SAST / DAST
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) — the two primary automated approaches to finding application vulnerabilities.
Definition
What is SAST / DAST?
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes application source code, bytecode, or binaries for security vulnerabilities without executing the program. It identifies issues such as SQL injection, XSS, hardcoded credentials, and insecure API usage at the code level. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tests a running application from the outside — simulating an attacker's perspective by sending malicious inputs and analyzing responses. Together, SAST and DAST provide complementary coverage: SAST catches code-level flaws early; DAST finds runtime vulnerabilities and logic errors that only manifest during execution.
Why It Matters
OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities — injection flaws, broken authentication, security misconfigurations — account for the vast majority of application breaches. SAST and DAST are the automated mechanisms for systematically finding these issues at scale. Manually code-reviewing every commit is not scalable; automated SAST/DAST integrated into CI/CD pipelines catches the majority of common vulnerabilities before they reach production.
How It Works
SAST tools (Semgrep, SonarQube, Checkmarx, Snyk Code) scan code repositories and produce findings linked to specific lines of code. DAST tools (OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite Enterprise, Invicti) probe running applications with fuzzing, injection attempts, and authentication tests. Software Composition Analysis (SCA) extends this to third-party libraries and dependencies. The three tools together — SAST + DAST + SCA — form the core of a modern application security testing program.
Our Approach
Paxanimi's Approach to SAST / DAST
Paxanimi configures and tunes SAST, DAST, and SCA tools for each client's technology stack and integrates them into CI/CD pipelines. We reduce false positive rates through custom rule tuning — a critical step often skipped by teams deploying out-of-box configurations — and establish severity thresholds that align with your deployment risk tolerance. We also conduct manual OWASP-aligned code reviews for critical application components.
Quick Reference
- Category
- Cybersecurity
- Related Services
- Cybersecurity ServicesSoftware Development
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