Alternatives to Apigee for AppSec engineers

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What middleBrick covers

  • Black-box scanning with risk scores A–F under one minute
  • Coverage of 12 OWASP API Top 10 categories
  • OpenAPI 3.0/3.1/Swagger 2.0 parsing with $ref resolution
  • Authenticated scanning with strict header allowlist
  • Programmatic access via CLI, API, GitHub Action, and MCP Server

Black-box scanning for any stack

Unlike platform-specific tools, this scanner operates as a black-box solution. You submit an API 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 completion typically occurs under one minute using read-only methods (GET and HEAD) and text-only POST for LLM probes.

Detection coverage aligned to industry standards

The scanner evaluates 12 security categories aligned to the OWASP API Top 10 (2023). Findings map directly to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 controls. Detection capabilities include:

  • Authentication bypass and JWT misconfigurations such as alg=none, weak key assumptions, expired tokens, and missing claims.
  • BOLA and IDOR via sequential ID enumeration and active adjacent-ID probing.
  • BFLA and privilege escalation through admin endpoint probing and role/permission leakage.
  • Property over-exposure and internal field leakage relevant to mass-assumption surfaces.
  • Input validation issues including CORS wildcard usage, dangerous HTTP methods, and debug endpoints.
  • Rate limiting and resource handling indicators like missing rate-limit headers and oversized responses.
  • Data exposure patterns including emails, Luhn-validated card numbers, context-aware SSNs, and API key formats.
  • Encryption and transport misconfigurations such as missing HTTPS redirects, HSTS, and cookie flags.
  • SSRF indicators involving URL-accepting parameters and internal IP probing.
  • Inventory issues like missing versioning and legacy path patterns.
  • Unsafe consumption surfaces including excessive third-party URLs and webhook endpoints.
  • LLM and AI security probes covering prompt extraction, instruction override, jailbreaks, and token smuggling.

OpenAPI-aware analysis

The scanner parses OpenAPI 3.0, 3.1, and Swagger 2.0 documents with recursive $ref resolution. It cross-references spec definitions against runtime behavior to surface undefined security schemes, sensitive fields, deprecated operations, and missing pagination. This approach helps identify discrepancies between declared design and actual behavior without requiring access to implementation code.

Authenticated scanning and safety controls

Authenticated scanning is available from the Starter tier onward, supporting Bearer tokens, API keys, Basic auth, and cookies. A domain verification gate ensures only the domain owner can scan with credentials, using DNS TXT records or an HTTP well-known file. The scanner enforces a strict header allowlist including Authorization, X-API-Key, Cookie, and X-Custom-* headers. Safety measures include read-only methods only, blocking of private IPs and cloud metadata endpoints, and on-demand data deletion within 30 days of cancellation.

Product options and programmability

Workflow integration options include a Web Dashboard for scanning, report viewing, and score trend tracking; a CLI via the middlebrick npm package using middlebrick scan <url> with JSON or text output; a GitHub Action for CI/CD gating based on score thresholds; an MCP Server for AI coding assistants; and a programmatic API for custom integrations. The Pro tier adds scheduled rescans, diff detection, email alerts, and signed webhooks, while the Enterprise tier supports unlimited APIs and custom rules.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does this scanner perform active exploitation like SQL injection?
No. The scanner uses read-only methods and does not send destructive payloads or perform active SQL injection or command injection testing.
Which compliance frameworks does scanning results directly map to?
Findings map directly to PCI-DSS 4.0, SOC 2 Type II, and OWASP API Top 10 (2023). For other frameworks, the scanner supports audit evidence collection and control alignment where applicable.
Can authenticated scans be run in CI/CD pipelines?
Yes. Authenticated scans are supported from the Starter tier, and the GitHub Action can enforce score thresholds in CI/CD workflows.
Is continuous monitoring available?
Continuous monitoring is included in the Pro tier, with scheduled rescans, diff detection, and alerting capabilities.

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