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25 May, 2019

How to use NodeJsScan for SAST – Step-by-step Guide

NodeJsScan is a static code scanner that is used to find security flaws specifically in Node.js applications. In this post, we will look at how you can use NodeJsScan for SAST.  

Configuration & Usage 

• Install Postgres and configure SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URI in core/setting.py 
• Download the NodeJsScan package from the GitHub repository https://github.com/ajinabraham/NodeJsScan. 

Figure 1 Cloning the repository

• Navigate to the NodeJsScan directory and install all requirements using the command – pip3 install –r requirements.txt. 

Figure 2 Installing all requirements to run NodeJsScan

• Run this command once to create database entries required – python3 migrate.py 
• Run this command to test the testing Environment – python3 app.py 
• Setup gunicorn for the production environment  – gunicorn –b 0.0.0.0:9090 app:app. 

Figure 3 Executing app.py to run NodeJsScan

This tool will run NodeJsScan on http://0.0.0.0:9090. If you need to debug, set DEBUG = True in core/settings.py. With periodic updates of this tool, it shows a minimum number of false positives. 

Figure 4 NodeJsScan running on http://0.0.0.0:9090/

NodeJsScan CLI 

The command-line interface (CLI) allows this tool to integrate with DevSecOps CI/CD pipelines. The results are in JSON format.  

Figure 5 NodeJsScan CLI is showing optional arguments.

Docker 

Docker images can be built for NodeJsScan using the following steps – 

• First, ensure that you have docker installed into your system. 
• Start the docker service using command – service docker start. 
• Execute this command – docker build -t nodejsscan. 
• Then finally execute this command to run the application – docker run -it -p 9090:9090 nodejsscan. 

Now, let’s get started with a demo. 

• I tested this tool on a repository that contains incomplete and vulnerable code. 
• The NodeJsScan app has compatibility with .zip files to get uploaded. So, first, compress your .js code to a .zip file and then go to your browser and upload the .zip file. 
• After uploading the .zip file, the tool will list all the vulnerabilities for you. 

Figure 6 Vulnerabilities listed for app.js

Figure 7 NodeJsScan giving a detailed description of the vulnerability

Check out our post on Top 3 Open Source Tools for SAST.

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