Every business involved in software development today must deal with software security, a critical concern given the increasing number of attacks. One of the proven methods to mitigate these risks is using Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools. These tools help identify and rectify vulnerabilities in the source code before the deployment stage. This article examines some of the top SAST tools and solutions businesses should consider to fortify their software security measures.
Understanding SAST Tools
The Importance of SAST in Software Security
Static Application Security Testing tools are vital for ensuring code security by analyzing the source code and identifying potential vulnerabilities. These tools provide a proactive method for securing applications against exploitation. In the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, relying solely on reactive security measures is no longer sufficient. SAST tools enable developers to identify security flaws early in the development cycle, thus reducing the risk of introducing vulnerabilities into production environments. Proactively addressing these issues can significantly reduce the cost and effort required to fix them later on, ensuring a more secure and robust application overall.
Moreover, SAST tools are designed to integrate seamlessly into the development workflow, making it easier for developers to incorporate security practices into their day-to-day tasks. By catching vulnerabilities early, these tools help maintain the integrity of the codebase and ensure compliance with industry security standards. Given the growing emphasis on security in regulatory frameworks and industry best practices, adopting SAST tools has become a critical step for businesses aiming to protect their software assets and maintain customer trust.
Selection Criteria for SAST Tools
The Solutions Review editors have curated a comprehensive list based on each tool’s Authority Score and other inclusion criteria, ensuring that the listed tools are top-notch and trustworthy. This selection process takes into account user sentiment from trusted business software review sites, which provides insights into the actual performance and user satisfaction of each tool. The proprietary five-point inclusion criteria further ensure that only the most effective and reliable SAST tools are featured. Key factors considered include the tool’s usability, integration capabilities, support for various programming languages, scalability, and the overall quality of the security assessments provided.
By adhering to these strict criteria, businesses can feel confident in selecting a SAST tool from the list, knowing that it has been vetted through a rigorous evaluation process. This not only saves time and effort in the selection process but also helps in making an informed decision that aligns with organizational needs and security objectives.
Leading SAST Tools and Solutions
Appknox
Appknox is an enterprise-grade mobile app security platform that provides a blend of manual and automated testing methods. Its automated SAST solution provides fast and in-depth security evaluation reports, making it a reliable choice for enhancing mobile app security. Combining automated vulnerability assessments with thorough manual code reviews, Appknox helps developers build secure applications by identifying potential risks early in the development cycle. This approach ensures that vulnerabilities are detected and addressed effectively, reducing the likelihood of security breaches in deployed applications.
Key features of Appknox include regulatory compliance tools, which assist businesses in adhering to industry-specific security standards and regulations. The unified dashboard offers a comprehensive view of the security posture, enabling teams to monitor and manage vulnerabilities efficiently. Additionally, in-depth security evaluation reports provide actionable insights, helping developers to focus on critical issues and implement necessary fixes promptly. Other tools in the Appknox suite, such as Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and Application Programming Interface (API) Testing, complement the SAST capabilities by offering a holistic approach to application security.
Black Duck by Synopsys
Black Duck by Synopsys offers comprehensive app security capabilities across various deployment environments. It supports policy-based scans and has broad language and framework compatibility, allowing for integrated security practices in development processes. The Static Code Analysis tools provided by Black Duck enable developers to detect security and quality issues in applications, regardless of whether they are cloud-based, on-premises, or on a developer’s desktop. This flexibility ensures that security measures can be consistently applied across different development environments, maintaining a high level of protection for the entire codebase.
In addition to its SAST capabilities, Black Duck offers built-in compliance reports that help organizations meet stringent regulatory requirements and industry standards. The tool’s extensive language and framework support ensures that it can accommodate a wide range of programming languages and development practices, making it a versatile solution for diverse development teams. By integrating security into the development workflow, Black Duck facilitates the adoption of secure coding practices and helps organizations avoid the pitfalls associated with deploying vulnerable applications.
Advanced Security Features
Checkmarx
Checkmarx provides a robust cloud-native application security platform that includes extensive SAST features like adaptive vulnerability scanning and AI-powered tools for identifying and fixing code vulnerabilities efficiently. The platform’s comprehensive suite of security tools covers various aspects of application security, such as AI and API security, codebashing for secure code training, container security, and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST). These features enable organizations to implement a multi-faceted security strategy that addresses threats from multiple angles, ensuring a thorough and resilient defense against cyber attacks.
