EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) v12System Hacking Phases and Attack TechniquesMedium
A security auditor is performing a black-box assessment on a new web application. They use an automated tool to scan for common vulnerabilities. The tool reports a 'SQL Injection' vulnerability on a login page, indicating that input validation is insufficient. Which category of vulnerability analysis does this tool primarily fall under?
- ASoftware Composition Analysis (SCA)
- BStatic Application Security Testing (SAST)
- CInteractive Application Security Testing (IAST)
- DDynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
The scenario describes a black-box assessment using an automated tool to scan a running web application for vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, directly interacting with the application's exposed interfaces. This is the definition of Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST).
Why the other options are wrong
- A. SCA focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in open-source and third-party components.
- B. SAST analyzes source code without executing the application.
- C. IAST combines elements of SAST and DAST, running within the application's runtime environment.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
A security testing method that analyzes a running application from the outside by simulating attacks and observing its behavior, without access to the source code.
- Identifies runtime vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, XSS, and authentication flaws.
- Often used in black-box testing scenarios.
- Can be automated and integrated into CI/CD pipelines.
Memory trick: App security: Static for code, Dynamic for run, Interactive for both, Components for fun.