Chimera

Intentionally vulnerable application with 456+ endpoints across 25+ industry verticals for WAF testing, security research, and education. Bundles a Starlette/uvicorn API and React web portal in a single image.

Part of the Inferno Lab security testing suite.

Quick Start

docker run -p 8880:8880 -e DEMO_MODE=full nickcrew/chimera

Configuration

Variable Default Description
PORT 8880 Server port
DEMO_MODE strict full = all vulnerabilities enabled; strict = dangerous endpoints return 403
USE_DATABASE false Enable SQLite for real SQL injection testing
DATABASE_PATH demo.db SQLite location (when USE_DATABASE=true)
DEMO_THROUGHPUT_MODE false Enable high-throughput testing endpoints
LOG_LEVEL info Logging level

Enable real SQL injection

docker run -p 8880:8880 \
  -e DEMO_MODE=full \
  -e USE_DATABASE=true \
  nickcrew/chimera

Industry Domains

456+ endpoints spanning: E-commerce, Banking, Healthcare, Insurance, SaaS, Government, Telecom, Energy/SCADA, Payments, Mobile, Loyalty, ICS/OT, GenAI, and more. Full OWASP Top 10 coverage with 200+ intentional vulnerabilities.

Using with Apparatus

Apparatus is a security simulation platform. Chimera has a built-in integration that enables ghost traffic generation and coordinated attack simulations when both are running:

docker run -d --name apparatus -p 8090:8090 -e DEMO_MODE=true nickcrew/apparatus
docker run -d --name chimera -p 8880:8880 \
  -e DEMO_MODE=full \
  -e APPARATUS_ENABLED=true \
  -e APPARATUS_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8090 \
  nickcrew/chimera

Apparatus integration variables

Variable Default Description
APPARATUS_ENABLED false Enable Apparatus integration
APPARATUS_BASE_URL http://127.0.0.1:8090 Apparatus service URL
APPARATUS_TIMEOUT_MS 5000 Timeout for Apparatus requests

Using with Crucible

Crucible is an attack simulation and assessment engine. Its scenario catalog includes attacks designed for Chimera’s endpoints — SQL injection, IDOR, JWT manipulation, SSRF, and more.

docker run -d --name chimera -p 8880:8880 -e DEMO_MODE=full nickcrew/chimera
docker run -d --name crucible -p 3000:3000 \
  -e CRUCIBLE_TARGET_URL=http://host.docker.internal:8880 \
  nickcrew/crucible

Full Security Lab (Compose)

Run all three Inferno Lab products — Chimera as the target, Apparatus for simulation, and Crucible for assessments:

services:
  chimera:
    image: nickcrew/chimera
    ports:
      - "8880:8880"
    environment:
      DEMO_MODE: "full"
      APPARATUS_ENABLED: "true"
      APPARATUS_BASE_URL: http://apparatus:8090
    networks:
      - lab

  apparatus:
    image: nickcrew/apparatus
    ports:
      - "8090:8090"
      - "8443:8443"
    environment:
      DEMO_MODE: "true"
    networks:
      - lab

  crucible:
    image: nickcrew/crucible
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      CRUCIBLE_TARGET_URL: http://chimera:8880
    volumes:
      - crucible-data:/app/data
    networks:
      - lab

networks:
  lab:

volumes:
  crucible-data:

docker compose up -d
Service URL
Chimera Portal localhost:8880
Chimera Swagger localhost:8880/swagger
Apparatus Dashboard localhost:8090/dashboard
Crucible UI localhost:3000

Also available on PyPI

pip install chimera-api
chimera-api --port 8880 --demo-mode full