Best 6 SAST tools in 2023
Published: 2024-01-09 07:35:09

You may test code without executing it using a method or technology called static application security testing, sometimes referred to as white-box testing. The basic idea behind static application testing is one that any developer who has used an IDE before is acquainted with. IDEs frequently notify programmers when possible problems occur, such as when a method is never called or a block of code cannot be reached.

A subset of such technologies with a security focus is static application security testing. SQL injection vulnerabilities are among the most frequent problems that SAST may discover. SAST tools are high-performance options that test code as soon as feasible and stop time loss, work loss, and potentially catastrophic security concerns later on.

An essential component of the shift-left security technique is SAST. By scanning for possible flaws as you enter the code, your team will spend less time correcting security concerns. To effectively stop flawed code from ever reaching production, SAST integrates with IDEs and CI/CD pipelines.

SAST provides many advantages. These technologies may be incorporated into a CI/CD pipeline to warn developers of possible problems at an early stage of the development process. SAST tools are also incredibly quick because they don’t need to run the code or compile it. Simply looking through the text for possible issues, they then flag them for developers.

But there might be drawbacks to those advantages as well. SAST tools frequently provide false positive results, which can be annoying. When that occurs, developers will disregard the cautions. Therefore, having useful SAST tools that reduce the number of false positives is essential.

What is SAST?
The source code of an application is automatically scanned using static application security testing (SAST) technologies. Prior to deployment, it is intended to find vulnerabilities. White-box testing is carried out using SAST tools and entails code analysis based on insider knowledge of the application.

SAST provides an examination right down to the line of code and is granular in its vulnerability detection. SAST tools provide the following main advantages:

Test that looks into an application’s codebase
Before assembling or executing the code, test the application.
It is easier and less expensive to repair vulnerabilities if they are found early in the software development life cycle (SDLC).
Some Key drawbacks of the SAST tool include the following:

Cannot test apps that are already active in production or staging environments. SAST tools can only examine code that is idle.
misses out on the larger security environment, such as security tools or integrated systems that are not part of the source.
Businesses frequently combine SAST tools with SCA tools, dynamic application security testing (DAST), and interactive application security testing (IAST) to broaden the testing window.

What Is the Difference Between SAST and DAST?
Early in the development cycle, SAST techniques are typically employed to thoroughly test an application (also known as white box testing). These tools test line-by-line, thus there is no need to analyze the code on an active system.

On the other hand, DAST uses an outside-in, black box testing strategy while the program is in use. In order to find vulnerabilities, DAST makes attempts to break into the program. This type of analysis is typically simpler to use and less expensive than SAST since it tests for defects in source code, byte code, binaries, third-party interfaces, and outside the code.

DAST tools might not be able to pinpoint the precise location of a code weakness, though. A hybrid analysis testing approach that combines both SAST and DAST is therefore probably the best course to take.

How do SAST tools work?
Regardless of the language of your code, the majority of SAST tools start the process by establishing a standard format (AST). Finding security flaws will be made simpler and quicker by doing so while querying the source code. After building a model from your source code, SAST tools can begin scanning for known rule engine flaws.

It will have rules tailored to the language, applicable rules, and user-created rules to address business logic-related problems. SAST tools will check for the use of unsafe code during semantic analysis and may even be able to identify indirect calls.

Structural analysis will check for language-specific secure coding breaches and find dead code, unsafe multithreading, memory leaks, and inappropriate access modifiers for variables, functions, and methods.

Control flow analysis verifies the sequence of events by examining pattern-based sequences. It can spot risky workflows, resource leaks, competitive situations, and improper variable/object initialization before usage. The most potent tool is data flow analysis, which monitors the information flow from the contaminated source (attacker-controlled inputs) to the exposed sink.

Top Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools:
Here are some of the top SAST tools available right now, together with information on their main attributes, method of distribution, and starting prices:

Checkmarx CxSAST:
Without building or compiling the code, the static code analyzer Checkmarx CxSAST finds faults in the source code and flags security and compliance problems. In order to find security flaws and issues with business logic, CxSAST creates a logical graph of the code’s components and logic flows. This code graph is then subjected to a variety of predefined queries. Custom queries may be set up for security and functionality testing using the CxSAST Auditor tool.

In the IDE (Visual Studio, Eclipse, and IntelliJ), CxSAST creates scan results that may be viewed interactively or as static reports. In order to offer context for remedial operations, more workflow metadata is provided in each consecutive scan. The tool’s Open Source Analysis (CxOSA) module makes it possible to manage open-source component licenses and compliance, enforce policies, and report on their use.

