SCA vs SAST — Security Tools Comparison

In this article, we are focusing on their capabilities and common uses of purpose tool and then break down some information to compare SCA vs SAST so you can take a decision that which one is more suitable for your purposes.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

SCA aims to help you find security holes in the open-source components — or third-party libraries imported into your software project.

SCA plays a fundamental role in ensuring the security and healthiness of software, mainly for two reasons: too much code nowadays is open source, so you need to keep track on all those dependencies; SCAs are able also identify OS vulnerabilities.

Specific Applications of SCA

1. Open Source License Compliance: Ensuring compliance to open-source licenses is one of the most common use cases for SCA. Different licenses apply to different open source components, each entailing its own rights and responsibilities.
2. Failure to adhere can result in legal action. SCA tools scan the codebase and identify ALL open-source components along with their licenses. For Next-Level SCA Tools: ByteHide can auto-generate License Notices and even prevent a Build if it detects an out-of-policy license.
3. Vulnerability Management: SCA tools aim to identify known vulnerabilities in third-party components by querying databases such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD).
4. These tools go beyond just detecting vulnerabilities and asses the level of detail, for instance what is their impact on security (commonly know as severity) to fixing recommendations. For example, SCA tools may recommend updating to a more secure version of the component or replacing it altogether if no fix is available.
5. SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) Generation: One of the most basic capabilities for an SCA tool is generating a list — called an SBOM, or Software Bill Of Material, comprehensive inventory every software component that makes up your product.
6. An inventory this is created to help organization in maintaining an overview of all their third-party dependencies and accordingly managing the security risks associated with them.
7. SBOM is particularly useful when it comes to understanding the scope of a potential vulnerability and determining how best to move forward with updates or patches.

Examples of SCA Tools

Several tools exemplify the capabilities of SCA:

• FOSSA: Known for its robust license compliance features and comprehensive vulnerability management.
• GitHub Dependabot: Automatically scans repositories for vulnerabilities in dependencies and can even create pull requests to fix them.
• Snyk: Offers detailed vulnerability scanning and remediation advice, integrating seamlessly into development workflows​.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

In contrast to SCA and IAA which are focused on third-party components; is performed by analyzing the proprietary source code of a program (and also its binary or bytecode), looking for patterns that indicate potential security vulnerabilities.

SAST is a form of white-box testing which means the code, or as more accurately referred to in this case -interiors- are scrutinized without actually running the solution.

Specific Applications of SAST

1. Early Vulnerability Detection: SAST is best used in the early phase of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) just like it allows you to detect vulnerabilities while development.
2. By detecting and fixing vulnerabilities early, this application can make it cheaper and easier to address security issues in the later stages of production. Some examples of the types of vulnerabilities SAST tools can identify include SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and buffer overflows.
3. Detailed Code Analysis: SAST tools perform code-analysis using different methods. Data flow analysis: Realize data move across application and where untrusted data may relate to risks.
4. Taint analysis is a mechanism to track the flow of untrusted inputs from end-to-end and preventing them from becoming security vulnerabilities. In combination with those and… other tactics, SAST tools can generate exhaustive reports identifying the specific location of vulnerabilities in code — often right down to the file and line number.

Examples of SAST Tools

Several tools stand out in the SAST domain:

• GitHub Code Scanning: Integrates with developer workflows to scan code at every push, using CodeQL for advanced vulnerability detection.
• Synopsys: Offers comprehensive static analysis with extensive support for various programming languages and frameworks.
• Checkmarx: Provides deep code analysis with a focus on finding and fixing vulnerabilities early in the SDLC.

Comparative Analysis: SCA vs SAST

It is important to note the different roles that Software Composition Analysis (SCA) and Static Application Security Testing (SAST) play in conjunction with each other during an SDLC.

