🔍 Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

🧠 What is SAST?

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is a code-level security testing technique that analyzes source code, bytecode, or binaries without running the application.

👉 Think of SAST as a security-focused code reviewer that never gets tired.

It scans your code to find:

• 🔓 Security vulnerabilities
• 🧱 Insecure coding patterns
• 🐞 Logic flaws that attackers can exploit

All before the application ever reaches production.

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🚀 Why SAST Matters in DevOps

DevOps is about speed + quality.
SAST supports both by catching security issues early.

✅ Key Benefits

1. 🟢 Finds issues early (Shift Left)
2. 🟢 Cheaper to fix vulnerabilities
3. 🟢 Automated and scalable
4. 🟢 Improves developer security awareness
5. 🟢 Reduces production incidents

🔥 Fixing a bug in code costs cents. Fixing it in production costs thousands.

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🔄 Where SAST Fits in the DevOps Pipeline

Code → Commit → Build → 🔍 SAST → Test → Package → Deploy

📍 SAST runs:

• During local development
• On pull requests
• In CI pipelines
• As a quality gate before merge

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🛠️ How SAST Works (Simple Flow)

1. 👨‍💻 Developer writes code
2. 📤 Code is pushed to Git
3. 🤖 CI pipeline triggers SAST scan
4. 🔎 Tool analyzes code paths and data flow
5. 📊 Security report is generated
6. ❌ Build fails if critical issues are found

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🧪 Real Example (DevOps Scenario)

💡 Scenario: Login API Vulnerability

A developer writes this code:

String query = "SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = '" + user + "'";

🚨 What SAST Detects

1. 🔴 SQL Injection Risk
2. 🔴 Untrusted user input
3. 🔴 Missing parameterization

🛠️ SAST Recommendation

PreparedStatement stmt =
  conn.prepareStatement("SELECT * FROM users WHERE username = ?");

✅ Vulnerability fixed before deployment

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🧩 Common Vulnerabilities Found by SAST

🔐 Vulnerability	💥 Impact
SQL Injection	Data theft
Hardcoded secrets	Credential leaks
XSS	User hijacking
Insecure crypto	Broken encryption
Unsafe deserialization	Remote code execution

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⚖️ SAST vs Other Security Tests

Type	Runs Code?	Finds
SAST	❌ No	Code flaws
DAST	✅ Yes	Runtime issues
IAST	✅ Yes	Code + runtime
SCA	❌ No	Vulnerable libraries

👉 SAST is best for early detection.

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🧠 Best Practices for Using SAST in DevOps

🔹 Run SAST on every pull request
🔹 Fail builds only on high/critical issues
🔹 Educate developers on findings
🔹 Tune rules to reduce false positives
🔹 Combine with DAST and SCA

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⚠️ Limitations of SAST (Be Honest)

🔸 May produce false positives
🔸 Cannot detect runtime-only issues
🔸 Needs tuning per language and framework

👉 That’s why SAST is necessary but not sufficient alone.

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🎯 Final Takeaway

🛡️ SAST in DevOps = Secure Code at Speed

1. ✔ Security starts with code
2. ✔ Automation beats manual reviews
3. ✔ Early detection saves time and money
4. ✔ Essential pillar of DevSecOps

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