Also Read | Everything About Open Source Software

Sixth SAST tool:
Even in the biggest contexts, the Sixth SAST tool strives for speed. It functions with applications written in Python, Java, JavaScript, C, C++, and Docker containers. Additionally,

According to Sixth creators, it was created to fill the vacuum left by SAST tools’ inability to function in complicated situations. Sixth may even be used to scan extremely large code bases with millions of lines of code. To reduce those scan times even further, it employs a number of techniques, such as scanning only the code that has changed rather than the complete program each time.

Even the security training of developers is assisted by Sixth. The Secure Code Warrior training platform, which emphasizes security and awareness training, has it completely integrated. As a result, it may identify code flaws, assist in their correction, and teach developers how to write better code.

Spectral SpectralOps Platform:
Due to its distinctive SAST characteristics, Check Point recently bought Spectral, although the new business is still actively supporting the SpectralOps Platform. Secrets are revealed by SpectralOps. It specifically locates sensitive data that programmers frequently hard-code into applications during development, such as API keys, credentials, and tokens.

The goal is to make such secrets public as well as any security flaws that would have allowed access to them while software was still being developed. Organizations won’t have to worry about bad people using a deployed application to perform the same thing that way.

It employs artificial intelligence to keep track of more than 2,000 detection engines while continuously scanning at each stage of the software development lifecycle. When SpectralOps discovers something suspicious, it runs further checks to make sure it isn’t dealing with a false positive. Following that, it may inform Slack of its findings, create a JIRA ticket, or notify developers via practically any preferred communication channel.

Also Read | A Guide to Application Programming Interface (API)

Veracode Static Analysis SAST:
Since the Veracode Static Analysis SAST platform is a cloud service, it also eliminates the hassle of having to maintain a SAST application inside of your environment. The just-in-time learning philosophy is one that Veracode subscribes to, which enables insecure code to be identified as a developer writes it. With the aid of Veracode, you may modify the code and have a report produced afterward, allowing businesses to commend and motivate their security-conscious engineers.

Veracode puts emphasis on speed in addition to IDE integration. Every version of a software package or application may be automatically scanned, and a typical scan takes about 90 seconds. Additionally, the Veracode platform keeps a close eye on what it performs and compiles reports via the internet portal. Because of this, passing audits is made simpler and surprises are avoided even in very complicated or hectic development settings

SonarQube:
SonarQube is a free static analysis tool that is ideal for establishing a consistent coding standard inside a company. The program compares code to quality profiles, which are global default or custom rules. SonarQube also provides a variety of deployment options, including on-premises and cloud-hosted versions.

The platform has two scanning modes and supports more than 25 programming languages. You have two options for doing the scan: directly on your build or as part of your CI process. To make sure that the code is consistent at every level, you may also examine branches and pull- or merge requests.

Taint analysis, OWSAP/CWE security reports, go/no-go indications, Docker compatibility, and built-in methodology are further significant SonarQube capabilities. A decently equipped free community edition is available from SonarQube. For instance, the free edition enables CI/CD integration, review of security hotspots, and 17 code languages.

Codacy:
Codacy supports more than 40 different programming languages and interacts smoothly with your working environment. It may be deployed on-premises or as software-as-a-service (SaaS), depending on your needs. A few clicks are all that is needed to set up your git repository in the SaaS version, making it simple to get started.

Some of the most well-known companies, like PayPal, Deliveroo, Cancer Research UK, and Adobe, are among the platform’s patrons. Codacy can help you find troublesome spots in your code, evaluate the code’s general quality, and determine the technical debt of your project. The platform may also be used to standardize code throughout your company.

Additionally, this SAST tool has cutting-edge functionality. You can obtain inline annotations in real-time and one-click commit suggestions, for example. Additionally, it is well integrated with Stack and other project management software. Codacy may be set up to send notifications to Slack.

Codacy’s platform has a huge number of rules. This makes it simpler to select the rules that work best for the workflow in your business. To better fit your workflow, you can also choose to use your own rules. The dashboard for this SAST application is simple and easy to use. You receive widgets that offer relevant data, such as metrics and statistics on violations. Furthermore, you can quickly find duplicate codes right from the dashboard.

Conclusion:
It might be difficult for a company to gather the resources necessary to conduct code reviews on even a small portion of its apps. SAST tools’ capacity to examine the whole codebase is one of their main advantages.

They are also a lot quicker than manual, human-performed secure code reviews. These technologies are capable of quickly scanning millions of lines of code.

SAST tools reliably and automatically detect serious flaws including buffer overflows, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and others. Static analysis may therefore significantly improve the overall quality of the code created when it is incorporated into the SDLC.