Both aim to improve security of software applications, but focus on different sorts of things and are delivered in distinct ways. This is how SCA and SAST compare to each other in various dimensions:

Scope of Analysis

• SCA: Deals with third-party components, open-source libraries utilized in application. It scans the codebase to find these components and then assesses their vulnerabilities, verifies compliance with open-source licenses.
• SAST: Examines source code, bytecode or binary code to find security vulnerabilities. Without executing the application, it scans code for security vulnerabilities therefore this also supports finding bugs early during development.

Access Requirements

• SCA: It does not need access to the source code directly, so can be a great option when you are trying analyze third party libraries and dependencies.
  This is what makes SCA ideal for projects when the source code may not be available in its entirety, or that use open-source components extensively.
• SAST: Access to the source code is necessary for static analysis, hence SAST is also known as white-box testing.
  This makes SAST more appropriate for in-house developments where the source code is visible and can be inspected comprehensively.

Stage in SDLC

• SCA: It can be applied across the SDLC. To ensure that all your third-party dependencies are both secure and compliant, especially in these later stages — such as just before release.
• SAST: Generally used in the developmental stages of SDLC. SAST helps developers detect vulnerabilities before the code is deployed and makes remediation less complex, while simultaneously reducing costs by facilitating early identification.

Types of Vulnerabilities Detected

• SCA: It identifies known vulnerabilities found in third-party libraries and open-source components, using databases which contain threat information like the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) It also aids in detecting compliance issues associated with open-source licenses.
• SAST: Detects a multitude of vulnerabilities within in-house code, including coding errors and security defects such as SQL injection vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting (XSS), buffer overflows. It has predetermined rule sets and security patterns to detect these flaws.

Remediation Strategies

• SCA: If a vulnerability is found the general correct fix will be an upgrade of that vulnerable third party component to the latest secure state Therefore, this way your application will be safe even without modifying the proprietary code.
• SAST: Any vulnerabilities detected would need to be fixed at the function level (for bugs) or microservices & dependencies for licensing issues. This may or will be rewriting some part of the code, following security best practices and making sure that data are well sanitized & validated.

Integration with CI/CD Pipelines

• SCA: Fits seamlessly into CI/CD pipeline. During the build process, SCA tools can automatically scan for vulnerabilities and compliance issues to make sure any bad dependency is spotted early-on before an application moves on.
• SAST: Can also integrate with CI/CD pipelines and has the ability to scan proprietary code for vulnerabilities, need not security tools only Such integration enables security vulnerabilities to be caught early and fixed in the development process of a more common secure manner.

Complementary Nature

SCA vs SAST have different goals, but they also are very synergistic. SCA for third-party dependencies in code with visibility to the components used, whether those components are suitable and compliant.

SAST provides a level of visibility that can be pointed inward, at the proprietary code and any possible gaps where attackers might try to exploit vulnerabilities. This combination ensures your applications are kept robust from both custom code and third-party libraries.

With both SCA and SAST, organizations have an opportunity to build out a layered security model that bakes in safety checkpoints throughout the layers of software the program is interacting with. Such a comprehensive approach not only elevates the application security posture but also mitigates any operational risks and ensures compliance.

Conclusion

That just about wraps up our point for point SCA vs SAST breakdown!

• SCA is for you if all you care about (to put it lightly) are the management and security of third party dependencies, open-source license compliance, and software bill-of-materials(SBOM).
  It’s great at giving you an overall sense of which vulnerabilities exist in your third-party components and helping make sure that various open-source licenses are complied with.
• Contrast that with the need to catch vulnerabilities early on in your software development process, especially when it comes to proprietary code and you require granularity of analysis around coding practices aimed at rooting out security flaws like SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS) back within SAST.
  This allows weaknesses to be identified and corrected proactively in the source code itself.

In the end, you will have to decide based on your specific project and codebase. To provide the most bang for your buck when it comes to security, you might want a strategy that involves SCA first and then followed by SAST where possible in parallel with way upstream vulnerability do discovery correct?

If you want to learn more about cybersecurity, don’t forget to visit our latest blog article about the Top 10 Application Security Vulnerabilities in 2024!