AppSec
In-depth guides and analysis on appsec from the Safeguard engineering team.
309 articles
Network Hacking Tools Attackers Use — and How Defenders Answer
A defender's field guide to the network hacking tools attackers reach for — reconnaissance, sniffing, exploitation, credential attacks — and the detection and control that answers each class.
XSS Payloads on GitHub: What Those Repos Contain and How to Defend
Searching for XSS payloads on GitHub turns up huge lists of test strings. Here is what they are actually for, how defenders use them responsibly, and how to stop cross-site scripting in your own code.
Semgrep SCA: How Reachability Changes Dependency Scanning
What Semgrep SCA (Supply Chain) does, how its reachability analysis cuts alert noise, where it fits, and how to run it in CI.
DAST Tools List: The Dynamic Application Security Scanners That Matter
A practical DAST tools list for 2025: the open source and commercial scanners worth knowing, what each is good at, and how to fit DAST into your pipeline.
An XSS Example That Explains How Cross-Site Scripting Works
A clear XSS example shows how unescaped user input becomes executable script in a victim's browser, and why output encoding and CSP are the fixes that hold.
DAST Vendors Compared: Picking a Dynamic Scanning Tool
Choosing among DAST vendors hinges on how well the scanner authenticates, crawls modern apps and APIs, and fits into CI without turning into a manual chore.
DAST Automated Testing: How It Works and Why It Belongs in CI
A DAST automated test probes your running application for vulnerabilities the way an attacker would, on every build. Here is how it works and the benefits of wiring it into CI.
SQL Injection Detected: What the Alert Means and How to Respond
A SQL injection detected alert means a scanner or WAF found input reaching your database as executable code. Here is how to confirm it, triage it, and fix the root cause.
URL Scanner: How It Works and What to Use
A URL scanner checks a web address for danger before you visit or ship it — but 'URL scanner' covers two very different tools. Here is how each works and which one solves your problem.
Security in PHP: Framework-Level Protections and Common Gaps
Security in PHP improved enormously once frameworks took over escaping, CSRF, and query building. The remaining incidents live in the gaps where developers step outside those rails.
Code Scanning Tools: How to Choose and Use One That Works
A code scanning tool automatically inspects your source and dependencies for vulnerabilities. Here is how the main types differ and how to wire one into CI without drowning in noise.
Java Code Security: A Practical Checklist
Java code security has a specific set of recurring failure modes — deserialization, XXE, dependency sprawl — this checklist covers the ones worth checking on every review.
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