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Royser Alonsso Villanueva Mamani
Royser Alonsso Villanueva Mamani

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Applying Any SAST Tools to Any Application (Using OWASP Alternatives)

#tooling

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) allows developers to detect vulnerabilities early—before running the application. While many teams rely on well-known tools such as SonarQube, Snyk Code, Semgrep, or Veracode, the OWASP community maintains a long list of powerful, open-source alternatives that can be applied to any application.

This article explains how to apply SAST tools—without using Sonar, Snyk, Semgrep, or Veracode—and provides practical guidance for integrating them into your workflow.

🛡️ Why SAST Matters

SAST tools analyze source code, bytecode, or binaries in order to detect:

  • SQL Injection
  • XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)
  • Code injection
  • Insecure cryptography
  • Hardcoded secrets
  • Authorization flaws
  • Vulnerable data flows

Because SAST does not require executing the application, it can be applied very early in development, helping developers shift left and catch issues before they become expensive.

🔍 OWASP-Listed SAST Tools (Alternatives to Sonar/Snyk/Semgrep/Veracode)

Here are some widely adopted and effective SAST tools recommended by OWASP:

PMD (Java, JavaScript, Apex, PLSQL)

  • Detects bugs, code smells, and insecure patterns.
  • Integrates with Maven/Gradle + CI servers.

FindSecurityBugs (Java)

  • Security-focused extension of SpotBugs.
  • Detects SQLi, XXE, weak crypto, path traversal, and more.

Bandit (Python)

  • Python-specific security analyzer.
  • Detects unsafe imports, insecure crypto, unsafe YAML loading, etc.

Brakeman (Ruby on Rails)

  • Rails-specific SAST framework.
  • Powerful for avoiding RCE, mass assignment, and XSS in templates.

Flawfinder (C/C++)

  • Lightweight C/C++ static analyzer.
  • Focuses on functions that commonly lead to memory corruption.

RIPS (PHP)

  • Deep taint analysis for PHP.
  • Detects injection, insecure file handling, and sanitization flaws.

ESLint Security Plugins (JavaScript/Node.js)

  • Adds security rules on top of ESLint.
  • Identifies insecure eval, regex DOS risks, unsafe objects.

⚙️ How to Apply SAST Tools to Any Application

Regardless of your language or stack, applying a SAST tool follows the same general process.

1. Identify the Application Stack

Determine languages, frameworks, build tools, and CI environment.

2. Select the Appropriate Tool(s)

Examples:

Language Tools
Java PMD, FindSecurityBugs
Python Bandit
PHP RIPS
C/C++ Flawfinder
JavaScript ESLint Security Plugins
Ruby on Rails Brakeman

3. Install the Tool Locally

Examples:

Bandit

pip install bandit
bandit -r myproject/
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PMD

pmd -d src/ -R category/java/security.xml -f text
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4. Run the Scan and Analyze Results

Typical outputs include vulnerability type, severity, file, and remediation guidance.

5. Remediate Findings

Fix, prioritize, retest, and document issues.

6. Integrate SAST into CI/CD

Example GitHub Actions for Bandit:

name: Security Scan
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  bandit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Install Bandit
        run: pip install bandit
      - name: Run Bandit
        run: bandit -r .
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✔️ Best Practices

  • Shift security left
  • Combine multiple tools
  • Reduce false positives
  • Prioritize critical vulnerabilities
  • Build a security culture

🧩 Conclusion

Even without SonarQube, Snyk Code, Semgrep, or Veracode, teams can use OWASP-backed SAST tools to secure any application. With proper integration into CI/CD and consistent remediation practices, SAST becomes a powerful enabler of reliable and secure software development.

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