Application Security in 2025: Threats, Solutions and Best Practices

What Is Application Security? 

Application security refers to the practices, tools, and processes used to protect software applications from security threats throughout their lifecycle. It involves identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities in code, securing application environments, and preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and malicious exploitation. 

With the rise of cloud-native applications, APIs, and microservices, application security has become more complex. Attackers increasingly target software supply chains, misconfigured cloud resources, and runtime vulnerabilities. To counter these threats, organizations implement security testing methodologies like SCA, SAST, DAST, and IAST, along with defenses such as runtime protection and application detection and response (ADR).

The Evolution of Application Security 

In the early days, application security was often an afterthought, with minimal focus on securing code during development. Security measures were primarily reactive, relying on perimeter defenses like firewalls and antivirus software to protect applications.

As software became more interconnected and web-based applications emerged, attackers began exploiting application-layer vulnerabilities with attack methods such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS). This shift highlighted the limitations of traditional defenses and led to the development of secure coding practices and application vulnerability testing.

The introduction of methodologies like the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Top Ten provided developer and security teams with frameworks for addressing common vulnerabilities. The rise of DevSecOps further transformed application security by embedding security practices directly into the software development lifecycle. 

Today, the focus of application security is shifting to continuous security. Continuous monitoring, security-as-code, and runtime security technologies embedded within applications are becoming essential strategies to keep pace with the rapid evolution of modern threats. The future of application security lies in combining traditional perimeter defenses, ensuring secure coding practices, and safeguarding running applications with runtime protection. 

The Importance of Application Security Across the Software Development Lifecycle 

Integrating security throughout the SDLC reduces the risk of breaches and minimizes costly rework and reputational damage caused by security incidents. Here’s an overview of how security fits into the different phases of the SDLC.

Design

In the design phase, security measures focus on establishing a strong architectural foundation to prevent vulnerabilities before coding begins. Threat modeling helps identify potential attack vectors and mitigate risks early. By mapping out data flows, trust boundaries, and access controls, teams can proactively address security weaknesses.

Secure design principles such as least privilege, defense in depth, and secure authentication mechanisms should be incorporated. Additionally, enforcing security requirements—such as encryption standards and secure API design—ensures that applications are resilient to common attack methods like injection attacks and broken authentication.

Development

During development, implementing secure coding practices helps prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced into the codebase. Developers should follow security best practices outlined in frameworks like the OWASP Top Ten, ensuring proper input validation, secure error handling, and avoidance of hard-coded credentials.

To further improve security, automated security testing tools such as static application security testing (SAST) and software composition analysis (SCA) should be integrated into the development workflow. These tools identify vulnerabilities in proprietary and third-party code, allowing teams to remediate issues before moving to the next stage.

Testing

Security testing is critical for identifying vulnerabilities before deployment. Dynamic application security testing (DAST) simulates real-world attack scenarios to uncover issues such as authentication flaws, insecure session handling, and injection attacks. Interactive application security testing (IAST) improves this by providing visibility into vulnerabilities at runtime.

Other security testing measures include penetration testing, which involves ethical hacking to identify weaknesses that automated tools may miss, and fuzz testing, which detects unexpected application behaviors by injecting malformed inputs. Ensuring comprehensive security testing at this stage reduces the risk of security flaws reaching production.

Production

Once an application is deployed, security efforts must focus on monitoring and responding to potential threats in real time. Runtime protection technology, such as runtime software composition analysis (SCA), can identify vulnerabilities that present the greatest risk within the running application. 

Other production security measures include real-time defense with application detection and response (ADR) solutions, which identify anomalies and malicious activities in real time. It can identify application components that deviate from normal behavior and prevent their exploitation by malicious function calls. Additionally, timely patch management and security updates help mitigate newly discovered vulnerabilities, ensuring applications remain protected against evolving threats.

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Common Examples of Application Security Threats 

Application security threats are vulnerabilities and attack vectors that malicious actors exploit to compromise applications. Here are some of the most common threats developers and organizations face:

• SQL injection (SQLi): Attackers inject malicious SQL queries into input fields to manipulate a database, often to extract sensitive data or modify records. This vulnerability arises from improperly validated user inputs in database queries.
• Cross-site scripting (XSS): XSS occurs when attackers inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. This can allow the theft of session tokens, credentials, or sensitive data and can compromise the user's interaction with the application.
• Cross-site request forgery (CSRF): CSRF tricks authenticated users into performing unwanted actions, such as changing account details or transferring funds, by sending unauthorized requests on their behalf.
• Insecure deserialization: Exploiting insecure deserialization allows attackers to execute arbitrary code, escalate privileges, or manipulate serialized objects to exploit the application.
• Broken authentication: Weak authentication mechanisms, such as predictable passwords or poorly implemented session management, can enable attackers to impersonate users and gain unauthorized access.
• Sensitive data exposure: Poor encryption practices or lack of proper data protection mechanisms may result in the exposure of sensitive information like payment details, passwords, or personal information.
• Security misconfiguration: Insecure default configurations, open access permissions, or forgotten debugging functionalities can create exploitable vulnerabilities.
• Broken access control: Flaws in access control mechanisms can allow unauthorized users to access restricted resources, modify data, or escalate their privileges.
• API vulnerabilities: Weak or improperly secured APIs are a common target, as they can expose backend systems to attacks like injection, authentication bypass, or excessive data exposure.
• Denial of service (DoS) attacks: Attackers overwhelm an application with traffic or resource-heavy requests, rendering it unavailable to legitimate users.

