text output, making it suitable for inclusion in scripts or manual auditor workflows. The GitHub Action can gate CI/CD pipelines based on score thresholds, while the MCP server enables scanning from AI-assisted development environments. Pro tier features include scheduled rescans, diff detection across runs, email alerts rate-limited to one per hour per API, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks with auto-disable after five consecutive failures.