Static Application Security Testing

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is a security analysis technique that examines source code or compiled binaries without executing the program to identify vulnerabilities, code quality issues, and security flaws. Developed in the 2000s, SAST analyzes code structure, data flow, and control flow to detect potential bugs such as SQL injection, buffer overflows, and insecure cryptographic usage. SAST is widely integrated into development workflows as a shift-left security practice, enabling early detection of vulnerabilities before code reaches production.