SAST, meaning Static Application Security Testing, is an application security testing methodology that is used to analyze application source code to identify potential security vulnerabilities. The main goal of SAST testing is to identify potential security vulnerabilities and compliance risks in the code that could lead to a security breach. This approach is commonly used in the software development process to identify security risks early, when they can be more quickly remediated.
Otherwise, if they are discovered following a security assessment, prior to launch, it can be more costly and complicated to fix. Using SAST at the earliest stages prevents security issues from being introduced in the first place, rather than waiting for vulnerabilities to be discovered later when using a methodology that checks complete applications, or even worse, in the event of a security breach which causes business downtime or reputational damage.
SAST tools are usually implemented at the earliest stages of the Software Development Life Cycle (SLDC), during coding and testing. AppSec teams will generally set predefined rules which determine which errors and vulnerabilities need to be identified, and the best SAST solutions will also leverage a wide array of preset rules and scanning templates.
Why is integrating a SAST tool crucial within a Security Program?
It is important to note that SAST is just one component of a comprehensive application security program. SAST can help identify potential vulnerabilities in an application’s source code, and should be implemented as part of a holistic application security platform that also identifies other vulnerabilities, such as those that may arise from misconfigured servers, insecure network connections, or vulnerabilities in third-party software components.
However, there are many important reasons to implement SAST. One of the key benefits of SAST is that it can be integrated into the software development process early on, giving real-time feedback, and allowing developers to address security issues before they become more difficult and expensive to fix. Additionally, SAST can help organizations comply with industry regulations and standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
As SAST scans all of your codebase, your AppSec teams don’t need to decide what to scan. Additionally, SAST is easy to automate, and teams can set up scans to run at any stage of the SLDC.
How Can SAST Tools Be Effectively Implemented?
Effective implementation of Static Application Security Testing (SAST) involves several crucial steps. Here are some of the key steps that can help ensure successful SAST implementation:
Selection of appropriate SAST tool
Choosing the right SAST tool is important to ensure accurate and effective analysis of an application’s source code. Factors such as language support, scalability, and reporting capabilities should be considered when selecting a tool.
Integration into the development process
SAST should be integrated into the SLDC as early as possible to identify security vulnerabilities early on. This involves setting up SAST as part of the development pipeline and ensuring that it is regularly executed as part of the build process.
Configure the tool accurately
Once the SAST tool is selected, it needs to be properly configured to ensure accurate analysis of the code. This includes defining the scope of the analysis, setting up rules and policies, and customizing the analysis settings based on the specific needs of the organization.
Analyze and triage results
The SAST tool will generate a large number of results, so it is important to have a process in place to analyze and triage the findings. This involves prioritizing the results based on their exploitability, severity and relevance, assigning them to the appropriate developer or team, and tracking the status of the remediation efforts.
Remediate vulnerabilities
Once the vulnerabilities have been identified and prioritized, developers need to remediate them in a timely manner. This involves fixing the code and testing the changes to validate that they do not introduce any new vulnerabilities. Robust SAST tools will offer advanced features, such as finding the best fix location for developers.
Implement continuous improvement
SAST is an iterative process, and there is always room for improvement. Organizations should regularly review their SAST process to identify areas for improvement, such as refining the analysis rules, optimizing the workflow, or updating the tool.
Key Features of a Robust SAST Security Solution
To help you to choose the right SAST solution, you need to know more than simply answering the question, what does SAST stand for?
Here are nine questions to ask your SAST vendor:
- Can I perform deep and wide scans? Sometimes teams will want to know every potential vulnerability including zero-days, and other times they will want to scan widely – uncovering a high level view of the most critical vulnerabilities. Can your tool do both?
- What presets do you offer? SAST tools should have template rulesets that come out of the box, to meet common use cases such as compliance with PCI DSS or FISMA, or to cover the most common threats.
- Do you include auto-remediation? AI is a powerful tool in application security testing, and robust SAST solutions will include auto-remediation features that automatically suggest code to fix vulnerabilities.
- Do you use Application Security Posture Management? ASPM allows you to ingest all of your data from all of your tools into a single dashboard, viewing apps by risk level and providing guidance on mitigation and risk reduction.
