Static application security testing

Article summary

Static application security testing (SAST) is used to secure software by reviewing its source code to identify security vulnerabilities. Although the process of checking programs by reading their code (modernly known as static program analysis) has existed as long as computers have existed, the technique spread to security in the late 90s and the first public discussion of SQL injection in 1998 when web applications integrated new technologies like JavaScript and Flash. Unlike dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools for black-box testing of application functionality, SAST tools focus on the code content of the application, white-box testing. A SAST tool scans the source code of applications and their components to identify potential security vulnerabilities in their software and architecture. Static analysis tools can detect an estimated 50% of existing security vulnerabilities in tested applications. In the software development life cycle (SDLC), SAST is performed early in the development process and at code level, and also when all pieces of code and components are put together in a consistent testing environment. SAST is also used for software quality assurance, even if the many resulting false positives impede its adoption by developers.…

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