Original Post: Inside SAST Tools: How They Work and Why You Need Them | by Ajay Monga | Jul, 2024
The article delves into the mechanics of Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools and their role in software development. SAST tools analyze application source code to detect vulnerabilities early in the development phase, even before the code is compiled or executed. The article outlines the working process of these tools, encompassing steps of code analysis, parsing, building an abstract syntax tree, control flow analysis, data flow analysis, pattern matching, taint analysis, and result generation. It discusses the pros (early detection, deep-rooted vulnerability identification, IDE integration) and cons (false positives, potential to miss runtime vulnerabilities) of using SAST tools.
Additionally, the article considers factors for selecting a SAST tool such as language support, integration with CI/CD tools, accuracy, ease of use, and quality of vulnerability reports. It then highlights several popular SAST tools including Checkmarx, Fortify Static Code Analyzer, Veracode, Snyk Code, HCL AppScan, Synopsys Coverity, GitLab (SAST), SonarQube, and CodeWarrior, discussing their features, languages supported, and whether they are open source.
The author, Ajay Monga, invites readers to contact him for a deeper exploration of specific tools or examples of common vulnerabilities they detect.
Go here to read the Original Post