Is SAST White Box Testing?

Yes, SAST (Static Application Security Testing) is a form of white-box testing. White-box testing involves examining an application's internal structure, code, and logic to identify security vulnerabilities. SAST analyzes the source code, bytecode, or binaries without executing the program, allowing for a thorough review of potential flaws within the code itself.

SAST's white-box approach enables developers to identify issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure configurations early in the development process. This contrasts with black-box testing methods, such as DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing), which assesses an application's security from an external perspective without knowledge of the code.

Because SAST has access to the application's internal workings, it provides deep insights into code-level vulnerabilities, making it a powerful tool for catching issues before the code is compiled or deployed.