PCI-DSS 4.0 API requirement coverage

Requirement 8.3 and 8.5 mandate strong authentication for non‑human and human access, control over session tokens, and protection of credentials in transit and at rest. Requirement 6.5.10 calls for secure coding and protection against common vulnerabilities, including improper authentication and data exposure. APIs that expose authentication bypass, weak token handling, or leak sensitive data in headers and responses fail these controls.

Teams often misconfigure JWTs by allowing alg=none, using HS256 where asymmetric verification is required, omitting mandatory claims, or embedding sensitive information in payloads. Missing WWW-Authenticate compliance and improper security headers further weaken authentication and increase the risk of unauthorized access.

middleBrick maps findings to PCI-DSS 4.0 by detecting authentication misconfigurations, weak token handling, exposed secrets in error messages, and header inconsistencies. The scanner checks for JWT alg=none, weak key hints, token leakage in logs, and compliance with WWW-Authenticate standards to help you validate Requirement 8 controls.

SOC 2 Type II control criteria around logical access and data protection require strict management of identities, permissions, and data exposure. Overly permissive endpoints, mass assignment, and leakage of internal fields increase risk and complicate audit evidence collection.

In practice, APIs inadvertently expose internal identifiers, role fields, or sensitive PII such as emails and credit card numbers. Rate limits and oversized responses may indicate insufficient controls around resource consumption and data exposure. Debug endpoints and dangerous HTTP methods further widen the attack surface.

middleBrick supports SOC 2 Type II audit evidence by surfacing exposed PII patterns, API key formats, over‑exposed data fields, and missing rate‑limit headers. The scanner detects data exposure risks and helps you gather documentation for controls related to logical access and data protection.

OWASP API Top 10 (2023) provides a prioritized view of API risks, including broken authentication, excessive data exposure, and injection attacks. Requirement 10 of the OWASP list emphasizes security monitoring and rate limiting, while others focus on proper authentication, input validation, and configuration hygiene.

Many teams skip comprehensive coverage of all OWASP categories, relying on ad hoc checks or partial scans. This leaves gaps in areas such as SSRF indicators, unsafe consumption patterns, and LLM-specific adversarial techniques that can lead to prompt injection or data exfiltration.

middleBrick covers the OWASP API Top 10 (2023) by testing authentication bypass, BOLA and BFLA, input validation, SSRF indicators, and LLM security probes. The scanner runs multiple tiers of adversarial checks, including system prompt extraction, prompt injection, token smuggling, and data exfiltration attempts, to validate your API against known attack patterns.

Authenticated scans with Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies enable deeper validation of protected endpoints. To ensure scans are authorized, middleBrick requires domain verification via DNS TXT record or an HTTP well-known file that only the domain owner can place.

When credentials are provided, only a restricted allowlist of headers is forwarded: Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-*. This limits the scan to necessary authentication signals while avoiding unintended side effects.

middleBrick supports authenticated workflows in the Starter tier and above, allowing you to test protected routes and role‑based access controls. The scanner respects read‑only methods and does not execute destructive payloads, ensuring safe validation of authenticated scenarios.

A robust workflow starts with an initial scan against public endpoints, followed by authenticated scans for protected APIs. Track risk scores over time and use diff detection to identify new findings or resolved issues. For ongoing compliance, schedule regular rescans and align remediation with audit requirements.

middleBrick provides a web dashboard for managing scans, tracking score trends, and downloading branded compliance PDFs. The CLI enables scripted workflows, while the GitHub Action can gate CI/CD pipelines based on score thresholds. Pro tier adds scheduled rescans, email alerts, signed webhooks, and integration flexibility.

Note that middleBrick surfaces findings and provides guidance; it does not remediate code or replace human review for high‑risk audits. Use the tool to collect evidence and prioritize fixes, then validate corrections through your existing quality and compliance processes.