11 Application Security Testing Types

As organizations accelerate their release cycles and rely on complex software ecosystems, security vulnerabilities become harder to track—and easier for attackers to exploit. From open-source dependencies to misconfigurations in production, security gaps can lead to data breaches, compliance failures, and costly downtime.

In fact, 59% of security professionals report that today’s attack surfaces have become unmanageable, with Generative AI and code security emerging as key blind spots. This growing complexity makes application and software security testing more critical than ever, requiring organizations to implement a proactive, layered approach.

This guide will break down the most critical types of application and software security testing, explaining how each works, when to use them, and their strengths and limitations. 

Key Takeaways:

• Security testing is essential to prevent breaches, compliance failures, and operational risks as applications and software become more complex.
• A layered security approach is necessary—no single testing method covers all vulnerabilities. Organizations should use a mix of SAST, SCA, secret scanning, and more.

Tool sprawl is a growing challenge—organizations benefit from unified Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) platforms that consolidate multiple security testing tools into a single interface.

What is Application Security Testing?

Application Security Testing (AST) refers to the practice of identifying, analyzing, and remediating security vulnerabilities within applications. This includes web applications, mobile applications, and APIs. AST methods evaluate application code, configurations, and runtime behavior to detect threats such as injection attacks, insecure authentication, misconfigurations, and exposed sensitive data.

Key focus areas of AST include:

• Proactive security measures: Identifying vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
• Code and dependency analysis: Assessing proprietary code and third-party components.
• Runtime protection: Detecting and mitigating threats while the application is running.

What is Software Security Testing?

Software Security Testing (SST) is a broader category that encompasses AST but also includes security assessments for other software components like firmware, infrastructure, dependencies, and supply chain security. SST extends beyond applications to examine open-source libraries, operating systems, and containerized environments.

Key focus areas of SST include:

• Supply chain security: Ensuring third-party components are free from vulnerabilities.
• Binary and artifact analysis: Evaluating compiled code and container images.
• Regulatory compliance: Testing software for adherence to security standards (e.g., PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC 2).

Application Security Testing vs. Software Security Testing

Application security testing and software security testing are closely related but have distinct scopes. Application security testing focuses specifically on securing applications, ensuring their code, dependencies, and configurations are free from vulnerabilities. Software security testing, on the other hand, extends beyond individual applications. It includes assessments of third-party software components, infrastructure, and supply chain security, ensuring that the entire software ecosystem is protected against risks such as vulnerable dependencies, compliance violations, and misconfigured cloud environments.

Both testing approaches are essential, and an effective security strategy combines application security testing with broader software security practices to provide comprehensive protection.

Types of Application and Software Security Testing

Security testing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different types of testing address different risks, and using a combination of these techniques helps create a more resilient security posture. 

In this section, we’ll cover the most important types of security testing, explaining what each one does, how it works, and its practical applications. We’ll also discuss their strengths and limitations to help you determine when and how to use them effectively.

1. Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

SCA scans open-source and third-party components in applications to identify vulnerabilities, licensing risks, and outdated dependencies. It works by cross-referencing third-party packages against vulnerability databases like the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and checking for known security flaws in open-source dependencies.

Use cases include:

• Ensuring software supply chain security
• Identifying vulnerable dependencies in applications
• Maintaining compliance with open-source licensing requirements

While SCA helps mitigate supply chain risks and provides visibility into third-party components, it does not scan proprietary code or detect runtime threats. 

Importantly, not all SCA tools are the same—some rely on open-source vulnerability scanners, while others, like Cycode, use proprietary scanners. Proprietary scanners offer deeper security insights, better accuracy, and improved risk prioritization by correlating vulnerabilities with real-world exploitability, minimizing false positives, and providing enriched security context.

This distinction between open-source and proprietary scanning approaches is particularly relevant for SCA and SAST (below), where proprietary engines can detect deeper code flaws and security misconfigurations that open-source alternatives may overlook.

2. Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST analyzes source code, bytecode, or binary files for security flaws before the application runs. It operates by scanning code statically without executing it, identifying potential vulnerabilities such as hardcoded credentials, injection flaws, and insecure API usage.

Use cases include:

• Integrating SAST into CI/CD pipelines for early vulnerability detection
• Supporting shift-left security initiatives
• Helping developers remediate security issues before deployment

While SAST is effective at identifying security flaws early, it may produce false positives and does not account for runtime threats.

3. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST scans running applications for vulnerabilities by analyzing HTTP responses and application behavior. It simulates real-world attack scenarios by sending malicious inputs and monitoring how the application responds.

Use cases include:

• Identifying vulnerabilities in staging and production environments
• Detecting real-world attack vectors like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS)
• Testing authentication mechanisms for security gaps

While DAST is effective at identifying runtime vulnerabilities, it cannot pinpoint the exact location of vulnerabilities in source code and may miss logical security flaws that require manual analysis.

4. Secret Scanning

Secret scanning identifies hardcoded credentials, such as API keys, tokens, passwords, and cryptographic keys, in source code and CI/CD environments. It works by scanning repositories, logs, and other storage locations for exposed secrets that attackers could exploit.

Use cases include:

• Preventing credential leaks in development environments
• Securing cloud configurations from unauthorized access
• Ensuring compliance with security best practices

Secret scanning protects against unauthorized access and supply chain attacks but may generate false positives if not properly tuned.

5. Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

IAST is a hybrid approach that combines elements of SAST and DAST to detect vulnerabilities while an application runs. By analyzing an application from within, IAST provides real-time security insights that are more accurate than traditional static or dynamic testing methods alone. It works by embedding security instrumentation inside an application, allowing it to detect security flaws as code executes.

Use cases include:

• Detecting vulnerabilities in modern applications that frequently change during development
• Supporting DevSecOps teams that need continuous security insights
• Reducing false positives by correlating vulnerabilities with actual execution paths

While IAST provides real-time analysis and greater accuracy, it requires instrumentation, which can introduce some performance overhead.

6. Compliance Testing

Compliance testing ensures that applications and software adhere to industry-specific security and regulatory requirements, such as PCI-DSS, FedRAMP, and DORA. It works by conducting automated and manual assessments against established security frameworks to verify that systems meet required standards.

Use cases include:

• Ensuring adherence to industry regulations and standards
• Avoiding legal and financial penalties related to non-compliance
• Strengthening customer trust by demonstrating security best practices

While compliance testing ensures adherence to standards, it does not necessarily mean that software is free from all vulnerabilities, making it a necessary but not sufficient security measure.

7. Manual Application Penetration Testing

Manual application penetration testing is a hands-on security testing approach where ethical hackers simulate real-world attacks to uncover vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss. Security experts manually test applications by identifying weaknesses, misconfigurations, and business logic flaws that could be exploited by attackers.

Use cases include:

• Testing high-value applications requiring in-depth security validation
• Identifying vulnerabilities that automated scanners fail to detect
• Performing red team exercises to assess security resilience

Manual penetration testing provides deep security insights but can be time-consuming and expensive, making it best suited for critical applications where high accuracy is required.

8. Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP)

RASP provides real-time protection by monitoring application behavior and blocking threats as they occur. Unlike traditional security testing methods that identify vulnerabilities pre-deployment, RASP actively detects and mitigates attacks while the application is running.

Use cases include:

• Preventing real-time exploitation of vulnerabilities in production environments
• Blocking zero-day attacks and runtime threats automatically
• Enhancing application security without requiring constant code changes

While RASP offers strong real-time protection, it may introduce some performance overhead and requires proper tuning to minimize false positives.

9. Cloud-Native Application Security Testing (CNAST)

CNAST is specifically designed for securing applications deployed in cloud environments. It ensures security controls are in place for cloud workloads, infrastructure-as-code, containerized applications, and cloud-native services.

