What is an Application Security Scanner?

Digital products and services underpin nearly every aspect of business operations in the modern era, offering incredible versatility and flexibility for businesses. In this reality, securing applications isn’t a “nice to have” – it’s a foundational business necessity as serious as taxes (and nearly as complex). Getting this right is incredibly important, and knowing where to start – and how to know where your security is lax – can be a challenge.

Application security scanners are one answer to this difficult challenge. These applications are specialized tools designed to automate the identification of security vulnerabilities, helping teams address issues before they become real risks. From web applications to APIs, these scanners provide a critical layer in the security stack, allowing users a greater visibility and contextualisation of issues in a unified view.

In this article, we’re going to dive into just what an application security scanner is, the variations in tooling available, how they address vulnerabilities and compliance issues at scale, and more. We’ll dig into how to choose your go-to solution, evaluating key features and security controls in context and in situ.

What Is Web Application Security?

Before we dive into the details, let’s break down what web application security is as a concept. Web application security is the practice of protecting web apps from threats and attacks by addressing critical vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can expose the codebase and services, compromising sensitive data and systems through unpatched security weaknesses. This domain of security specifically focuses on ensuring applications are free of flaws and weaknesses such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, command injection, and misconfigurations, and is a critical piece of your security strategy.

There is a certain complexity that web application security tools can also help reduce throughout this process. Modern applications often interact with complex ecosystems, including APIs, third-party libraries, and cloud services, increasing the attack surface and potential attack vectors. Application security testing tools aim to detect vulnerabilities within this ecosystem before malicious actors can exploit them, reducing the complexity of the security posture and promoting better security outcomes.

Types of Application Security Scanners

With this in mind, let’s look at some of the common classes of application security scanners. Each of these types serves a unique role in the security lifecycle, offering different methods and approaches to resolving security flaws within the service ecosystem.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST tools analyze application source code or binaries without executing the program, detecting security issues that are inherent to the code itself. They detect vulnerabilities like insecure coding patterns, secrets in code repositories, and logic flaws, surfacing critical structural issues that may lead to significant exposure and insecurity. These tools are typically integrated early in the development lifecycle and are meant to be used as a baseline system to ensure the critical applications are secure intrinsically.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST scanners assess applications in a running state post-build, looking for security risks that are baked into the code as executed. By simulating attacks, they detect vulnerabilities in real time, including cross-site scripting and SQL injection. Unlike SAST, DAST tools don’t require access to source code; they operate on the actual service in production.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

SCA tools identify open-source and third-party components in an application, flagging known vulnerabilities and licensing issues. These scanners help development teams manage supply chain risks and integrations with third-party tools, promoting safe build and integration practices without moving your information security posture onto the shoulders of external dependent partners.

API Security Scanners

These scanners focus on identifying issues in APIs, such as improper authentication, excessive data exposure, and CORS misconfigurations. They help secure the growing API attack surface by looking at the connections between services, boosting web security and providing deeper insights into how systems connect with one another.

How to Choose the Right Application Security Tool

Choosing the right scanner for your implementation will depend on several critical factors:

• Application Type – web apps, mobile apps, APIs, and microservices may need specialized tools that have limited utility outside of their given application class. While this is not true of all tools – and indeed some tools provide universal coverage – tools tend to focus on a specific implementation or application type, which can naturally limit your options in specific use cases.
• Development Process – tools should integrate into your CI/CD pipeline for continuous monitoring. A good tool is one that will be used – accordingly, you need to find a tool that will integrate with your development process in a non-frustrating way to ensure utility and utilisation long-term.
• False Positives Rate – high false positives slow down remediation. Choose scanners that minimize noise and promote contextual understanding, as this will give you the best possible results with minimal confusion, double work, etc. Look for strong command line interface (CLI) support, plugin availability, and compatibility with DevOps tools.
• Reporting – actionable reports and risk prioritization are crucial for security teams. Without these, vulnerability scanners become less useful, simply alerting you to security issues without surfacing actionable repair points.
• Compliance – tools that help meet standards like PCI DSS, SOC 2, or ISO 27001. Many users of these tools use these systems specifically for regulatory compliance, so you’ll want to make sure your tool meets the regulatory framework you are reaching for.
• Budget and Scale – consider licensing, user limits, and the ability to scale with your team. Again, the best tool is one that will be used, so if cost is going to become a significant barrier, you may want to opt for one of the other security tools that you will be able to afford long-term!

