Alternatives to APIsec for CTOs

middleBrick is a self-service API security scanner that operates as a black-box solution. You submit a target URL and receive a risk score from A to F with prioritized findings. It requires no agents, no SDK integration, and no code access, and it works with any language, framework, or cloud environment. Scans complete in under a minute using read-only methods such as GET and HEAD, with text-only POST allowed for LLM probes. This approach suits teams that want lightweight coverage without runtime instrumentation or changes to deployment pipelines.

The scanner detects issues across 12 categories aligned to the OWASP API Top 10 (2023). It identifies authentication bypasses, JWT misconfigurations such as alg=none or expired tokens, and security header violations. It probes for BOLA and IDOR via sequential ID enumeration and active adjacent-ID checks, and it tests for BFLA and privilege escalation through admin endpoint discovery and role leakage. Additional categories include property authorization over-exposure, input validation issues like CORS wildcards and dangerous methods, rate limiting and resource consumption patterns, and data exposure risks such as PII, API keys, and error leakage. The tool also covers encryption misconfigurations, SSRF probes targeting internal endpoints, inventory management gaps, unsafe consumption surfaces, and LLM/AI security through 18 adversarial probe tiers.

middleBrick parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 files with recursive $ref resolution, cross-referencing spec definitions against runtime behavior. This helps identify undefined security schemes, sensitive fields, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. For authenticated scans, supported methods include 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 domain owners can scan with credentials. A strict header allowlist limits forwarded headers to Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* to reduce noise and credential exposure.

The Web Dashboard centralizes scans, report viewing, score trend tracking, and downloadable compliance PDFs. The CLI, distributed as an npm package, supports commands such as middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output for scripting. A GitHub Action enables CI/CD gating, failing builds when scores drop below a configurable threshold. An MCP Server allows scanning from AI coding assistants including Claude and Cursor. An API client provides programmatic access for custom integrations. Continuous monitoring in higher tiers offers scheduled rescans every 6 hours, daily, weekly, or monthly, with diff detection for new or resolved findings and score drift. Alerts are rate-limited and delivered via email, Slack, or Teams, with HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks that auto-disable after repeated failures.

middleBrick adopts a read-only posture and never sends destructive payloads. Private IPs, localhost, and cloud metadata endpoints are blocked at multiple layers. Customer data is deletable on demand and purged within 30 days of cancellation, and it is never sold or used for model training. The tool does not fix, patch, block, or remediate issues; it detects and reports with remediation guidance. It does not perform active SQL injection or command injection testing, which requires intrusive payloads outside its scope. It does not detect business logic vulnerabilities, blind SSRF relying on out-of-band infrastructure, or replace human pentesters for high-stakes audits. These limitations are surfaced explicitly to support realistic expectations.