Use cases include:

• Identifying misconfigurations in cloud deployments and Kubernetes clusters
• Ensuring compliance with cloud security frameworks like CIS, NIST, and SOC 2
• Detecting vulnerabilities in serverless and containerized applications

CNAST helps address the unique security challenges of cloud environments but requires continuous monitoring due to the dynamic nature of cloud workloads.

10. API Security Testing

API security testing focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in application programming interfaces (APIs), which are increasingly targeted in modern applications. It assesses authentication, authorization, data exposure, and business logic flaws.

Use cases include:

• Preventing unauthorized API access and data breaches
• Detecting improper authentication and insecure data handling
• Validating API endpoints against security best practices

With APIs playing a crucial role in modern applications, API security testing is essential but requires continuous monitoring as APIs frequently change during development.

11. Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST)

MAST evaluates the security of mobile applications across iOS and Android platforms, ensuring they are resistant to common mobile threats such as insecure data storage, weak encryption, and API vulnerabilities.

Use cases include:

• Detecting vulnerabilities in mobile applications before public release
• Securing API interactions between mobile apps and backend systems
• Preventing mobile malware and unauthorized access to user data

While MAST is essential for mobile-first businesses, it requires platform-specific security testing tools for comprehensive coverage.

Best Practices for Implementing Security Testing Effectively

A successful security testing strategy goes beyond simply adopting the right tools—it requires integration, automation, and the ability to prioritize the most pressing risks. Here are some key best practices for implementing security testing effectively:

1. Shift security left without slowing developers down. Security testing should be an integral part of the development lifecycle, not an afterthought. Implement automated testing in CI/CD pipelines and integrate security tools with developer workflows to catch vulnerabilities early, reducing remediation time and cost.
2. Use a combination of security testing methods. No single testing method covers all vulnerabilities. A layered approach combining SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, secret scanning, and manual penetration testing provides better coverage and ensures security gaps don’t go unnoticed.
3. Address tool sprawl with a unified ASPM platform. Many security teams struggle with tool overload—organizations now use an average of 50 security tools, leading to fragmented visibility, inefficiencies, and difficulties in cross-team collaboration. SAST, DAST, SCA, container scanning, and runtime protection tools often operate in silos, creating inconsistent risk prioritization and slowing down response times. ASPM platforms like Cycode consolidate security data from multiple testing tools into a single interface, improving visibility, prioritization, and overall security workflow efficiency.
4. Prioritize and remediate the most critical risks first. Not all vulnerabilities pose the same level of risk. Security teams should leverage contextual risk scoring, asset criticality, and exploitability insights to focus on fixing vulnerabilities that pose the greatest threat rather than drowning in an overwhelming backlog.

Continuously monitor and improve security testing coverage. Security is an evolving challenge, and new threats emerge regularly. Maintain an adaptive approach by continuously updating security policies, expanding test coverage, and running regular security assessments across applications and software environments.

Simplify and Strengthen Security Testing With Cycode

Organizations are recognizing the inefficiencies of fragmented security tools—61% have already begun consolidating their security stack.

With Cycode’s Complete ASPM platform, you can eliminate tool sprawl, unify security findings, and focus on the vulnerabilities that matter most—all while ensuring security and development teams work seamlessly together. 

Here’s how:

• Cycode delivers deep security insights with a combination of proprietary scanners and integrations with leading third-party security tools to provide complete coverage across source code, CI/CD pipelines, open-source dependencies, and runtime environments.
• Cycode doesn’t just surface vulnerabilities—it automatically assesses risk based on exploitability, asset criticality, and business context, ensuring security teams focus on the threats that matter most.
• Cycode integrates directly with developer tools like GitHub, GitLab, and Jira, embedding security insights where developers work to accelerate remediation and reduce friction between security and engineering teams.

Book a demo today and take control of your security strategy with a smarter, more efficient approach.