What is code security?
Code security means detecting and fixing vulnerabilities at the source before they reach production.
You can achieve code security with the following:
Code reviews or manual audits of each commit or your whole codebase, either by your own engineers or by an external security consultant
Code linters that enforce best practices to prevent known issues in programming languages
Static application security testing (SAST) tools, which check code for known vulnerabilities
Audit tools that check if the code depends on third-party code with known vulnerabilities
How do code security tools work?
Modern scanners work by matching patterns in your code and third-party libraries to known vulnerability databases. Advanced tools also use custom rules, data flow analysis, or even AI models that have trained on secure code to catch more subtle bugs and security issues.
Most code security tools list the issues they find, in addition to proposing actionable solutions, so you can fix problems immediately. The most effective solutions also feature easy integrations with developer tools like integrated development environments (IDEs), Git hooks, and CI/CD pipelines, which allow you to scan your code at every step of the development process.
What open-source code security tools are available?
Plenty of open-source code security tools are out there, and each has its own set of features to tackle different software security needs. Here are a few broad categories to look out for:
Multi-language code security tools
While multi-language tools often have their own dedicated scanners for more popular languages, less common languages—like Elixir, PL/SQL, and Modelica—tend to only have single tool support.
Here are some tools that work across multiple programming languages:
1. Semgrep
Semgrep is one of the most popular code security tools on GitHub thanks to how quickly it scans code and dependencies. It writes in OCaml and is available as the open-source part of a managed service. Semgrep also supports deep semantic analysis across multiple languages, which allows teams to write custom rules for their codebase.
Developers and security teams use Semgrep to catch bugs, enforce code standards, and identify security flaws early in CI/CD pipelines, all without slowing down development. Its lightweight, grep-like syntax makes it easy to adopt and scale across repositories.
Supported languages: C#, Go, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, and more
Pros:
Fast scans of both code and dependencies
Easy-to-write custom rules
Excellent documentation and community support
Minimal false positives
Cons:
Limited support for compiled languages
Degraded performance with very large codebases
2. SonarQube
SonarQube is a security scanner with an open-source community edition that supports more than a dozen programming languages. It also offers static code analysis, which enables developers to detect bugs, code smells, and security vulnerabilities early in the development cycle.
This scanner integrates with CI/CD pipelines and popular DevOps tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and Azure Pipelines, allowing for automated code quality checks during the build process. It also provides a user-friendly web interface that displays detailed reports and dashboards so teams can monitor code quality metrics and enforce coding standards across projects.
Supported languages: Azure Resource Manager, AWS CloudFormation, C#, and more
Pros:
Detailed explanations with deep analysis
CI/CD system integrations
Supports= for quality gates to enforce security standards
Metric tracking
Cons:
Complex setup and configuration
Resource-intensive
3. PMD
PMD, a self-proclaimed extensible source code analyzer, supports static code analysis. With over 400 built-in rules, it helps teams catch common programming issues like unused variables, empty catch blocks, and unnecessary object creation. And because its copy-paste detector supports over 30 languages, it’s easy for teams to spot duplicated code across different codebases.
This tool also works with build tools like Maven, Gradle, and Ant, as well as popular IDEs like Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA, to automate code quality checks as part of your workflow. Developers can use it to enforce coding standards, keep code maintainable, and catch potential bugs early in the process.
Supported languages: Java, JavaScript, Salesforce Apex and Visualforce, and more
Pros:
Highly customizable
Low false positive rate
Incremental analysis for faster processing
Well-established with long history
Cons:
Limited security-focused rules
Less comprehensive than dedicated security tools
Steeper learning curve for custom rules
4. Bearer
Bearer is a developer-friendly SAST tool that scans your code directly from the command line. It employs built-in rules that align with the OWASP Top 10 and CWE Top 25 to detect critical issues like injection flaws, cryptographic failures, and access control vulnerabilities. But beyond traditional security checks, Bearer also analyzes data flows to identify and prioritize risks that involve personal data and other sensitive information so teams can focus on the most impactful issues first.
Developers can easily add Bearer to their CI/CD pipelines with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI. This allows for automated code scanning and privacy report generation that help with compliance efforts like GDPR and HIPAA. Additionally, Bearer’s differential scanning feature allows for rapid analysis of code changes by comparing branches and making sure that new vulnerabilities show up early without slowing down the development process.
