Explore Sembi IQ - The AI engine powering the next generation of intelligent quality

Combining SAST and SCA Tools for Comprehensive Security

April 1st, 2022

When creating, testing, and deploying software, many development companies now utilize both proprietary software and open-source software (OSS).

Proprietary software, also known as closed-source or non-free software, includes applications for which the publisher or another person reserves licensing rights to modify, use, or share modifications. Examples include Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Photoshop, macOS, Microsoft Windows, and iTunes.

In contrast, OSS grants users the ability to use, change, study, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone on the internet. Consequently, anyone can contribute to the development of the software. Examples include MongoDB, LibreOffice, Apache HTTP Server, and the GNU/Linux operating system.

This means that many organizations are using third-party code and modules for their OSS. While these additions are incredibly useful for many applications, they can also expose organizations to risks. According to Revenera’s 2022 State of the Software Supply Chain Report, 64% of organizations were impacted by software supply chain attacks caused by vulnerabilities in OSS dependencies.

Although OSS can expose organizations to risks, avoiding OSS software and dependencies is not practical. OSS software and dependencies now play an integral role in development. This is particularly the case for JavaScript, Ruby, and PHP application frameworks, which tend to use multiple OSS components.

Since software companies cannot realistically avoid using OSS, cybersecurity teams must avoid vulnerabilities associated with OSS by employing software composition analysis (SCA) tools. Additionally, they need to combine SCA with static application security testing (SAST), since proprietary software such as Microsoft Windows and Adobe Acrobat is also used.

Read to learn more about SAST and SCA. This article will also explain how cybersecurity teams can combine SAST and SCA into a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

What Is SAST?

SAST is a code scanning program that reviews proprietary code and application sources for cybersecurity weaknesses and bugs. Also known as white-box testing, SAST is considered a static approach because it analyzes code without executing the application itself. Since it only reads code line by line and doesn’t execute the program, SAST platforms are highly effective at identifying security vulnerabilities at every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), particularly during the initial stages of development.

Specifically, SAST programs can help teams:

Find common vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflow, cross-site scripting, and SQL injection
Verify that development teams have conformed to development standards
Root out intentional breaches and acts, such as supply chain attacks
Spot weaknesses before the code goes into production and creates vulnerabilities
Scan all possible states and paths for proprietary software bugs of which development teams were not aware
Implement a proactive security approach by reducing issues early in the SDLC

SAST plays an integral role in software development. By providing development teams with real-time feedback as they code, SAST can help teams address issues and eliminate problems before they progress to the next phase of the SDLC. This prevents bugs and vulnerabilities from accumulating.

What Is SCA?

SCA is a code analysis tool that inspects source code, package managers, container images, and binary files and lists them in an inventory that’s compared with databases that hold information about common and known vulnerabilities, such as the U.S. National Vulnerability Database (NVD). The comparison enables cybersecurity teams to spot critical legal and security vulnerabilities and fix them.

Some SCA tools can also compare their inventory of known vulnerabilities to discover licenses connected with the open-source code. Cutting-edge SCAs may also be able to:

Analyze overall code quality (i.e., history of contributions and version control).
Automate the entire process of working with OSS modules, including selecting and blocking them from the IT environment as needed.
Provide ongoing alerts and monitoring for vulnerabilities reported after an organization deploys an application.
Detect and map known OSS vulnerabilities that can’t be found through other tools.
Map legal compliance risks associated with OSS dependencies by identifying the licenses in open-source packages.
Monitor new vulnerabilities.

Every software development organization should consider getting SCA for legal and security compliance. Secure, reliable, and efficient, SCA enables teams to track open-source code with just a few mouse clicks. Without SCA, teams must manually track open-source code, a nearly impossible feat due to the staggering number of OSS dependencies.

