Secure Code Review Methodology

Secure Code Review Methodology

At Fortify Solutions, our Secure Code Review is a systematic examination of source code designed to identify vulnerabilities, logic flaws, and insecure practices before they become exploitable risks.

Following OWASP Secure Coding Guidelines, we combine automated analysis, manual review, and business logic validation to ensure your applications meet the highest security standards.

Our approach considers:

• Risk exposure of the code.

• Purpose & context of the application.

• Codebase size (lines of code).

• Programming language(s) in use.

Our Review Process

1. Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Identify and assess open-source and third-party components for known vulnerabilities and license risks.

Key Steps:

1. Component identification.

2. Vulnerability detection.

3. License compliance checks.

4. Version analysis.

5. Risk assessment.

6. Remediation guidance.
   Example Tools: Semgrep Pro, OWASP Dependency-Check, Snyk Open Source, Trivy, Sonatype, JFrog Xray.

2. Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Automated scanning to detect security weaknesses across large codebases.

Common Findings:

• SQL Injection

• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

• Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

• Insecure cryptographic storage & communications

• Buffer overflows

• Authorization flaws
  Example Tools: Semgrep Pro, Bearer, Checkmarx, Fortify, Snyk, SonarQube, Veracode.

3. Manual Code Review & Business Logic Analysis

Human-led inspection to detect:

• Complex logic flaws missed by automated tools.

• Misuse of security controls.

• Vulnerabilities unique to your business context.
  Focus Areas:

• Input validation & output encoding.

• Authentication & password management.

• Session management.

• Access control.

• Cryptographic practices.

• Error handling & logging.

• Data protection & secure communications.

• Database & file security.

• Secure configuration & memory management.

Deliverables

• Comprehensive report with vulnerability details.

• Severity-based prioritization.

• Practical remediation recommendations.

• Upgrade paths or code fixes (where applicable).

Outcome:
You gain a clear, actionable roadmap to secure your application at the code level — preventing vulnerabilities before deployment and aligning with OWASP and industry best practices.