One of the standout features of Checkmarx is its adaptive vulnerability scanning capability, which adjusts the scanning process based on the specific needs and context of the application. This ensures that the most relevant and critical vulnerabilities are identified and prioritized, allowing developers to focus their remediation efforts where they are needed most. The AI query builder further enhances the tool’s effectiveness by simplifying the process of crafting custom queries for vulnerability detection. With support for uncompiled code scanning and extensive language compatibility, Checkmarx provides comprehensive coverage for diverse development environments.
Contrast Security
Contrast Security embeds code analysis tools directly into applications, enabling precise identification of vulnerabilities. Its support for over thirty languages and frameworks, combined with risk-based analysis, sets it apart. By integrating security checks directly into the application runtime, Contrast Security provides real-time insights and continuously monitors the security posture of applications. This embedded approach ensures that vulnerabilities are detected and mitigated promptly, even as the application evolves and new code is added.
The risk-based analysis engine of Contrast Security prioritizes vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and exploitability, enabling teams to address the most significant threats first. This approach not only improves the efficiency of the remediation process but also enhances the overall security of the application. The platform’s extensive language and framework support ensures that it can be seamlessly integrated into various development environments, making it a versatile solution for organizations with diverse technology stacks. By providing detailed remediation guidance and support for a wide range of programming languages, Contrast Security helps developers implement effective security measures without disrupting their workflow.
Developer-Friendly SAST Tools
GitHub
GitHub’s security suite is tailored for developers, with AI-powered features that detect and prioritize vulnerabilities. The platform’s integration into developer workflows ensures seamless security practices during code creation. By leveraging AI-driven auto-remediation capabilities, GitHub helps developers resolve security issues automatically, reducing the time and effort required to address vulnerabilities. This streamlined approach allows development teams to maintain a strong security posture without sacrificing productivity or delaying the release of new features.
In addition to its SAST capabilities, GitHub provides tools for custom pattern creation and detection of leaked passwords, further enhancing the security of the codebase. These features enable developers to create tailored security scans that address the unique needs and risks associated with their applications. The platform’s ability to detect security issues in pull requests helps prevent new vulnerabilities from being introduced into the codebase, ensuring that only secure code is merged and deployed. This proactive approach to security fosters a culture of security awareness among developers and promotes the adoption of best practices throughout the development lifecycle.
GitLab
GitLab’s AI-driven DevSecOps platform brings development, security, and operations teams together, offering comprehensive SAST capabilities that are both cost-effective and easy for teams to implement. By integrating security into the DevOps pipeline, GitLab ensures that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed early in the development process, reducing the risk of security breaches and minimizing the cost of remediation. The platform’s SAST features include basic scanning via open-source analyzers, which provide a cost-effective solution for smaller teams or projects with limited budgets.
For organizations with more advanced security needs, GitLab offers enhanced features in its Ultimate model, including vulnerability management, custom rulesets, UI-based scanner configurations, and advanced vulnerability tracking. These capabilities enable organizations to implement a robust and scalable security strategy that can adapt to the evolving threat landscape. By providing a centralized platform for collaboration among development, security, and operations teams, GitLab fosters a unified approach to application security, ensuring that security considerations are integrated into every stage of the development lifecycle.
Comprehensive Solutions for Various Environments
HCLSoftware (HCL AppScan)
HCL AppScan provides versatile security solutions designed for diverse environments. With features such as real-time threat detection and centralized dashboards, it supports continuous security improvements throughout the software lifecycle. The platform’s SAST capabilities are complemented by dynamic and interactive testing tools, offering a comprehensive approach to application security. By identifying vulnerabilities at multiple stages of the development process, HCL AppScan helps organizations maintain a strong security posture and mitigate risks effectively.
The real-time threat detection feature of HCL AppScan enables teams to identify and respond to emerging threats promptly, reducing the window of opportunity for attackers. The centralized dashboards provide a holistic view of the security status across the entire application portfolio, allowing teams to monitor and manage vulnerabilities efficiently. This level of visibility is crucial for maintaining compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements, as well as for demonstrating the organization’s commitment to security to stakeholders and customers. HCL AppScan’s integration with existing development and DevOps tools ensures a seamless adoption process, enabling organizations to embed security into their workflows without disruption.
Mend.io
Mend.io offers SAST tools that leverage AI to reduce manual errors and alert noise. Its support for multiple languages and integration with existing tools makes it a practical choice for enterprises looking to improve their security posture. The AI-powered SAST tool provided by Mend.io delivers near-instant scanning results, enabling developers to identify and address vulnerabilities quickly and efficiently. By automating the detection and remediation process, Mend.io helps reduce the burden on development teams and allows them to focus on delivering high-quality, secure code.
