Full Definition
What is SAST?
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is a white-box testing methodology that analyzes source code, bytecode, or binaries to find security vulnerabilities. It identifies issues early in development without executing the application.
How SAST Works
1. Code Analysis
- Parse source code
- Build code model
- Analyze data flows
2. Pattern Matching
- Known vulnerability patterns
- Security rules
- Best practice violations
3. Reporting
- Vulnerability list
- Code locations
- Remediation guidance
Vulnerability Detection
- SQL injection
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- Buffer overflows
- Hardcoded credentials
- Insecure configurations
- Path traversal
SAST vs DAST
| SAST | DAST |
|---|---|
| White-box | Black-box |
| Source code | Running application |
| Early in SDLC | Later in SDLC |
| All code paths | Exercised paths |
| Language-specific | Language-agnostic |
Integration Points
IDE
- Real-time feedback
- Developer workflow
CI/CD
- Automated scanning
- Build gates
Pull Requests
- Code review
- Change analysis
Challenges
- False positives
- Performance on large codebases
- Language support
- Developer adoption
- Remediation effort
Tools
Commercial
- Checkmarx
- Fortify
- Veracode
- Snyk Code
Open Source
- Semgrep
- SonarQube
- Bandit (Python)