Static Code Analysis

A mature application security program assesses for vulnerabilities and security flaws at every step of the software development life cycle from requirements and design to post-release testing and analysis.

One important step in secure software development is Static Application Security Testing (SAST), a form of static code analysis in which an application's code is scanned for security flaws.

What Is Static Code Analysis?

Static code analysis is a process for analyzing an application's code for potential errors. It is “static” because it analyses applications without running them, which means an application can be tested exhaustively without constructing a runtime environment or posing risk to production systems. This makes static code analysis very well suited to testing applications for security flaws, a process called Static Application Security Testing (SAST).

Most static code analysis operates on application source code, while some tools – including Veracode’s SAST analyzer – can operate on compiled code packages (the object code, machine code, or bytecode), often called “binaries”, as well.

In Veracode's cloud-based tools, static code analysis for application security flaws is an automated process that runs while your developers work and can be integrated into your Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines. Our platform also provides remediation guidance and in-context analysis of flaws and vulnerabilities, enabling developers to learn more about application security and efficiently fix specific problems at the same time.

Static Code Analysis Provides Greater Enterprise Security

Many data breaches today come from attacks on insecure code in an application rather than from network attacks or other vectors. This is in part because vulnerabilities in an application's code can easily provide attackers with access to confidential data and other sensitive information.

SAST (Static Application Security Testing) is an essential static analysis capability for application developers and security teams. By enabling developers to rapidly test their code for security flaws and insecure coding practices from right within common programming tools and automated build pipelines, organizations can reduce security-related risks and remediation costs. With comprehensive policy-based scans, security teams can ensure that applications meet security requirements before they are put into production.

About Veracode Static Analysis

Veracode’s SAST product provides thorough, fast, and automated feedback to developers. The analysis platform integrates with popular IDEs (such as Visual Studio, IntelliJ, and Eclipse), CI/CD pipelines, and work-tracking tools, making scanning fast and easy and delivering actionable results for developers right where they’re already working. In-depth policy scans before application deployment provide developers with clear guidance on finding, prioritizing, and fixing issues while providing leadership and security teams with organization-wide views of application security risks and program performance.

Combined with Software Composition Analysis, which identifies 3rd-party software components with known vulnerabilities, Veracode SAST provides a comprehensive, automated static code analysis system that covers your whole application. Learn more about Veracode SAST.

Veracode: Accurate, Cost-Effective Static Code Analysis

Veracode's approach to static code analysis results in greater coverage, faster results, and fewer false positives. Our cloud-based tool allows developers to receive in-context guidance about security flaws when they need it and ensures that assessments are up to date with the latest threats.

Because our tool is in the cloud, there is no need for organizations to purchase expensive software or hardware or hire specialist staff to maintain it. Instead, developers simply upload their code into the tool for rapid detection of flaws and suggestions on how to fix any issues found. Veracode's static analysis platform can also be integrated into many IDEs and other development tools, allowing developers to quickly build code security into their existing workflows.

Application Security Without Source Code

One of the biggest drawbacks to static code analysis is that source code for many included parts of an application is not available. This means many static analysis tools can only discover flaws within the developers’ own code. If there are significant integrations with other applications, this represents a huge security risk.

Veracode gets rid of this problem. Our patented automatic binary code analysis scans the completed binary code of an application, accurately discovering, analyzing, and contextualizing security flaws more quickly and completely than many other tools.

Superior Accuracy and Coverage Through Binary Analysis

Veracode analyzes the code in the form it is deployed to production, even when that’s binary code packages. This helps ensure that what you test is what you’re running in production, increasing the quality of the test results.

Questions About Application Security?

Application security doesn't stop with static code analysis. Other types of threat assessment, such as dynamic security analysis and manual penetration testing, need to be used as well. Veracode's cloud-based system delivers best-of-class tools to build application security into your software development workflows from start to finish.

To learn more about Veracode's solutions and start your organization on the journey to application security, contact us today. You can also download our free white paper on secure coding best practices.