What Is Code Scanning? Approaches and Best Practices

Identifying security flaws early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC) prevents vulnerabilities from reaching production, where they become more complex and expensive to fix. Integrating automated code scanning into development workflows allows you to catch issues as they arise, providing a more secure and stable codebase.

Here’s a guide to explore how source code scanning works, the different approaches to detect security risks, and best practices for making code scanning a seamless part of your development process.

What Is Code Scanning?

Every application contains bugs. Some affect performance, while others introduce security risks. Code scanning identifies these vulnerabilities and coding errors early, preventing flaws from slipping into production or becoming costly security breaches​.

Code scanning can occur during key stages of the SDLC by continuously monitoring new code changes through application code scanning techniques. Some tools automatically trigger scans when developers push updates. Other automated code scanning tools can enhance this process by using AI-powered detection to reduce false positives and improve accuracy—without slowing development.

5 Benefits of Code Scanning

The key to strong application security isn’t just detecting vulnerabilities, but preventing them from reaching production in the first place. Code scanning helps you build more secure software by continuously identifying risks, enforcing compliance, and improving visibility across the development lifecycle.

Here’s how it makes a difference:

1. Periodic Code Scans

Continuous and automated code scanning is the best way to catch vulnerabilities during development. With the right tools, you can schedule scans periodically and without hands-on intervention, making the process seamless. Pair your efforts with secrets scanning tools that proactively detect exposed credentials and sensitive data and prevent security issues before they reach production​.

2. Elasticity

A strong security strategy doesn’t rely on just one scanning method. Modern tools combine techniques like static application security testing (SAST) and software composition analysis (SCA) to simultaneously analyze open-source dependencies and proprietary code. This way, you can apply multiple scanning techniques without disrupting development, improving coverage and risk detection​.

3. Proactive Risk Management

Code scanning proactively maps security risks throughout the SDLC, eliminating the need to wait for exploits. With code-to-cloud traceability, you can see potential risks from initial code commits to deployment. Knowing what's high risk prevents security gaps before they become incidents.​

4. Stronger Compliance and Governance

Some industries, such as the financial sector, healthcare organizations, and government agencies, require strict access controls and auditing practices. Secrets management best practices—which include code scanning—prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Integrating security policies into development workflows helps you automate compliance checks and reduce regulatory violations​.

5. Visibility Across the SDLC

From repositories like GitHub to CI/CD pipelines, you need a centralized view of vulnerabilities across all environments. Application security posture management (ASPM) solutions unify security efforts, giving you real-time insights into risks across the software supply chain. This level of visibility allows you to enforce security policies regardless of the code's development or deployment location.

Code Scanning Approaches

There’s no single approach to code scanning security. Different techniques target different security risks.

A well-rounded security strategy combines multiple scanning methods to identify vulnerabilities at various stages of development. Here are some of the most common approaches:

Software Composition Analysis

Modern applications rely on open-source components, but unpatched vulnerabilities in third-party libraries expose organizations to risk. SCA tools scan dependencies and package managers, flagging security flaws in external code before they impact production.

To strengthen security further and prevent sensitive data from being unintentionally exposed​, implement effective secrets scanning.

Static Application Security Testing

SAST scans source code at rest, using a static analysis tool to identify security weaknesses without executing the application. This method, often called static code analysis, can catch hardcoded secrets, input validation issues, and access control flaws before deployment.

Many SAST tools also provide insights into how to mitigate vulnerabilities before they reach production.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST simulates real-world attacks by testing applications while they’re running. Unlike SAST, which reviews code statically, DAST scans live applications to identify SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other runtime vulnerabilities. It’s especially useful for finding security misconfigurations and flaws that only appear in production​.

Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

IAST combines elements of both SAST and DAST. It runs inside the application, monitoring how code behaves under different inputs. This method provides real-time security insights, helping teams detect security vulnerabilities as code is executed. IAST is highly scalable and has a lower rate of false positives, making it ideal for continuous security monitoring​.

Best Practices for Code Scanning

A strong code scanning strategy requires integration, automation, and developer awareness to be truly effective.

Here are some best practices to maximize security while maintaining development speed:

1. Regularly schedule code scans: Security threats evolve constantly. Scanning should be an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Establish a consistent cadence for code scans at key development milestones or before major releases. This allows development teams to catch vulnerabilities early rather than piling up right before deployment​.
2. Integrate scanning into the CI/CD pipeline: Embedding secure code scans into your CI/CD workflows allows security checks to run every time you commit or merge code. This proactive approach identifies vulnerabilities in real time without disrupting development​.
3. Train developers on secure coding practices: The best way to reduce vulnerabilities is to avoid writing them in the first place. Teams should receive ongoing training in secure coding principles, including common security risks like injection flaws and misconfigurations. When developers understand how to write secure code, fewer issues reach production​.
4. Use both automated scanning and manual reviews: While automated code scanning is essential for catching vulnerabilities at scale, manual code reviews still play a role in spotting business logic flaws and security gaps that automated tools might miss. Combining both methods strengthens overall security​.
5. Prioritize and remediate security findings: Not every vulnerability is an immediate risk. Prioritize high-severity issues first while balancing security with development speed. Use scanning tools that provide actionable remediation guidance to address issues efficiently rather than just generating long lists of security alerts​.

Boost Code Scanning With Legit Security

Legit Security optimizes your code scanning efforts by helping you manage and prioritize all the findings coming from your various testing tools. In addition, it provides full visibility into your entire software development pipeline, mapping out where security controls like code scanning are in place and where gaps exist.

Plus, our AI-powered secrets scanner gives you the visibility, prevention, and remediation capabilities you need to secure secrets across the entire development lifecycle.

Ready to automate security code scanning and safeguard your SDLC? Request a demo.