Supported languages: JavaScript/TypeScript, Ruby, Java, and more
Pros:
Privacy-focused rules, in addition to security
Vulnerability prioritization by severity
Clean, actionable output
Active development and updates
Cons:
Smaller community than other tools
Limited language coverage compared to others
Fewer integrations than established competitors
5. Graudit
Graudit is a lightweight, grep-based static code analysis tool that identifies security vulnerabilities in source code. It uses customizable, built-in signature databases to detect common issues like SQL injection and XSS.
With flexible command-line options, Graudit is ideal for quick audits, CI/CD integration, and comprehensive security reviews and offers a simple yet powerful solution for developers and security teams.
Supported languages: ActionScript, ASP, C, COBOL, and more
Pros:
Easy-to-use with minimal setup
Text-based code
No dependencies
Highly portable
Cons:
More basic functionality than advanced tools
Higher false positive rate
Limited contextual analysis
No remediation guidance
6. Horusec
Horusec is a tool with multiple deployment options, including a command-line interface (CLI), IDE plug-ins, and a Docker-based web UI for managing vulnerabilities. It works with many languages, so it’s flexible enough for different development setups.
In addition to SAST, Horusec offers secret detection and dependency vulnerability assessments, and it integrates smoothly with CI/CD pipelines for automated security checks during development. The web UI also centralizes vulnerability management so teams can classify issues, track progress, and generate detailed reports.
Users can add custom security tools and rules and customize analysis to their project needs. This flexibility, along with the features Horusec provides, make it a valuable tool for embedding security into development workflows.
Supported languages: Java, Go, Python, Ruby, and more
Pros:
Multiple interface options
Visual vulnerability management UI
Strong container security features
Active development community
Cons:
More complex setup than some alternatives
Documentation gaps for some languages
Resource-intensive for large scans
Limited historical tracking
7. Scan
Scan is a great tool for quick deployments since it doesn’t have a complicated setup. With its preconfigured settings, developers can generate detailed security reports straight out of the box, which makes it easy to get started.
It works with a wide variety of programming languages, which allows teams to analyze different codebases efficiently. It also integrates smoothly with popular development environments and CI/CD pipelines so you can automate security checks as part of your workflow.
This tool gives developers clear, actionable insights into vulnerabilities, helping them fix security issues early in the development process and avoid expensive fixes down the line. Its straightforward interface and detailed reports make it a great choice for teams that are looking to boost their security without adding any unnecessary complexity to their work.
Supported languages: Ansible, Apex, ARM, and more
Pros:
Zero configuration
Comprehensive language support
CI/CD-friendly
Excellent for beginners
Cons:
Limited customization options
Less granular controls
Fine-tuning limitations for specific environments
Fewer advanced features
8. Betterscan
Betterscan Community Edition is an open-source DevSecOps orchestration toolchain that integrates multiple security scanning tools to analyze source code and infrastructure as code (IaC). It brings together results from different tools to create unified reports, which helps developers spot and fix security vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and compliance issues across their code and cloud setups. It also offers features like SAST, software composition analysis, secret scanning, and supply chain risk detection.
On top of that, Betterscan includes differential analysis, which highlights changes between code versions so teams can easily catch newly introduced vulnerabilities.
This flexible platform offers both CLI and web-based user interface options to facilitate integration into various development workflows and CI/CD pipelines. Betterscan’s modular design also makes it easy to add custom checks and tools so you can tweak its security analysis to fit your specific needs.
Supported languages: PHP, Java, Scala, Python, and more
Pros:
Multiple scanning tool uses
Broader vulnerability detection
Secrets scanning
Free community edition
Cons:
Complex setup and management
Learning curve for configuration
9. Trivy
Trivy detects vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and security issues across the software development lifecycle. It also makes IaC scanning simple by identifying configuration file types like Terraform, Kubernetes manifests, and Dockerfiles. With it, you can apply security policies to catch issues like overly permissive access controls or insecure default settings, which helps developers shift left and tackle security problems early in the development process.
This tool scans filesystems and container images for known vulnerabilities in OS packages and app dependencies and includes secret scanning to detect hardcoded secrets like API keys and tokens in code or container images.
With its versatility and ease of use, Trivy is great for DevSecOps since it keeps security a priority throughout development.
