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.