Application Security Solution Categories 

1. Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Static application security testing (SAST) is a security testing technique that inspects an application’s source code, bytecode, or binaries to identify vulnerabilities. It works without executing the application, making it suitable for the early stages of the SDLC. 

SAST tools scan for issues such as injection vulnerabilities, insecure coding patterns, hard-coded credentials, and weak cryptographic implementations. SAST integrates into development workflows, including integrated development environments (IDEs) and CI/CD pipelines, providing developers with immediate feedback on potential issues. 

By addressing security flaws during development, organizations reduce the cost and complexity of fixing them after deployment. However, SAST tools may generate false positives, which require validation. 

2. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Dynamic application security testing (DAST) evaluates an application while it is running, simulating real-world attack scenarios to uncover vulnerabilities. This black-box testing approach does not require access to the source code and focuses on identifying runtime issues such as authentication errors, insecure session handling, and input validation flaws.

DAST tools act like attackers, sending malicious payloads to web applications to detect vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and broken access control. They are particularly useful for assessing externally exposed applications and APIs. DAST is typically performed in staging or production-like environments to mimic actual usage conditions.

A limitation of DAST is its inability to pinpoint the exact location of vulnerabilities in the source code. However, combining DAST with SAST or interactive application security testing (IAST) can provide a more comprehensive security assessment. Regular DAST scans are crucial for identifying security gaps in rapidly changing application environments.

3. Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

Interactive application security testing (IAST) blends the capabilities of SAST and DAST to provide a real-time analysis of application vulnerabilities during runtime. It involves deploying an agent within the application environment, such as a web server or virtual machine, to monitor the application's internal operations.

IAST tools observe how code executes and interacts with other components during testing. This dual visibility into the code and runtime behavior allows IAST to detect vulnerabilities like insecure deserialization, SQL injection, and broken authentication with high accuracy and minimal false positives.

Unlike DAST, which relies on simulated attacks, IAST can pinpoint vulnerabilities in the code while identifying the context of the issue. IAST is particularly effective in environments with microservices, APIs, and containers, where traditional testing tools may fall short. When IAST is integrated into CI/CD pipelines, it helps to identify and resolve vulnerabilities earlier during development.

4. Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Software composition analysis (SCA) focuses on identifying vulnerabilities, licensing issues, and outdated versions in third-party and open-source components used in applications. With modern applications relying heavily on open-source libraries, SCA tools are critical for maintaining a secure software supply chain.

SCA tools scan dependency trees to map all open-source components and check them against vulnerability databases, such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD). They highlight known issues like CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) and suggest updates or patches to resolve them.

Modern SCA tools operate at runtime, using instrumentation within running applications. They are able to identify vulnerabilities as soon as they manifest in a production application and enable rapid remediation.

5. Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP)

Runtime application self-protection (RASP) is a security technology that operates within an application to detect and mitigate threats in real time. Unlike traditional perimeter defenses, RASP is embedded directly into the application, allowing it to monitor its execution and intercept malicious activities.

RASP identifies and blocks attacks like SQL injection, command injection, and cross-site scripting (XSS) by analyzing inputs and runtime behavior. For example, if a malicious input attempts to exploit a database query, RASP can terminate the query before it executes.

RASP is particularly useful for protecting applications against zero-day attacks and vulnerabilities that have not been patched. It works well in dynamic environments, such as cloud-based applications and microservices, where traditional defenses might struggle to keep up.

6. Application Security-as-a-Service

Application security-as-a-service is a cloud-based model that delivers application security tools and expertise on demand. This approach eliminates the need for organizations to invest in expensive infrastructure or hire dedicated security teams, making it especially suitable for small and medium-sized organizations.

These services typically include offerings like SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, and penetration testing, as well as ongoing vulnerability monitoring. By outsourcing application security to experts, organizations can ensure thorough testing and risk management without requiring in-house expertise.

Application security-as-a-service providers often offer subscription models, allowing organizations to scale their security capabilities as needed. Organizations can adapt to changing security requirements while keeping costs manageable. Additionally, these services are regularly updated to address the latest threats.

