Correlation and Deduplication

Running multiple security tools inevitably generates duplicate findings requiring intelligent correlation. Implement correlation engines that match vulnerabilities across tools based on multiple factors—vulnerability type, code location, URL, and other contextual information. Simple matching might consider findings identical if they affect the same code line or URL. Advanced correlation understands that SAST line numbers, IAST stack traces, and DAST URLs all represent the same underlying vulnerability.

Deduplication must balance noise reduction with information preservation. While duplicate findings create noise, each tool provides unique context valuable for remediation. SAST shows vulnerable code patterns, DAST demonstrates exploitation, and IAST provides execution traces. Preserve this complementary information while presenting unified findings to developers. The goal is single issues with rich, multi-perspective details rather than multiple similar findings.

Build confidence scoring based on multi-tool validation. Vulnerabilities identified by multiple tools deserve higher priority than single-tool findings. However, avoid dismissing single-tool findings—each technology has unique detection capabilities. SAST might be the only tool catching dead code vulnerabilities. DAST uniquely identifies configuration issues. IAST excels at runtime-only problems. Use correlation to enhance prioritization without creating blind spots.