What is the goal of Static Application Security Testing (SAST)?

The primary goal of Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is to analyze source code or binary code for vulnerabilities without actually executing the program. This method allows security professionals to identify potential security flaws early in the software development lifecycle, ensuring that vulnerabilities can be addressed before the application is deployed. By examining the code statically, SAST tools can detect issues such as hard-coded credentials, buffer overflows, and other common security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.

SAST is particularly valuable because it allows for a comprehensive review of all code paths, helping developers understand and mitigate security risks as they write and modify code. By integrating SAST into the development process, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture and reduce the cost and effort associated with fixing vulnerabilities later in the cycle.

In contrast, other methods, such as dynamic application security testing (DAST), focus on analyzing the application during runtime. These alternative approaches do not provide the same early detection benefits and may miss some vulnerabilities that can be identified through static analysis. Moreover, user feedback during testing and simulating attacks (as touched on in other options) serve different purposes and are part of broader testing strategies rather than the specific goals of SAST.