Invicti vs Kong Gateway WAF

Invicti

Model: Custom (enterprise, annual contract)

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Kong Gateway WAF

Model: Tiered (Plus per-gateway + Enterprise custom)

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Invicti

• Proof-Based Scanning

  When a vulnerability is found, Invicti attempts to safely exploit it and provides concrete proof. For SQL injection, it extracts actual data. For file inclusion, it reads a specific file. This eliminates the false positive problem that plagues most security scanners.

• DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing)

  Tests running web applications by sending crafted HTTP requests and analyzing responses. Finds SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, file inclusion, authentication flaws, and other OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities in production or staging environments.

• IAST (Interactive Application Security Testing)

  Instruments the application at runtime to provide deeper vulnerability detection. Combines external scanning with internal application visibility. Finds vulnerabilities that pure DAST scanning might miss, such as insecure deserialization or business logic flaws.

• API Security Testing

  Scans REST APIs, GraphQL endpoints, and SOAP services. Imports API definitions (OpenAPI/Swagger, WSDL, GraphQL schemas) and tests all endpoints for vulnerabilities. Critical for modern applications where APIs are the primary attack surface.

• CI/CD Pipeline Integration

  Integrates with Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and other CI/CD platforms. Automatically scans applications as part of the deployment pipeline. Fails builds if critical vulnerabilities are found.

• WAF Rule Export

  Exports discovered vulnerabilities as WAF rules that can be imported into WAF products. Creates targeted virtual patches for specific vulnerabilities found during scanning. Bridges the gap between vulnerability discovery and runtime mitigation.

• Compliance Reporting

  Generates compliance reports mapped to PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and OWASP Top 10 requirements. Useful for demonstrating due diligence during audits and regulatory reviews.

• Single-Page Application Support

  Full support for scanning modern JavaScript applications built with React, Angular, or Vue. Invicti executes JavaScript, interacts with dynamic page elements, and discovers application states that traditional crawlers miss.

Kong Gateway WAF

• Gateway-Embedded WAF

  WAF runs as a plugin inside the Kong Gateway process, inspecting API traffic at the same layer where routing, authentication, and rate limiting occur. No separate WAF appliance or additional proxy hop needed.

• OWASP Top 10 Protection

  Built-in protection against common web application attacks including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, command injection, and path traversal at the API gateway layer.

• Plugin Ecosystem

  Over 100 plugins for security, traffic control, authentication, and observability. WAF works alongside bot detection, IP restriction, CORS, ACL, and rate limiting plugins in a configurable execution chain.

• Third-Party WAF Integrations

  Open plugin architecture supports third-party WAF engines including open-appsec (ML-driven detection) and Wallarm (API security). Teams can choose the WAF engine that fits their threat model.

• Kubernetes-Native Deployment

  Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Kubernetes Operator provide native Kubernetes integration. WAF policies can be managed declaratively through Kubernetes CRDs alongside gateway configuration.

• Hybrid Mode

  Cloud-managed control plane with self-hosted data planes. WAF policies are centrally managed and distributed to data planes running in any environment, including air-gapped networks.

• AI Gateway

  Dedicated AI gateway capabilities including LLM proxy, token-based rate limiting, semantic caching, PII sanitization, prompt guardrails, and MCP server proxy. WAF protects AI endpoints alongside traditional APIs.

• Declarative Configuration

  Gateway and WAF configuration can be managed as code through declarative YAML/JSON, enabling GitOps workflows and CI/CD pipeline integration for security policy changes.

• Advanced Rate Limiting

  Enterprise-grade rate limiting with sliding window counters, consumer groups, and cluster-wide synchronization. Works in conjunction with WAF to prevent both application-layer attacks and abuse.