open-appsec is an open-source, machine-learning–powered Web Application & API Security (WAAP) solution that protects modern applications and APIs against advanced threats without relying on complex signature updates. It is built as a lightweight security layer that integrates directly with NGINX, Envoy, Kubernetes Ingress, Docker, or NGINX Proxy Manager.

Unlike traditional WAF solutions that depend heavily on static rule sets, open-appsec leverages machine learning and behavioral analysis to detect zero-day attacks, application-layer exploits, bot activity, and API abuse. At the same time, it remains compatible with OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS)–style rule-based protections, allowing organizations to fine-tune their defenses.

open-appsec can be deployed in two main modes:

• Locally Managed – administrators control policies via YAML configuration files and CLI tools.
• Centrally Managed – integrates with the open-appsec SaaS management console, providing a full-featured WebUI for monitoring, analytics, and policy management.

Key features include:

• Protection against OWASP Top 10 risks, zero-day threats, and bot traffic.
• Native support for modern deployment environments (Docker, Kubernetes, cloud-native proxies).
• Flexible operation modes: rule-based CRS or ML-powered prevention.
• Open-source, with optional cloud-based management.

By combining traditional rule-based defenses with adaptive ML-driven detection, open-appsec offers a next-generation approach to application security that is both developer-friendly and operations-ready.