Automated Code Analysis

Automated Code Analysis, often referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), is a process that examines the source code of software applications without executing them. Its primary purpose is to identify potential security vulnerabilities, bugs, and coding standard violations in the program's structure and logic.
This analysis can be performed at various levels, including:
  1. File Level: Checking individual files for issues like missing licenses, outdated libraries, etc.
  2. Function/Method Level: Analyzing specific functions or methods for potential problems such as SQL injection vulnerabilities, buffer overflows, and null pointer dereferences.
  3. Whole Application Level: Assessing the overall structure of the application to detect architectural flaws that could lead to security risks or performance issues.
Automated code analysis tools use a variety of techniques such as data flow analysis, control flow analysis, and pattern matching against known vulnerability signatures. These tools can help developers catch issues early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), reducing the cost and time associated with fixing them later on.
However, it's important to note that while these tools are powerful, they're not perfect. They may generate false positives (incorrectly flagging non-issues as problems) or false negatives (missing real issues). Therefore, automated code analysis should be part of a comprehensive security strategy that also includes dynamic application security testing (DAST), manual reviews, and other measures.
Automated Code Analysis (ACA) is a broad term that encompasses various software testing methods designed to examine source code or compiled code for potential issues, vulnerabilities, and deviations from best practices. This includes Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), and other forms of testing like Unit Testing, Integration Testing, etc.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST), on the other hand, is a specific type of automated code analysis that focuses solely on identifying security vulnerabilities in the source code without executing the software. It works by analyzing the application's structure and behavior directly from the source or binary code.
In SAST, tools scan the codebase looking for patterns and coding errors that could lead to security flaws. This is typically done early in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), often during the build phase or as part of a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. Common issues detected by SAST include buffer overflows, SQL injection vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting (XSS), and authentication or authorization problems.
In summary, while Automated Code Analysis is an umbrella term for various automated methods to assess code quality and security, SAST is a specific method within this broader category that focuses on finding security bugs in the source code without running the application.