Guard Your App: Top 3 Ways to Identify and Fix Security Vulnerabilities

Vulnerabilities are like open doors or open windows that give bad guys a way to get into your app and cause all kinds of problems.

So how do you identify these vulnerabilities and make your apps secure? There are a few basic tips:

Code Scanning

Think of code scanning as getting an intelligent robot scan your code for you. These tools will simply scan all the rules in your app, letter by letter, to identify potential weaknesses or weak spots. It’s like a guard making the rounds and checking that all doors and windows are tightly shut.

Code scanning tools are available for all popular programming languages ​​such as Ruby, PHP, Python, Go, and Rust. Some examples are Brakeman https://brakemanscanner.org/ for Ruby, Bandit https://bandit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ for Python, and Gosec https://github.com/securego/gosec for Go. Using these tools is an easy way to quickly catch many vulnerabilities before your code is even deployed.

Runtime Monitoring

While code scanning is advanced, some vulnerabilities can only be discovered while your app is actually running. That's where runtime monitoring tools come in. These tools analyze the behavior of your app as it runs, by sending inputs and requests, just as a real user or attacker would

Tools like OWASP ZAP https://github.com/zaproxy/zaproxy can automatically scan a running web page by crawling all the pages automatically testing for various malicious components. It’s as if an ethical hacker is constantly poking around and prodding your app to find a way in. Or if a weakness is found, the tool can provide you with a detailed report to help you fix it.

Checking Dependencies

When developing apps, you often import and use code libraries developed by others. However, some of those libraries may actually have some vulnerabilities that are known to attackers.

There are tools that can inspect all the libraries used in your app's codebase and cross-reference them against databases of known vulnerabilities. It's an easy way to catch if you're inadvertently using any risky components. Some examples are Grype https://github.com/anchore/grype bundler-audit https://github.com/rubysec/bundler-audit for Ruby gem scanning and npm audit https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/commands/npm-audit for Node.js.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures

CVE Details https://www.cvedetails.com/ is your one-stop shop for deciphering Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures.  Search, explore, and understand security weaknesses with detailed descriptions, CVSS scores, and references - all to empower you to fortify your applications.

So in summary, make sure to integrate good security practices like code analysis, runtime monitoring, and dependency checking into your development process - regardless of what programming language you use. Staying ahead of vulnerabilities is the best way to build apps that are secure and keep your users' data safe!