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What middleBrick covers
- Black-box scanning with read-only methods under one minute
- 12 OWASP API Top 10 categories including Authentication and Data Exposure
- OpenAPI 3.0/3.1 and Swagger 2.0 parsing with recursive $ref resolution
- Authenticated scanning with domain verification gate
- Pro-tier continuous monitoring with diff detection and alerts
- Integrations including dashboard, CLI, GitHub Action, and MCP Server
Black-box scanning for any stack
middleBrick is a self-service API security scanner that operates as a black-box solution. You submit a URL and receive a risk score from A to F 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 and the scanner uses read-only methods (GET and HEAD) plus text-only POST for LLM probes, avoiding any destructive testing.
Coverage aligned to OWASP API Top 10 and mapped frameworks
The scanner detects findings across 12 categories aligned to OWASP API Top 10 (2023), including Authentication bypass, BOLA and IDOR, BFLA and privilege escalation, and Data Exposure involving PII and API key patterns. Findings are mapped directly to three frameworks: PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023). For other frameworks, middleBrick helps you prepare for and supports audit evidence without claiming certification or compliance guarantees.
Authenticated scanning and domain verification
Starting at the Starter tier, authenticated scanning supports Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies. Domain verification is enforced through a DNS TXT record or an HTTP well-known file, ensuring only the domain owner can scan with credentials. The scanner forwards a restricted allowlist of headers, including Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* headers, to limit exposure during testing.
OpenAPI contract analysis and runtime correlation
middleBrick parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 files with recursive $ref resolution. It cross-references spec definitions against runtime findings to identify undefined security schemes, sensitive fields, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. This approach highlights discrepancies between declared design and actual behavior without requiring intrusive testing.
Continuous monitoring and integration options
With Pro tier, scheduled rescans can run every 6 hours, daily, weekly, or monthly. The system detects diffs between scans, reporting new findings, resolved findings, and score drift. Alerts are delivered via email at a rate-limited cadence of 1 per hour per API, and HMAC-SHA256 signed webhooks can notify external tools, auto-disabling after 5 consecutive failures. Integrations include a web dashboard, CLI (middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output), a GitHub Action for CI/CD gating, and an MCP Server for AI coding assistants.
Safety, data handling, and scope limitations
The scanner follows a strict 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; it is never sold or used for model training. Note that the tool does not fix or remediate issues, does not perform active SQL or command injection testing, does not detect business logic vulnerabilities, and does not replace a human pentester for high-stakes audits.