One of the key benefits of Mend.io is its ability to integrate seamlessly with existing business tools and development environments. This ensures that security measures can be implemented without disrupting the development workflow or requiring significant changes to existing processes. The platform’s support for a wide range of programming languages and frameworks ensures comprehensive coverage for diverse codebases, making it a versatile solution for organizations with varied technology stacks. By providing actionable insights and detailed remediation guidance, Mend.io empowers developers to take proactive steps to enhance the security of their applications and reduce the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited.
Integration and Real-Time Insights
OpenText (Fortify Static Code Analyzer)
OpenText’s Fortify Static Code Analyzer emphasizes real-time code security analysis and machine learning automation, ensuring quick identification and prioritization of vulnerabilities in various code environments. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, Fortify Static Code Analyzer can automatically identify patterns and trends in the codebase, enabling it to detect vulnerabilities with a high degree of accuracy. This approach minimizes false positives and ensures that developers can focus their efforts on addressing the most critical security issues.
The flexible deployment options offered by Fortify Static Code Analyzer allow organizations to implement the tool in a manner that best suits their needs, whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment. This versatility ensures that the tool can adapt to the unique requirements and constraints of different development teams and projects. The comprehensive language coverage provided by Fortify Static Code Analyzer ensures that it can support a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, making it a valuable addition to any development team’s security toolkit. By providing real-time code security analysis and results, the tool enables developers to identify and address vulnerabilities as they arise, reducing the risk of security breaches and maintaining the integrity of the codebase.
Sonar
SonarQube from Sonar is an advanced security product that integrates into developer workflows, offering detailed remediation advice and AI code fixes. It supports multiple programming languages, ensuring comprehensive coverage for diverse codebases. The platform’s ability to automatically detect vulnerabilities and provide actionable insights helps developers address security issues promptly and effectively. By integrating directly into the development pipeline, SonarQube ensures that security measures are applied consistently throughout the coding process, reducing the likelihood of vulnerabilities being introduced into production environments.
The AI CodeFix tool provided by SonarQube enhances the tool’s effectiveness by suggesting precise fixes for identified vulnerabilities, enabling developers to implement solutions quickly and accurately. This streamlines the remediation process and reduces the time and effort required to address security issues. By enforcing custom security rules and offering support for widely-used programming languages, SonarQube helps organizations maintain a robust security posture and comply with industry standards and best practices. The platform’s focus on providing detailed remediation guidance and real-time analytics ensures that development teams can take proactive steps to secure their applications and minimize the risk of security breaches.
Developer-Centric Security Measures
Snyk
Snyk’s platform focuses on security for developers and cloud engineers, using AI-driven vulnerability scanning and context-driven prioritization. Its integration with CI/CD pipelines is designed to minimize disruptions to development workflows. By providing real-time feedback and automated remediation capabilities, Snyk helps developers identify and address security issues as they arise, ensuring that vulnerabilities are resolved before they can be exploited. This proactive approach to security helps maintain the integrity of the codebase and reduces the risk of security breaches in deployed applications.
In addition to its SAST capabilities, Snyk offers advanced AppSec reporting and features designed to secure cloud deployments. The context-driven prioritization feature ensures that vulnerabilities are assessed based on their potential impact and exploitability, enabling teams to focus their efforts on the most critical issues. This approach not only improves the efficiency of the remediation process but also enhances the overall security posture of the application. By integrating seamlessly with development tools and workflows, Snyk supports the adoption of secure coding practices and helps organizations maintain compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Veracode
In today’s software development landscape, addressing software security is paramount due to the rising prevalence of cyberattacks. Organizations must prioritize safeguarding their applications against vulnerabilities to maintain integrity and trust. One effective strategy to mitigate these risks involves implementing Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools. SAST tools play a crucial role by identifying and correcting security flaws within the source code during the development process, long before the software reaches the deployment phase.
This comprehensive approach not only enhances the overall security posture but also helps in reducing potential remediation costs and time. By integrating SAST tools into their development pipelines, businesses can proactively detect and resolve vulnerabilities, ensuring that their software is robust and secure from the outset. In this article, we will explore some of the leading SAST tools and solutions available, which can significantly bolster software security measures for any organization engaged in software development.
