Imperva RASP embeds security directly into Java and .NET applications, protecting them from the inside. The main draw is the two-way integration with Imperva’s WAF — attack patterns detected by RASP feed into WAF rules, and vice versa.
The product evolved from Imperva’s acquisition of Prevoty in 2018 . It requires no code changes and no tuning.
Deploy the agent, and it starts blocking attacks based on behavioral analysis rather than pattern matching.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Languages | Java, .NET |
| WAF integration | Two-way threat intelligence sharing with Imperva WAF |
| Deployment | Cloud, on-premises, hybrid |
| Tuning | Zero tuning required |
| Detection | ML-based behavioral analytics |
| Attack types | SQLi, XSS, RCE, auth bypass, business logic |
| File integrity | Built-in file integrity monitoring |
| Container support | Kubernetes and containers |
| Origin | Prevoty acquisition |
What is Imperva RASP?
Imperva RASP sits inside the application runtime, monitoring how requests flow through code. When it spots an attack pattern — SQL injection, XSS, remote code execution, or business logic abuse — it blocks the request before it reaches vulnerable code.
What makes it different from standalone RASP products is the WAF integration. RASP sees attacks that bypass the WAF (encryption, encoding tricks, zero-days).
The WAF sees network-level threats RASP cannot. Together, they share threat intelligence and coordinate blocking across both layers.
Attack patterns detected by RASP automatically inform WAF rules. The WAF feeds network-level threat intelligence back to RASP.
Both share a single dashboard for security visibility across network and application layers.
ML-based behavioral analytics detect attacks without rule tuning. The agent learns normal application behavior and flags deviations.
No signature updates or manual policy adjustments needed after deployment.
What are Imperva RASP’s key features?
Runtime Protection
The RASP agent protects against:
- SQL injection — context-aware detection inside the database query builder
- Cross-site scripting (XSS) — blocks malicious scripts at the rendering layer
- Remote code execution — prevents unauthorized command execution
- Authentication bypasses — detects forged or manipulated auth tokens
- Business logic attacks — identifies abuse of application workflows
Attack Analytics
Imperva provides attack visibility through:
- Attack visualization and timelines
- Attacker profiling across sessions
- Threat intelligence correlation
- Incident response workflows
File Integrity Monitoring
Monitors file system changes within the application environment. Detects unauthorized modifications to configuration files, application binaries, and system files.
How Imperva RASP shares intelligence with Imperva WAF
The bidirectional WAF↔RASP feedback loop is the editorial moat — no other commercial RASP I have reviewed couples runtime telemetry to a WAF in both directions. The flow runs in two passes.
Outbound from RASP to WAF: when the in-app agent confirms an exploit attempt — say a deserialization gadget that survived perimeter filtering — the agent emits a structured event back to the Imperva control plane. The WAF policy engine ingests that signal, generates or tightens a corresponding rule, and propagates the new rule across all WAF tenants protecting that customer. The next attempt of the same exploit is blocked at the edge before it reaches any application.
Inbound from WAF to RASP: WAF threat intelligence — IPs, fingerprints, attacker session profiles — feeds into RASP’s decision logic so the agent can correlate a request seen at runtime with the broader campaign hitting the perimeter. That joint context lets RASP block lower-confidence in-app signals it would otherwise pass.
If you do not run Imperva WAF, this entire moat collapses. That is the single largest dependency to evaluate before adopting Imperva RASP.
How do I get started with Imperva RASP?
Organizations already invested in the Imperva security ecosystem. If you run Imperva WAF, adding RASP gives you coordinated protection across the network and application layers through a single dashboard.
For standalone RASP without a WAF dependency, look at Contrast Protect or Dynatrace .
What does Imperva RASP integrate with?
Imperva WAF
DDoS Protection
API Security
Data SecurityWhen to Use Imperva RASP
Imperva RASP fits organizations that already use Imperva WAF or other Imperva products and want coordinated runtime protection. The zero-tuning approach and WAF integration make it straightforward to deploy.
It is less suited for teams that want standalone RASP without an Imperva WAF dependency, organizations running languages beyond Java and .NET, or those looking for open-source alternatives.
Imperva RASP product lineage: Prevoty → Imperva → Thales
The lineage is the most interesting story on this page, and it explains both the product’s strengths and its current end-of-sale trajectory.
Prevoty was founded around 2013 to commercialize a runtime application self-protection approach grounded in language-theoretic security — analyzing how inputs flow through an application’s data model rather than matching known attack signatures. Imperva acquired Prevoty in 2019 and rebranded the agent as Imperva RASP, layering on the WAF integration that became the product’s signature differentiator.
Imperva itself was owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo from 2019 onward. In December 2023, Thales Group acquired Imperva for approximately USD 3.6 billion , folding it into Thales’ cybersecurity portfolio alongside Cloud Protection & Licensing.
Through 2025, Imperva (under Thales) communicated an end-of-sale and end-of-support path for the standalone RASP product on its customer community, citing the broader “Security Anywhere” strategy that consolidates application protection around Imperva WAF, API Security, DDoS, and Bot Management. The lineage that took fifteen-plus years to build — Prevoty to Imperva to Thales — is now winding down as a standalone SKU.
Imperva RASP alternatives in 2026
Given the end-of-sale path, this is the single most important section on the page. Five realistic alternatives, ordered by how closely they match Imperva RASP’s positioning:
- Contrast Protect / ADR — broadest language coverage in the commercial RASP market (six-plus languages), deeper data-flow tracing rooted in the same lineage of runtime instrumentation. Closest replacement for organizations that valued the IAST-adjacent telemetry quality.
- Datadog Application Security — APM-coupled deployment via a single agent flag if you already pay for Datadog APM. Largest realistic landing spot for net-new RASP buyers in 2026.
- Dynatrace — single-agent runtime protection bundled into the Dynatrace observability platform; strong fit for teams already standardized on Dynatrace for APM.
- Waratek — Java-only runtime protection with a virtual-patching emphasis. Narrower than Imperva RASP on language coverage but stronger on Java-specific compliance use cases.
- Stay inside the Imperva/Thales stack — if the procurement constraint is “remain on Imperva,” the runtime story now consolidates around Imperva WAF , Imperva API Security, Imperva DDoS Protection, and Imperva Advanced Bot Protection.
For a head-to-head, see Contrast Protect vs Imperva RASP and the wider RASP tools directory .
How I evaluated Imperva RASP
I reviewed the Imperva product datasheet and runtime application self-protection page (now hosted under Thales’ web properties), the Imperva customer community post announcing the RASP end-of-sale, the Thales-Imperva acquisition press release, Gartner Peer Insights review snippets, and the in-product documentation on agent deployment. Pricing is sales-gated and not published publicly, so this review does not include per-application or per-server pricing — Imperva RASP is typically scoped per application count and bundled with Imperva WAF or the broader Imperva Application Security suite. I cross-checked the product lineage against Prevoty’s founding history and the Imperva-Prevoty 2019 acquisition announcement.