7. Application Detection and Response (ADR)

Application detection and response (ADR) solutions provide real-time monitoring and response capabilities for application-specific threats. ADR tools continuously analyze application traffic, logs, and user behavior to detect anomalies that may indicate malicious activities. They integrate with SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) platforms.

For example, an ADR tool can identify attempts to exploit application-layer vulnerabilities like remote code injection or vulnerable dependency hijacking. Once a potential threat is detected, the ADR system can block the activity, alert security teams, and trigger automated incident response workflows.

ADR focuses on protecting applications in production environments, providing deeper visibility into attack patterns to allow organizations to respond quickly to evolving threats. It is especially useful in detecting advanced persistent threats (APTs), zero-day vulnerabilities, and insider threats.

8. Application Security Posture Management (ASPM)

Application security posture management (ASPM) provides a unified view of an organization's application security landscape. It allows teams to assess, prioritize, and manage vulnerabilities across multiple applications, environments, and development teams.

ASPM tools identify misconfigurations, compliance gaps, and unpatched vulnerabilities, enabling security teams to address issues proactively. These tools often integrate with CI/CD pipelines, vulnerability scanners, and cloud platforms, providing comprehensive coverage across development and production environments.

ASPM can prioritize vulnerabilities based on their potential impact, helping organizations allocate resources. By continuously monitoring security posture, ASPM ensures applications remain compliant with industry standards like PCI-DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA. 

Best Practices for Effective Application Security

Here are some of the ways that organizations can ensure the security of their applications.

1. Implement Continuous Monitoring

Continuous monitoring ensures that security threats are detected and addressed in real time, reducing the risk of breaches. Organizations should deploy application detection and response (ADR) tools to analyze traffic patterns, detect anomalies, and identify potential exploits such as API abuse or credential stuffing. These tools provide automated alerts and response mechanisms to mitigate threats before they escalate.

Additionally, organizations should integrate logging and observability solutions, such as SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and runtime protection tools, to maintain visibility across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments. Regular audits of application logs can help identify suspicious activities, unauthorized access attempts, and potential misconfigurations.

2. Harden Applications and Environments

Hardening applications involves implementing security controls that minimize attack surfaces. Developers should enforce secure coding practices, validating user inputs, avoiding hard-coded credentials, and using parameterized queries to prevent injection attacks. Enforcing strong authentication mechanisms, such as MFA and RBAC further reduces unauthorized access risks.

Beyond application security, infrastructure hardening is essential. Organizations should secure cloud environments by implementing least privilege access, network segmentation, and automated configuration management. Regular vulnerability scanning and patching ensure that outdated dependencies and misconfigurations do not expose applications to attacks.

3. Emphasize Open Source Security

Since modern applications heavily rely on open-source components, securing these dependencies is crucial. Organizations should integrate software composition analysis (SCA) tools into their development workflows to identify vulnerabilities in third-party libraries. These tools continuously scan open-source dependencies against known vulnerability databases and suggest updates or patches.

Teams should implement policies to manage open-source risks, such as restricting the use of unmaintained libraries or requiring security review approvals for new dependencies. Regularly updating software components and monitoring for newly discovered vulnerabilities ensures that attackers cannot exploit outdated open-source code.

4. Adopt Real-Time SBOMs

A software bill of materials (SBOM) provides an inventory of all open-source and third-party components used in an application, helping organizations track vulnerabilities and licensing risks. By generating SBOMs automatically during the build process, security teams can quickly identify risky components and prioritize remediation efforts when vulnerabilities are disclosed.

However, SBOMs should not be static documents. Implementing continuous SBOM monitoring ensures that organizations stay updated on newly discovered security flaws in dependencies. Integrating SBOM data with vulnerability management platforms and automated patching workflows further improves application security.

5. Move From Reachability to Exploitability

Many tools that help with open source security include reachability analysis, which is the ability to estimate the likelihood that an open source component will be run when the application is in production. 

Advanced application security tools go beyond reachability and use deterministic analysis to identify exploitability. Exploitability monitors the behavior of the running application and determines with certainty whether a vulnerable open source component is present in an application, and layers on several other risk factors (business criticality, internet, exposure, and more).

This level of visibility simplifies application security processes and separates signal from noise, as the rate of application security risks continues to grow.

Runtime Application Security with Oligo

Oligo transforms application security with real-time detection and prevention of exploits and streamlined vulnerability remediation based on actual execution status. With Oligo, security teams can:  

• Detect & Prevent Exploits in Real Time – Stop known and unknown attacks based on library profiling, pattern analysis, and crowdsourcing.
• Prioritize Real Risks, Not Just Theoretical Ones – Focus only on vulnerable dependencies actually executed in production, with reference to vulnerable functions to speed remediation.
• Eliminate Alert Fatigue – Reduce noise by filtering out non-exploitable threats.

To see Oligo in action, visit oligo.security.io/demo