StackHawk

Definition

StackHawk is a dynamic application security testing platform that scans running web applications and APIs for exploitable vulnerabilities, such as injection flaws and broken authentication, by sending live requests against the application rather than analyzing source code. It is designed to run inside CI/CD pipelines so vulnerability scanning happens automatically as part of a team's normal deployment workflow rather than as a separate, occasional audit.

Overview

Dynamic application security testing evaluates an application the way an external attacker would, by sending crafted requests to a running instance and observing its responses, which catches classes of vulnerabilities, like authentication bypasses and injection flaws, that static code review can miss because they only manifest in the running system's behavior. Historically, DAST tools were heavyweight, slow, and operated by dedicated security teams running scans periodically outside the normal development cycle. StackHawk was built to make DAST fast and automated enough to run on every pull request. StackHawk is built on top of the open-source ZAP scanning engine, configured through a simple YAML file that a team commits alongside their application code, defining the target application, authentication method, and scan scope. The platform integrates directly into CI/CD pipelines, so a scan runs automatically against a test or staging deployment on each code change, and findings are reported back into the pull request or CI job, with severity and remediation guidance surfaced to the developer who introduced the change rather than only a separate security dashboard. Within application security testing, StackHawk is most directly comparable to Invicti and other DAST vendors, and adjacent to broader platforms like Aikido Security that bundle DAST alongside other scan types. StackHawk's differentiation is its explicit focus on developer workflow integration and speed, positioning itself for teams practicing continuous deployment who need scan results fast enough to gate a release, rather than a periodic, security-team-driven audit process. In practice, engineering teams add StackHawk to their CI pipeline so that every API or web application change is scanned before merging or deploying, catching common vulnerability classes like SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and broken access control automatically, without requiring a manual security review for every change. Because DAST scans a running application through its exposed interface, it requires a properly configured, authenticated test environment to scan effectively, and it can miss vulnerabilities that are not reachable through the tested interface, such as issues in internal-only code paths. Teams typically pair DAST with static analysis and dependency scanning for broader coverage rather than relying on it alone. Because the scan configuration lives in version control alongside the application it tests, changes to authentication flows or API routes can be reflected in the scan setup through the same pull request that introduces them, keeping the security configuration from drifting out of sync with the application. This pull-request-based feedback loop is what most clearly separates StackHawk's approach from older, standalone DAST tools that security teams ran manually outside the deployment pipeline.

Key Features

• Scans running applications and APIs using dynamic testing techniques
• Built on the open-source ZAP scanning engine
• Configures scans through a committed YAML configuration file
• Integrates directly into CI/CD pipelines for automated scanning
• Reports findings back into pull requests and CI job output
• Detects injection flaws, broken authentication, and access control issues
• Designed for fast feedback compatible with continuous deployment
• Supports authenticated scanning against staging environments

Use Cases

Alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions

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