Do Your Apps Use Third-Party Components? Scan Your Code

Many software projects incorporate third-party components to add specific functionality. One of the IT teams’ most significant challenges is keeping up with the latest technologies being used. Applications can become a Wild West full of security vulnerabilities without a rigorous framework governing their use. Let’s explore the use of third-party components, the risks they bring, and the benefits of application security testing.

💻 Why Do Developers Use Third-Party Components?

For most programmers, using third-party components is a no-brainer. Why spend time reinventing the wheel when there’s code available to do what’s needed? If the programmer takes the time to review a component and ensures that adding it doesn’t introduce bugs into an application, then it’s a smart move. Most popular third-party libraries undergo constant reviews and receive frequent bug fixes and updates.

Other advantages to using pre-built code frameworks include:

• Saving Money: Third-party components allow organizations to leverage existing solutions at a lower cost. This is particularly helpful for coders working at small businesses with limited development budgets.
• Better Quality: Open-source components tested by a community of developers can result in higher-quality code. Pro rammers benefit from using this collective knowledge and expertise to improve their software.
• Flexibility: Many open-source third-party components offer a high degree of flexibility. In addition to providing an excellent out-of-the-box solution for common development problems, developers can customize the components to meet specific requirements.

⚠️ What Risks Do They Present? 

Using third-party components introduces code written by other people, which carries an inherent risk. Let’s look at what you need to know when using these resources.

Loss of Control 

Open-source third-party components typically allow for a significant degree of customization. However, that isn’t always true for those obtained through licensed vendors. These may limit the changes programmers can make, limiting their ability to customize the component to fit the application. 

Security Risks 

Third-party libraries also have the potential to introduce new vulnerabilities into the application, such as buffer overflows, injection flaws, or the ability to bypass authentication. Hackers look for holes like these to steal data or find ways to compromise other systems.  

Malicious actors may also inject malicious code into third-party components. The e-tainted libraries are used by unsuspecting developers, resulting in widespread security breaches across various applications.  

Some components may inadvertently execute malicious code because they haven’t been adequately vetted. Vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection attacks, code injection, or remote code execution (RCE) enable attackers to manipulate application behavior, thereby compromising security.  

License Compliance 

A license governs the most popular third-party components. A developer must understand the licensing conditions and adhere to the terms to avoid being out of compliance. Failure to do so could result in legal action and time-consuming remediation efforts that are both costly and time-consuming.  

Dependency Management 

Suppose a third-party provider starts having performance issues or experiences downtime that directly impacts the application’s reliability. Pro rammers must consider the ripple effects that external services will have and have backup plans in place. Developers may encounter issues due to the complex interdependencies between third-party frameworks and other dependencies.  

If software relies upon many third-party components with individual sets of dependencies, it’s easy to end up in a frustrating maintenance situation. That leads to a tangled web that’s hard to troubleshoot or manage. One third-party component may have compatibility issues with others, resulting in significant maintenance overhead.  

Integration Challenges 

Some third-party components rely on exchanging information with other systems or components. Integrating a component with existing data sources, messaging protocols, or APIs may pose issues. Therefore, developers must spend more time enforcing interoperability across different elements to ensure the application’s integrity.  

Adding third-party components can hamper performance and make scaling up an application more manageable. Issues can include difficulty handling oversized loads, increased traffic, or maintaining responsiveness when usage increases.  

🔎 The Role of Code Scanning 

With the numerous third-party libraries available, it’s challenging for one or even a team of developers to manually ensure everyone’s security. Code scanning, also known as static code analysis (SCA), is a crucial component of open-source code management and DevSecOps. The practice involves using application security tools to review source code for potential security vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and coding errors.  

Application security best practices call for static application security testing (SAST) early in the development cycle. This practice doesn’t require a working application and allows developers to detect and fix issues before passing code to the next stage of the software development life cycle (SDLC).  

Platforms like Kiuwan automate code scanning, making it easier for developers to evaluate third-party components and locate problems quickly: 

• Performing Vulnerability Detection: Code scanning tools, such as Kiuwan, check against databases containing Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) entries. This helps developers find and remediate vulnerabilities more quickly.   
• Ensuring License Compliance: Kiuwan checks the configuration settings of third-party components to identify misconfigurations that could lead to security risks, thereby preventing cyberattacks that could result in data breaches.  
• Improving Code Quality: Code scanning tools analyze third-party components for code quality issues, such as duplication, complexity, and compliance with coding standards. This helps developers improve code through refactoring to improve maintainability and performance.  
• Executing Integration Testing: One of the benefits of platforms like Kiuwan is the ability to simulate the performance of third-party components. This lets developers test how they interact with other systems and software components under real-world conditions. It also helps identify problems such as data format discrepancies, API mismatches, and compatibility issues. This enables developers to resolve third-party component integration issues at the outset of the development cycle, thereby reducing the likelihood of runtime errors.  

🚀 Kiuwan Is Your Partner for Third-Party Component Security

Kiuwan’s powerful end-to-end application security platform helps developers ensure the performance of third-party components. It allows for obfuscation, which conceals important details within an application, preventing bad actors from reverse-engineering the software.  

.NET Developers can use Dotfuscator, which integrates easily with other software components to provide optimal security protection. Combining Kiuwan and obfuscation allows developers to implement an optimal security strategy. Scanning third-party components prevents issues that can lead to costly cyber attacks. Tools like Kiuwan are crucial for coders considering introducing the software to places like the Play Store or Apple Store. Request a free demo to learn more about Kiuwan’s benefits.