SAST tools scan code at rest to find security flaws early in development, before the application runs.
What SAST detects
- SQL injection vulnerabilities.
- Cross-site scripting (XSS) patterns.
- Buffer overflows and memory issues.
- Hardcoded secrets and credentials.
- Insecure cryptographic implementations.
- Input validation flaws.
Popular SAST tools
- Commercial: Checkmarx, Veracode, Fortify, Snyk Code.
- Open source: Semgrep, SonarQube, Bandit (Python), ESLint security plugins.
CI/CD integration
- Run on every pull request.
- Block merges for critical/high findings.
- Track vulnerability trends over time.
- Generate SARIF reports for GitHub Security tab.
Advantages
- Finds issues before code reaches production.
- Covers all code paths (not just executed ones).
- Provides specific line-of-code remediation guidance.
- Scales to large codebases automatically.
Limitations
- False positives require triage effort.
- Cannot detect runtime or configuration issues.
- May miss business logic flaws.
- Language-specific tooling required.
Best practices
- Start with high-confidence rules to reduce noise.
- Integrate into IDE for immediate developer feedback.
- Establish baseline and track new findings only.
- Combine with DAST and SCA for comprehensive coverage.
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