Alternatives to APIsec in SaaS

What middleBrick covers

  • Black-box scanning with no agents or code access
  • Risk scoring from A to F with prioritized findings
  • Covers OWASP API Top 10 (2023) and related frameworks
  • OpenAPI 3.x/2.0 parsing with spec-to-runtime comparison
  • Authenticated scanning with domain verification
  • Continuous monitoring and CI/CD integration options

Black-box scanning approach

The platform operates as a black-box scanner. You submit an API endpoint URL and receive a risk score from A to F along with prioritized findings. It requires no agents, no SDK integration, and no access to source code, making it applicable to any language, framework, or cloud environment. Scan duration is under one minute, using read-only HTTP methods (GET and HEAD) plus text-only POST for LLM probes. This approach suits teams that need quick insight without deployment overhead.

Detection coverage aligned to standards

Findings map to three frameworks: PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023). Detection covers 12 security categories, including authentication bypass, JWT misconfigurations such as alg=none or expired tokens, BOLA and IDOR via sequential ID enumeration, BFLA and privilege escalation attempts, over-exposed properties and mass-assignment surfaces, input validation issues like CORS wildcard usage and dangerous HTTP methods, rate limiting and oversized responses, data exposure including PII patterns and API key formats, encryption misconfigurations, SSRF probes against URL-accepting parameters, and inventory issues like missing versioning. For LLM-facing APIs, the scanner runs 18 adversarial probes across Quick, Standard, and Deep tiers, targeting system prompt extraction, instruction override, jailbreaks, data exfiltration, and token smuggling.

OpenAPI analysis and authenticated scanning

The tool parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 files with recursive $ref resolution, cross-referencing spec definitions against runtime behavior to identify undefined security schemes, sensitive fields, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. Authenticated scanning (available from Starter tier upward) supports Bearer, API key, Basic auth, and Cookie credentials. Authentication is gated by domain verification through DNS TXT records or an HTTP well-known file, ensuring only the domain owner can run scans with credentials. Header forwarding is limited to Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* headers.

Product features and continuous monitoring

The Web Dashboard centralizes scan results, score trends, and branded compliance PDF downloads. The CLI, published as an npm package, supports commands such as middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output. A GitHub Action can gate CI/CD, failing the build when the score drops below a defined threshold. The MCP Server enables scanning from AI coding assistants including Claude and Cursor. Continuous monitoring in Pro tier offers scheduled rescans every 6 hours, daily, weekly, or monthly, diff detection across scans, email alerts rate-limited to one per hour per API, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks that auto-disable after 5 consecutive failures.

Pricing and data handling

Free tier provides 3 scans per month and CLI access. Starter at 99 dollars per month supports 15 APIs, monthly scans, dashboard access, email alerts, and the MCP Server. Pro at 499 dollars per month covers 100 APIs with additional APIs billed at 7 dollars each, plus continuous monitoring, GitHub Action gates, CI/CD integration, Slack and Teams alerts, compliance reports, and signed webhooks. Enterprise at 2000 dollars per month offers unlimited APIs, custom rules, SSO, audit logs, SLA, and dedicated support. Scan data is deletable on demand and purged within 30 days of cancellation; data is never sold and is not used for model training.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the scanner perform intrusive tests like SQL injection?
No. The scanner uses read-only methods and does not send destructive payloads. SQL injection and command injection tests are outside scope.
Can it detect business logic vulnerabilities?
No. Business logic vulnerabilities require domain context and are not detectable through automated black-box scanning.
Which frameworks does it map findings to for compliance?
It 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 and helps prepare documentation.
Is sensitive data retained or shared?
No. Customer data is never sold and is not used for model training. Data can be deleted on demand and is purged within 30 days of account cancellation.