Tool Review: HCL AppScan

HCL AppScan is a comprehensive security assessment tool for identifying web application threats and vulnerabilities. I have been using this tool for the last 8 years, which provides me with enough confidence to review this tool.

Appscan facilitates application security testing through both dynamic (DAST) and static (SAST) methods.

Undoubtedly, HCL AppScan is a complete suite to provide security to software applications. This blog provides you with all the available options (HCL AppScan Suite), how to use it, and the pros and cons of this tool.

Available Options - HCL AppScan Suite

AppScan Standard	Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) desktop tool Scan web applications for vulnerabilities
AppScan Source	Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tool deployed on-premise Identify vulnerabilities in the development phase
AppScan Enterprise	Offer SAST, DAST, IAST, and risk-management capabilities Help in achieving enterprise compliance
AppScan on Cloud (ASoC)	No need to install it on the local desktop Offers services of SAST, DAST, IAST, and SCA

Tool Review: HCL AppScan

Usage

Just provide the URL of the target. The tool will scan the whole application and provide a set of vulnerabilities.

For authenticated scans, this tool crawls the whole application and provides a set of vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities may be categorized based on OWASP Top 10, CWE, etc.

It would help if you used manual techniques also to verify the vulnerabilities for false positives. Although, you can follow the steps mentioned by the HCL AppScan tool to review issues.

Pros

• Easy to use
• Scan the whole website by just providing the URL
• Compliance check (e.g. Web Application OWASP Top 10 2021, CWE)
• Updated vulnerability database
• Reliable results
• comprehensive documentation available
• Integration with CI/CD available

Cons

• False positives are high
• Expensive tool
• Troubleshoot is a difficult task in case of issues

Conclusion

HCL AppScan tool is a good tool to perform application security assessments. Its user-friendly DAST and SAST methods ensure comprehensive security testing. However, its pricing may be a hurdle for smaller businesses or companies.