How to Use SAST and SCA to Mitigate Vulnerabilities

Using SAST and SCA to mitigate vulnerabilities is not as easy as it seems. This is because using SAST and SCA involves much more than just pressing buttons on a screen. Successfully implementing SAST and SCA requires IT and cybersecurity teams to establish and follow a security program across the organization, an endeavor that can be challenging.

Luckily, there are a few ways to do this:

1. Use the DevSecOps Model

Short for development, security, and operations, DevSecOps is an approach to platform design, culture, and automation that makes security a shared responsibility at every phase of the software development cycle. It contrasts with traditional cybersecurity approaches that employ a separate security team and quality assurance (QA) team to add security to software at the end of the development cycle.

Cybersecurity teams can follow the DevSecOps model when using SAST and SCA to mitigate vulnerabilities by implementing both tools and approaches at every phase of the software development cycle. To start, they should introduce SAST and SCA tools to the DevSecOps pipeline as early in the creation cycle as possible. Specifically, they should introduce the tools during the coding stage, when the code for the program is written. This will ensure that:

Security is not just an afterthought.
The team has an unbiased way to root out bugs and vulnerabilities before they reach critical mass.

Although it can be challenging to convince teams to adopt two security tools simultaneously, it is possible to do so with thorough planning and discussion. However, if teams prefer to use only one tool for their DevSecOps model, they could consider the alternatives listed below.

2. Integrate SAST and SCA Into the CI/CD Pipeline

Another way to use SAST and SCA together is to integrate them into CI/CD pipeline.

Short for continuous integration, CI refers to a software development approach where developers combine code changes in a centralized hub multiple times per day. CD, which stands for continuous delivery, then automates the software release process.

Essentially, a CI/CD pipeline is one that creates code, runs tests (CI), and securely deploys a new version of the application (CD). It is a series of steps that developers need to perform to create a new version of an application. Without a CI/CD pipeline, computer engineers would have to perform all tasks manually, resulting in reduced productivity.

The CI/CD pipeline consists of the following stages:

Source: Developers start running the pipeline by modifying the code in the source code repository, utilizing other pipelines, and scheduling workflows automatically.
Build: The development team builds a runnable instance of the application for end-users.
Test: Cybersecurity and development teams run automated tests to validate the code’s accuracy and catch bugs. This is where organizations should integrate SAST and SCA scanning.
Deploy: Once the code has been checked for accuracy, the team is ready to deploy it. They can deploy the app in multiple environments, including a staging environment for the product team and a production environment for end-users.

3. Create a Consolidated Workflow with SAST and SCA

Finally, teams can use SAST and SCA together by creating a consolidated workflow.

They can achieve this by purchasing cutting-edge cybersecurity tools that enable teams to conduct SAST and SCA scanning simultaneously with a single tool. This will help developers, IT, and cybersecurity teams save a significant amount of time and energy.

Experience the Kiuwan Difference

With numerous SAST and SCA tools available on the market, it can be challenging for organizations to select the right tools for their IT environments. This is particularly true if they have limited experience with SAST and SCA tools.

This is where Kiuwan comes in. A global organization that designs tools to help teams spot vulnerabilities, Kiuwan offers Code Security (SAST) as well as Insights Open Source (SCA).

Kiuwan Code Security (SAST) can empower teams to:

Scan IT environments and share results in the cloud
Spot and remediate vulnerabilities in a collaborative environment
Produce tailored reports using industry-standard security ratings so teams can understand risks better
Create automatic action plans to manage tech debt and weaknesses
Give teams the ability to choose from a set of coding rules to customize the importance of various vulnerabilities for their IT environment

Kiuwan Insights Open Source (SCA) can help companies:

Manage and scan open source components
Automate code management so teams can feel confident about using OSS
Integrate seamlessly into their current SDLC and toolkit

Interested in learning more about how Kiuwan’s products? Demo Kiuwan’s security solutions today. Developers will see how easy it is to initiate a scan, navigate our seamless user interface, create a remediation action plan, and manage internal and third-party code risks.