SAST – All About Static Application Security Testing

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) has been a central part of application security efforts for more than 15 years. Forrester’s State Of Application Security Report, 2022 found that lacking application security remains a leading cause of external security breaches, so it’s safe to say that SAST will be in use for the foreseeable future.

What Is SAST?

Static Application Security Testing(SAST), one of the most mature application security testing methods in use, is white-box testing, where source code is analyzed from the inside out while components are at rest. Gartner’s definition of SAST is, “a set of technologies designed to analyze application source code, byte code and binaries for coding and design conditions that are indicative of security vulnerabilities.”

Why do we need SAST?

According to the Forrester report, a survey of security professionals showed that almost two-thirds of external attacks in 2022 were carried out either through a web application (32 percent) or by exploiting a software vulnerability (35 percent). SAST has become synonymous with application security testing tools, but if we really want to ensure our software is secure, it’s important to know how the tools we use work.

What problems does SAST address?

SAST enables developers to detect security flaws or weaknesses in their custom source code. The objective is either to comply with a requirement or regulation (for example, PCI/DSS) or to achieve a better understanding of one’s software risk. Understanding security flaws is the first step toward remediation and thus reducing software risk.

How does SAST work?

As its name implies, SAST scans organizations’ static in-house code at rest, without having to run it. SAST is usually implemented at the coding and testing stages of development, integrating into CI servers and, more recently, into IDEs.

SAST scans are based on a set of predetermined rules that define the coding errors in the source code that need to be addressed and assessed. SAST scans can be designed to identify some of the most common security vulnerabilities out there, such as SQL injection, input validation, stack buffer overflows, and more.

What is the difference between SAST and DAST??

SAST is one of the primary application security testing methodologies that are available, alongside DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing). So, what’s the difference, and which should you choose?

SAST and DAST differ in how and when they perform security testing and their access to source code. SAST is known as a “white-box” testing method that tests source code and related dependencies statically, early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), to identify flaws and vulnerabilities in the code that pose a security threat. It is used to ensure that developers take care when writing their code. SAST tests applications from an internal perspective. SAST tools are easy to integrate into CI/CD pipelines and make it cheaper to locate and fix issues before they get complicated by being on software that’s functioning and in applications that are running. However, it requires visibility into and knowledge of the code being used and tested.?

DAST takes the opposite approach to SAST. It is known as “black-box” testing. It tests the code when it’s running and doesn’t have access to the source code. It is concerned with identifying runtime issues and weaknesses in software and applications. DAST testing is performed later in the SDLC, when software and applications are actually working. While SAST tests the code from the inside out, DAST tests it from the outside in, taking a hacker’s rather than a developer’s perspective. Rather than being static, DAST is dynamic, because tests as applications run, so it needs a working version of the application for it to perform testing.

SAST and DAST complement each other. Therefore, implementing both will help you optimize and maximize your software and application security, by providing ways of scanning your software at any point in the SDLC.

What new tools can be used for SAST?

A new generation of SAST solutions lets enterprise application developers create new applications quickly, without sacrificing security. They aim to integrate with your existing DevOps environment and CI/CD pipeline, so developers don’t need to separately configure or trigger the scan. They expedite the SAST process, while supporting multiple programming languages and various different programming frameworks.

Modern SAST tools that include these capabilities increase efficiency and convenience for developers. They make it quicker and easier to detect vulnerabilities, and they ensure compliance and reinforce governance. As a result, developers will learn to trust their software tools and collaborate more readily with members of the security team.

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