Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools

SAST tools examine source code, bytecode, or binaries to identify security vulnerabilities without executing the program. The SAST market offers diverse options suited to different languages, development styles, and security needs.

Commercial SAST leaders include Checkmarx, which offers comprehensive language support and extensive vulnerability detection. Fortify Static Code Analyzer provides deep analysis with low false positive rates. Veracode's cloud-based SAST scales elastically for large codebases. These enterprise tools offer extensive features but require significant investment and often specialized expertise.

# Example SAST tool comparison and integration
sast_tools:
  commercial:
    checkmarx:
      languages: ["Java", "C#", "JavaScript", "Python", "Go", "Scala", "Ruby"]
      deployment: ["On-premise", "Cloud"]
      key_features:
        - "Incremental scanning"
        - "IDE plugins"
        - "Custom queries"
        - "Compliance reporting"
      integration_example: |
        # Jenkins pipeline integration
        stage('SAST Scan') {
          steps {
            checkmarxScan(
              projectName: 'MyApp',
              preset: 'OWASP Top 10',
              incremental: true,
              generatePdfReport: true
            )
          }
        }
    
    fortify:
      languages: ["25+ languages supported"]
      deployment: ["On-premise", "Cloud", "Hybrid"]
      key_features:
        - "Machine learning assisted auditing"
        - "Real-time security intelligence"
        - "Developer security training"
      
  open_source:
    semgrep:
      languages: ["30+ languages"]
      deployment: ["CLI", "Cloud"]
      key_features:
        - "Custom rule writing"
        - "Community rules"
        - "Fast scanning"
        - "Low false positives"
      configuration: |
        # .semgrep.yml
        rules:
          - id: dangerous-eval
            patterns:
              - pattern: eval(...)
            message: "Avoid using eval with user input"
            languages: [python, javascript]
            severity: ERROR
            
    sonarqube:
      languages: ["25+ languages"]
      deployment: ["Self-hosted", "Cloud"]
      key_features:
        - "Quality gates"
        - "Technical debt tracking"
        - "Branch analysis"
        - "Pull request decoration"
        
    bandit:
      languages: ["Python"]
      deployment: ["CLI", "CI/CD"]
      usage: |
        # Run bandit with high severity only
        bandit -r ./src -ll -f json -o security_report.json

Open-source SAST tools provide cost-effective alternatives with impressive capabilities. Semgrep offers lightning-fast scanning with excellent custom rule support. SonarQube combines security scanning with code quality analysis. Language-specific tools like Bandit (Python), Brakeman (Ruby), and ESLint with security plugins provide deep, tailored analysis. These tools often integrate more easily into developer workflows due to their lightweight nature.