Best DevSecOps Tools for Integrating Security into CI/CD Pipelines

Author by: Ruchi Bisht

In modern software delivery, speed is non-negotiable, but security can’t be an afterthought. DevSecOps bridges this gap by embedding security into every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. Instead of waiting until the end to test for vulnerabilities, teams can automate security checks alongside code commits, builds, and deployments.

With the right tools, you can scan code, containers, dependencies, and infrastructure as code in real time. In this article, we will cover the best DevSecOps tools that seamlessly integrate with your CI/CD workflows, helping you identify risks early, enforce policies automatically, and deliver secure software faster without slowing down development.

CI/CD Platforms:The Foundation for DevSecOps Automation

Before we discuss security tools, it’s essential to understand that CI/CD platforms form the backbone of DevSecOps. These platforms orchestrate your build, test, and deploy process. All security tools mentioned below integrate into them, making automated security checks possible.

Jenkins: Highly customizable and extensible, with a plugin ecosystem that supports nearly every security tool.

GitLab CI/CD: Built-in security scanning tools (SAST, DAST, SCA, Dependency Scanning).

CircleCI: Flexible and performant, integrates well with external scanners and secrets managers.

GitHub Actions: Tight integration with code, supports native security scanning (CodeQL, Dependabot).

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Scans code for vulnerabilities before it’s compiled. Run early in the pipeline to catch issues fast.

SonarQube

A powerhouse for continuous code quality and security. It not only finds vulnerabilities but also “code smells” and bugs. Its dashboards are excellent for tracking security debt over time. Integrates broadly with CI/CD platforms.

Best for: Teams seeking to balance quality with security. It integrates seamlessly with Jenkins, GitLab, and other tools.

Checkmarx / Fortify

A leading enterprise-grade SAST solution known for its accuracy and broad language support. It provides excellent remediation guidance.

Best for: Heavily regulated industries, such as finance and healthcare.

Veracode

A comprehensive cloud-based platform that offers SAST, DAST, and SCA. It requires no infrastructure management and integrates easily into existing pipelines for full-spectrum application security.

Best for: Organizations wanting a unified, cloud-first security scanning solution.

Semgrep

A fast, open-source, and highly customizable SAST tool. It’s like a “grep” for code that understands code structure, allowing you to write your own simple rules to enforce security and coding standards.

Best for: Fast feedback loops and highly customizable security policies.

Snyk Code

A very developer-friendly tool that offers rapid scanning directly within IDEs and Git repositories. Its focus on speed and developer experience makes it a popular choice for fast-moving teams.

Best for: High-velocity teams that require real-time scanning without slowing devs down.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Scans running applications or test environments for live vulnerabilities.

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy)

The most popular open-source DAST tool. It’s powerful, extensible, and can be completely automated in a pipeline to perform scans against your test environments.

Best for: Lightweight DAST in CI pipelines.

Burp Suite (Enterprise Edition)

While famous for manual penetration testing, the Enterprise Edition allows for automated, recurring scans that can be integrated into your pipeline.

Best for: Serious web app security scanning.

Invicti (formerly Netsparker) & Acunetix

Leading commercial tools in the DAST space, recognized for their high accuracy, low false-positive rates, and ability to validate many vulnerabilities automatically. They are built for automation within the CI/CD pipeline.

Best for: Teams needing scalable, accurate DAST with CI/CD automation.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Analyzes third-party libraries for known vulnerabilities (CVEs).

OWASP Dependency-Check

Identifies known vulnerabilities in third-party libraries using CVE data. It is lightweight and easily integrated into open-source or small-scale CI/CD workflows.

Best for: Small teams and open-source projects.

Snyk Open Source

A leader in this space, known for its extensive vulnerability database, developer-friendly workflows, and ability to suggest automated upgrades to fix vulnerabilities.

Best for: Dev-first security; great developer UX.

WhiteSource (now Mend)

Offers a strong SCA solution with a focus on automatic remediation and prioritization of vulnerabilities based on whether they are actually being used by the application.

Best for: Enterprises needing compliance + SCA coverage.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Scanning

Secures cloud infrastructure configs like Terraform, Kubernetes, and CloudFormation.

Checkov: An open-source static analysis tool for Infrastructure as Code, offering an extensive set of built-in policies for Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes, and other platforms.

Best for: Teams using Terraform and Kubernetes.

Terrascan

Another powerful open-source IaC scanner that supports multiple platforms and enables custom policy creation using Open Policy Agent (OPA).

Best for: Custom rule writing and multi-cloud enforcement.

KICS (Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure)

CLI tool that scans multiple IaC formats for security issues. It is designed for breadth and easy integration into any CI/CD workflow.

Best for: Broad IaC support across platforms in a single tool.

Policy as Code

Applies security and compliance policies to configs and infrastructure.

Open Policy Agent (OPA)

General-purpose policy engine used to enforce security and compliance across Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud infrastructure.

Best for: Fine-grained policy enforcement in CI/CD and cloud-native environments.

Conftest

Applies OPA policies to config files (YAML, JSON, etc.). It is great for enforcing organizational rules during CI/CD pipeline execution.

Best for: Enforcing custom security controls directly in your pipeline.

Container & Image Security

Scans container images before pushing to the registry or during the build.

Trivy

A simple, fast, and reliable open-source vulnerability scanner for container images, filesystems, and Git repositories. It’s incredibly easy to plug into any pipeline.

Best for: Lightweight pipelines; supports multiple artifact types.

Anchore Engine / Grype

An open-source tool that performs deep inspection of container images and allows you to define and enforce custom security policies.

Best for: Teams requiring custom security policies and controls.

Aqua Security

A comprehensive cloud-native security platform offering everything from image scanning to runtime protection and compliance enforcement.

Best for: Production-grade Kubernetes environments.

Falco

An open-source, de-facto standard for container runtime security. It detects unexpected application behavior and alerts on security incidents at runtime.

Best for: Monitoring unexpected activity and enforcing runtime security.

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DevSecOps Training with InfosecTrain

Ready to take your DevSecOps skills to the next level?

To gain hands-on experience with the tools and practices discussed above, individuals can enroll in InfosecTrain’s Practical DevSecOps Training. This course is designed to bridge the gap between theory and real-world implementation, covering SAST, SCA, DAST, IaC scanning, container security, and more. Led by industry experts, the training includes live labs, real CI/CD pipeline scenarios, and guidance on integrating security at every stage of the development process.

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