- Are you application-centric? Does your SAST tool scan in silos, or can you see how application flows interact and build connections? Look for features such as data-flow analysis and symbolic execution.
- How do you reduce false positives and negatives? This is a common issue with SAST, and the problem can be reduced with the help of a customizable query language and the ability to fine-tune scanning.
- Do you scan uncompiled code? Ask about the ability to scan new or changed code incrementally to save time and resources, as well as the option to scan at the repository level, which reduces the reliance on rebuilds.
- Can you direct developers to best-fix locations? By looking at the application holistically, developers can be empowered to make the fix themselves, often solving multiple vulnerabilities with a single fix, dramatically reducing MTTR.
- Will you be able to scan in real-time? Real-time scanning in the IDE provides instant feedback, and protects against vulnerabilities introduced by human-generated code, as well as any issues with AI-generated code written by tools such as GitHub Copilot.
- How do you hero developers? How will this SAST tool help developers to learn as they work, empowering them with added security skills to add to their bow without taking them from their flow of work?
- How many languages do you support? SAST is limited by its language support, with a strong code dependency. The more languages and frameworks your SAST tool supports, the less of an issue this will be for your AppSec teams.
- Is the SAST tool integrated into development? The success of your solution hinges on developer adoption. If your SAST lives where they work, this is far more likely. Think about integrating with the IDE, SCM solutions, CI/CD tools, and more.
By asking these key questions during discovery, organizations can effectively implement SAST and improve the security of their applications.
SAST vs DAST: How Is SAST Different From DAST?
SAST and DAST are two different types of application security testing that are used to identify and address security vulnerabilities in software applications. Some people describe SAST as white-box testing, and DAST as black-box testing. While both types of testing are important components of a comprehensive security program, they differ in how they are performed and the types of vulnerabilities they can detect.
As we’ve discussed, SAST, or Static Application Security Testing, is a type of testing that analyzes an application’s source code for potential security vulnerabilities without executing the code. The SAST code scanning detects typical coding errors and vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting (XSS) among others. The benefits of using SAST during code review is that as SAST is typically performed during the development phase, before the code is deployed, it identifies vulnerabilities that could be introduced during the coding process.
DAST, or Dynamic Application Security Testing, is a type of testing that analyzes an application while it is running to identify potential security vulnerabilities. It does not require source code. DAST tools simulate attacks on the application by sending requests and analyzing the responses to identify vulnerabilities, such as injection attacks, authentication issues, and session management flaws, among others. DAST is typically performed after the code is deployed, in a test environment that mimics the production environment, and is intended to identify vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.
To compare SAST vs DAST, SAST is a type of testing that analyzes an application’s source code for potential security vulnerabilities, while DAST is a type of testing that analyzes an application while it is running to identify potential security vulnerabilities. Both types of testing are important for a comprehensive security program, and organizations should consider using both SAST and DAST as part of their overall security strategy.
What is the Difference Between SAST and SCA?
While SAST is primarily used to find vulnerabilities in source code, Software Composition Analysis, or SCA is a tool used for looking at third party code dependencies, and finding vulnerabilities in open source components.
Today’s applications are not just built with code, and developers regularly leverage open source libraries and packages to build applications, saving them the work of building elements from scratch. However, open source libraries are prone to vulnerabilities and can even include malicious content injected by threat actors. Software Composition Analysis checks for known vulnerabilities in open source packages, and also checks for legal and compliance issues that developers may not be aware of. It uncovers details that SAST does not, such as license information and version history.
Both SAST and SCA are critical components of application security, but they are not interchangeable. SAST scans source code, while SCA uncovers vulnerabilities in open source components.
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What Are The Key Benefits Of SAST?
SAST can help identify security vulnerabilities in an application’s source code early in the software development lifecycle before the code is deployed. This allows organizations to address security issues at a much earlier stage and avoid the costs and reputational damage associated with a security breach.
Cost savings
SAST can aid in cost savings by identifying security vulnerabilities in the early stages of development, which can reduce the expenses associated with fixing these problems. The cost of fixing security issues increases as they move further down the development pipeline, so early detection can lead to significant cost savings compared with fixing issues in code developed weeks or even months previously.