Benefits of Using Application Security Tools

Using an application security scanner offers numerous advantages:

• Automated Scanning – reduce human error with automated, repeatable security scans. This can help with everything from penetration testing to Zed Attack Proxy iteration, allowing you to make your code base safer with less manual overhead.
• Continuous Monitoring – identify vulnerabilities during development, not just after deployment. Web application scanners, vulnerability scanners, and application context scanners can provide a multi-layered and continuous system that can grant unparalleled visibility.
• Comprehensive Coverage – cover everything from frontend issues to backend APIs.
• Reduce False Positives – advanced tools filter noise, focusing on real threats.
• Unified Platform – some solutions offer a single dashboard to manage web, API, web application vulnerability, and mobile app security.
• Remediation Guidance – detailed reports help developers fix issues quickly.
• Compliance Readiness – easily demonstrate adherence to industry standards.
• Secure Development Culture – encourages DevSecOps and security ownership within development teams.

Best Application Security Tools

StackHawk

StackHawk is a leading developer-centric DAST tool that helps teams automate vulnerability scanning for web applications and APIs within CI/CD workflows.

Benefits

• Seamless CI/CD integration
• Easy configuration with YAML-based files
• Modern UI and actionable security findings
• Built for dev-first workflows

Burp Suite

Burp Suite, developed by PortSwigger, is a comprehensive security testing platform for web applications. It provides a range of tools for scanning, crawling, and manually testing applications, widely used by professional penetration testers.

Benefits

• Powerful DAST capabilities
• Detailed manual testing tools
• Rich plugin ecosystem and extensibility
• Real-time traffic interception and modification

Fortify

Fortify by OpenText offers both SAST and DAST tools designed for enterprise-grade security testing. It supports extensive programming languages and integrates well with software development workflows.

Benefits

• High accuracy and low false positives
• Broad vulnerability coverage
• Integration with IDEs, CI/CD, and ticketing systems
• Supports compliance with standards like OWASP Top 10 and PCI DSS

Veracode

Veracode provides SaaS-based application security testing that includes SAST, DAST, and SCA. It’s well-suited for large organizations aiming to shift security left across multiple development teams.

Benefits

• Cloud-native platform with easy onboarding
• Developer-focused with in-context remediation guidance
• Scalable across large application portfolios
• Integrates with major DevOps tools and platforms

Snyk

Snyk is a developer-first security tool focused on software composition analysis (SCA), scanning for vulnerabilities in open-source dependencies. It integrates seamlessly with modern development environments.

Benefits

• Real-time scanning and instant feedback
• Supports GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and more
• Fix suggestions and automated PR generation
• Policy enforcement and license compliance

WhiteSource (now Mend)

WhiteSource, recently rebranded as Mend, is an SCA tool that helps organizations secure their open-source usage by identifying vulnerabilities and enforcing licensing policies.

Benefits

• Comprehensive open-source inventory management
• Real-time alerts on vulnerable components
• Prioritization based on exploitability and impact
• Integration with build tools, repositories, and CI/CD pipelines

FOSSA

FOSSA is an SCA platform that automates the tracking of open-source licenses and vulnerabilities across software projects. It’s particularly useful for managing legal and security risks in large codebases.

Benefits

• Fast, scalable scanning for large repos
• Detailed license compliance workflows
• CI/CD and IDE integration
• Automated remediation with pull requests

Postman

Postman security enhances the popular API development platform with features for API security testing, particularly against known vulnerabilities in OpenAPI specifications.

Benefits

• Built into the Postman workflow
• Scans for security risks in API definitions
• Useful for contract testing and shift-left API security
• Collaboration features for team-wide visibility

42Crunch

42Crunch is a specialized API security platform focused on continuous security enforcement across the API lifecycle. It includes OpenAPI contract analysis, runtime protection, and CI/CD integration.

Benefits

• API-specific vulnerability detection
• Automated risk scoring and security linting
• Runtime enforcement via API firewalling
• Integration with developer pipelines and registries

GitHub Advanced Security

An enterprise security suite integrated directly into the GitHub platform, supporting SAST, SCA, and secrets detection.

Benefits

• Built into GitHub repositories
• Automatic scanning for code, dependencies, and secrets
• Scales across teams and projects
• Reduces friction for secure development

Conclusion

Application security scanners are indispensable for modern development teams, empowering security professionals and developers alike with the systems they need to stay ahead of evolving cyber risks. These tools help teams deliver secure applications with confidence, improving overall security posture and making better code overall. As organizations grow their digital footprint, these tools help appsec teams maintain security posture through continuous testing, clear reporting, and seamless integration across the SDLC, a benefit that will reap rewards tenfold today and down the line.

Integrating the right scanner is more than a technical choice – it’s a strategic investment in the security, trust, and resilience of your software. StackHawk is a leading option in this space for a reason – with its powerful toolset and systems, it can help you get your code right quickly. The best part? You can get started with StackHawk today with a free trial! Sign up today or contact our team to start your journey to better and more secure code.