Supported languages: AWS, Terraform, Kubernetes, and more
Pros:
Wide vulnerability database coverage
Fast scanning speed
Excellent container and IaC security
Highly accurate results
Cons:
Limited application code scanning features
Fewer custom rule options
Higher dependency focus than code logic
Lack of optimization for IDE integration
10. Automated Security Helper for AWS
Automated Security Helper (ASH) is a tool that simplifies security assessments in AWS environments. It integrates open-source scanners like Bandit, Semgrep, and Checkov to detect vulnerabilities in code, IaC templates, and IAM policies.
ASH runs locally via Docker, or teams can integrate it into CI/CD pipelines to automate security checks. It also generates reports to prioritize fixes while helping teams identify issues early on without complicating workflows.
Supported languages: Shell, Python, Ruby, and more
Pros:
AWS-specific security insights
Scans for multiple resource types
Cloud native application support
Cons:
Narrower use case than general tools
Less community support than larger projects
Comparing multi-cloud security tools
Different programming languages have unique security considerations, so using a specialized scanner can provide deeper insights.
Here are the top tools for several popular languages:
JavaScript scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| nodejsscan | Popular SAST scanner for NodeJS applications that runs in a Docker container |
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| npm-audit | Built-in security tool for NodeJS applications as part of npm CLI |
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| ESLint and security plug-ins | Linter with security-focused rule plug-ins |
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Python scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandit | Python Code Quality Authority’s go-to Python security scanner |
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| Pyre | Meta’s security scanner for Python with incremental analysis focus |
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| Safety CLI | Security scanner that uses the Python Vulnerability Database |
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Java scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpotBugs | The successor to FindBugs, a general code quality tool |
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| Find Security Bugs | An OWASP add-on for SpotBugs that focuses on security |
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| OWASP Dependency-Check | A tool for project dependency identification with known vulnerabilities |
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Go scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| golangci-lint | A scanner orchestrator that runs multiple linters in parallel |
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| gosec | The most popular security scanner for Go, which integrates with golangci-lint |
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| nancy | A dependency vulnerability scanner for Go modules |
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Ruby scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brakeman | A quintessential security scanner for Ruby |
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| Dawn | An alternative security scanner that focuses on web applications in Ruby |
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| bundler-audit | A Ruby gem vulnerability scanner based on advisory database |
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PHP scanning tools
| Tool | Description | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHP_CodeSniffer | A preeminent code scanner with a phpcs-security-audit plug-in |
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| Psalm | A static analysis tool that focuses on type-related bugs with security checks |
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| Enlightn | A security scanner for Laravel’s web framework |
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Why choosing the right code scanning tool is critical
Selecting an appropriate code scanning tool can significantly impact your security posture. Just look at the recent surge in supply chain attacks—it’s more important now than ever to detect vulnerabilities before they reach production.
Open-source code scanning tools are great for providing security insights, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. Most organizations need a more context-aware approach that looks at cloud configurations, runtime exposure, and exploitability as well to more effectively prioritize risks. Poor tool choices only lead to missed vulnerabilities due to lack of coverage, overload from false positives, CI/CD slowdowns from incompatibility issues, and no insight into runtime exposure.
As such, cloud environments require security tools that give you a clear view of your entire development process, from IaC security to container scanning and runtime protection, all in one easy-to-use platform. The right ones significantly reduce your organization’s risk exposure while maintaining development velocity in today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Transform your DevSecOps and AppSec approach with Wiz Code
Open-source scanners are a valuable starting point, but they often fall short in determining whether a vulnerable function is truly reachable, exploitable, or exposed.
The variety of open-source SAST tools that are available today gives organizations a high amount of flexibility in how they approach code security, from language-specific tools for deep analysis or multi-language scanners for broader coverage. But the most important factor is consistent implementation throughout your development process.
That’s where Wiz Code makes the difference.
Our solution detects, prioritizes, and remediates vulnerabilities across your entire software development lifecycle, from the first line of code to your running cloud workloads. Wiz Code’s in-depth approach also gives you real-time visibility into your development pipeline and assesses your code’s security posture. Sign up for a personalized demo today to see how.
Or to deepen your understanding of secure coding practices, download our Secure Coding Best Practices Cheat Sheet, which provides actionable guidance for developers to build more secure applications from the start.
