Unified Security: Protecting Applications with SAST and DAST

Applications are the lifeblood of modern businesses, driving innovation, customer engagement, and operational efficiency. Yet, with every new line of code and every deployment to production, organizations open the door to potential vulnerabilities. These flaws may lurk deep within the codebase, hidden in plain sight, or only emerge when the application runs in a live environment. Securing these layers requires a comprehensive approach that identifies risks and addresses them across the entire application lifecycle.

Traditional application security testing methods often fail to provide the full picture. While some tools are adept at scanning code during development, others focus exclusively on live environments. The challenge lies in ensuring that no vulnerability is overlooked, whether buried in proprietary code or triggered at runtime.

As the complexity of modern applications grows, so too does the need for an integrated, layered approach to security that bridges these gaps and keeps pace with today’s evolving threat landscape.

While SAST (Static application security testing) and DAST (Dynamic application security testing) are each valuable in application security, many teams rely solely on one or the other, leaving themselves with vulnerabilities they cannot detect until an attacker finds them.

These visibility gaps increase organizations’ residual risk, as undetected vulnerabilities can linger in the codebase and runtime environment. For example, an application might pass static tests during development but expose critical weaknesses once deployed in a complex production environment. Similarly, DAST may flag runtime issues while overlooking root causes buried in the application’s code.

While SAST provides crucial insights into code-level vulnerabilities during development, it cannot address the vulnerabilities that only emerge when an application runs in a live environment. This is where runtime and environmental vulnerabilities become a significant concern. Misconfigurations, such as improperly set permissions or insecure default settings, often occur during deployment and are invisible to static analysis.

Similarly, runtime issues like insufficient input validation or injection attacks only manifest when the application is actively processing data. Without the ability to simulate real-world interactions, these dynamic threats remain undetected, posing significant risks to the application and its users.

The complexity of modern application environments exacerbates these challenges. Applications now rely heavily on APIs, third-party integrations, and dynamic dependencies, each introducing additional risk. These interconnected components create an intricate web where runtime vulnerabilities can propagate quickly, leaving organizations vulnerable to rapidly evolving attack vectors. Threat actors continually adapt their tactics, finding innovative ways to exploit runtime weaknesses that static analysis tools cannot predict.

While DAST excels at uncovering vulnerabilities in live environments, it falls short when examining the underlying code where many risks originate. Code-level vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection flaws, buffer overflows, or hardcoded credentials, often stem from insecure coding practices that can go unnoticed without proper scrutiny. These issues, buried within proprietary code, can lead to severe security breaches if not addressed early. Without static analysis, organizations risk deploying applications with hidden weaknesses that runtime testing alone cannot detect.

The cost of addressing vulnerabilities increases dramatically when discovered late in the development cycle or, worse, after deployment. DAST may flag an issue during runtime, but without insight into the underlying code, remediation can be time-consuming and disruptive, often requiring teams to revisit foundational aspects of the application. This is further complicated by human error—developers may unintentionally introduce vulnerabilities as they write or update code. SAST mitigates this risk by providing continuous feedback during the coding process, enabling developers to correct mistakes in real-time.

A unified approach that combines SAST and DAST is essential to addressing the challenges of securing modern applications. Each method excels in specific areas—SAST identifies vulnerabilities in the codebase during development, and DAST uncovers issues that arise in runtime environments.

Together, they form a comprehensive security strategy that bridges the visibility gaps left by relying on one method alone. This integrated approach ensures vulnerabilities are caught wherever they exist, from the earliest stages of coding to the complexities of live deployments.

Vulnerabilities can emerge at any stage of development. Using just a single type of tool leaves organizations only seeing part of the picture. Combining SAST and DAST gives organizations visibility throughout the dev lifecycle, helping eliminate issues when they occur.

It starts with SAST, which ties directly into the development phase. SAST identifies coding issues such as hardcoded secrets, logical errors, or insecure practices that could later evolve into exploitable vulnerabilities. By catching these flaws early, SAST empowers developers to write secure code from the outset, reducing the chances of introducing weaknesses in the application.

DAST comes in after and during runtime to detect vulnerabilities like misconfigurations, injection flaws, or cross-site scripting (XSS) that only surface in live environments.

Together, these tools turn security into a seamless extension of the development lifecycle rather than an afterthought, enabling organizations to deploy applications confidently.

A combined solution of SAST and DAST beyond coverage affects the real bottom line of vulnerability management in applications: the speed of remediation. By providing clear, actionable insights to developers, SAST helps them target problems early on in the development cycle, reducing the effort, time, and cost to implement fixes. This is augmented by DAST, which provides actual exploitation risk to guide teams in effectively prioritizing risks. Used together, these technologies provide teams the data they need to sort through numerous findings and eliminate those that matter most.

Integrating SAST and DAST into CI/CD pipelines takes this efficiency to the next level by automating detection and resolution efforts. Vulnerabilities can be identified and addressed in near real-time as part of the development workflow, significantly reducing turnaround times and keeping release schedules on track. This integrated approach also fosters better collaboration between development and security teams, as both groups gain visibility into the issues that matter most. Developers can tackle problems with actionable guidance while security teams maintain oversight, ensuring critical vulnerabilities are resolved promptly.

Probely, a Snyk business, enhances Snyk’s already robust security platform with its DAST expertise. Together, they deliver a comprehensive approach to securing applications, addressing vulnerabilities at every development lifecycle stage. Probely specializes in detecting runtime vulnerabilities such as misconfigurations and injection flaws, while Snyk’s SAST focuses on code-level issues like insecure practices and hardcoded secrets.

Organizations can seamlessly detect, prioritize, and get actionable insights to remediate vulnerabilities by combining Probely’s DAST capabilities with Snyk’s developer-centric tools. This integrated approach embeds security into CI/CD workflows, empowering teams to address issues early without disrupting development velocity. As a Snyk business, Probely continues to deliver dynamic security solutions while contributing to a holistic platform that protects all aspects of modern applications.

Schedule a demo today to see how Probely can transform your organization's vulnerability management program.