Improved code quality
SAST can help improve the quality of an application’s source code by identifying common coding errors and vulnerabilities. By fixing these issues, developers can improve the overall quality of the code, making it more stable and secure.
Compliance with industry standards
SAST can help organizations comply with industry standards and regulations related to security, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Compliance with these standards is often required for organizations that handle sensitive data, such as credit card information.
Improved security posture
By identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities early in the development process, SAST can help improve an organization’s overall security posture. This can reduce the risk of a security breach, protect sensitive data, and improve customer trust and confidence in the organization’s products and services.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is an important tool to have as part of a unified application security platform like Checkmarx One. By viewing SAST reports alongside reports from additional application security tools such as Software Composition Analysis, Container security and IaC security, and DAST, AppSec teams can get a more accurate and comprehensive view of their application security posture, positioned within their business context.
FAQ
What are the benefits of SAST security for developers?
By analyzing source code without execution, SAST detects flaws such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS), ensuring code is secure as early as possible in the SDLC. Early detection reduces the cost and effort of fixing vulnerabilities after release, as addressing security issues post-deployment is more complex and time-consuming.
When SAST integrates seamlessly with development workflows, it can provide real-time feedback as developers write code, improving coding practices and boosting overall security awareness. Automated and continuous SAST testing increases development efficiency by identifying potential risks without requiring developers to manually scan code or in some cases even leave their IDE.
Additionally, by addressing security concerns upfront, SAST minimizes the likelihood of data breaches, enhancing the trustworthiness of the application while ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations.
How is SAST integrated into the development process?
As getting developers engaged and involved is crucial, the best SAST solutions are fully integrated into the development process. This includes integration with the chosen Integrated Development Environment (IDE), such as Visual Studio, Eclipse, or IntelliJ for example, as well as with CI/CD tools, Source Control Management (SCM) solutions, and more.
Within the tools and workflows that developers know and work with every day, SAST tools can be integrated fully, so that developers are guided to best-fix locations and solutions, provided with auto-remediation options, and empowered to implement security as part of the flow of work.
Can SAST be effective during the code development phase of the SDLC?
SAST is highly effective during code development, allowing developers to quickly identify security vulnerabilities, coding errors, or any other flaws before the code is deployed and it becomes expensive or difficult to fix.
During development, SAST scans the codebase, uncovering vulnerabilities or insecure coding practices. When integrated with the IDE and CI/CD pipelines for example, SAST offers ongoing feedback on security issues so that developers can also write more secure code from the outset, improving overall code quality across the development team.
What are the key steps to run SAST testing effectively?
There are four key stages for running SAST effectively. First, integrate your SAST tool into the developer pipeline and environment as early as possible, so the process is regularly executed as part of any build.
Second, configure the tool accurately, define the scope, set up rules and policies, and customize the settings for your organization.
Third, create a process for narrowing and prioritizing the results based on exploitability, severity, and relevance, and finally — allow developers to remediate vulnerabilities quickly and with autonomy.
What challenges might organizations face without a SAST testing tool?
Without a robust SAST tool, organizations may miss vulnerabilities during development, as manual effort is prone to human error and gaps. Vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or buffer overflows could lead to high remediation costs, project delays, or even cyber-attacks. SAST also offers a standardized process for code quality, eliminating inconsistent security practices that open the business up to risk.
Additionally, without SAST, there are many compliance regulations that organizations may not be meeting, including standards such as OWASP Top 10, or compliance mandates like PCI-DSS for the payment card industry.
How can organizations effectively implement SAST?
Start by choosing the right tool which helps you to incorporate SAST as part of the developer workflow, to encourage adoption in the team. Look for tools that help you educate developers and fill skills gaps, as after all — developers will be the ones who are using SAST to improve code quality every day, and yet they are not security experts themselves.
Another best practice is to make sure that your choice has options for prioritizing alerts and output to reduce alert fatigue, and can also limit false positives where possible.
It’s also effective to choose a SAST solution that supports the widest number of programming languages and frameworks so that it can be applicable to most use cases and projects.