Rafter: Security Testing Software That Runs on Every Pull Request
Written by the Rafter Team
Security testing software finds vulnerabilities in your application before attackers do. The category spans static analysis, dynamic testing, dependency scanning, and secrets detection — but the tools only matter if they actually run. Rafter is security testing software designed to execute on every pull request, returning results in seconds so developers fix issues before code merges.
Teams that run security testing only before releases find 4x more critical vulnerabilities in production than teams that test on every commit. Frequency matters more than depth.
Try Rafter free — security testing on your first pull request.
Categories of Security Testing Software
Security testing software breaks into four functional categories. Each catches a different class of vulnerability, and no single category covers them all.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) parses source code without executing it. It traces data flows from input sources to sensitive operations, flagging injection, authentication, and cryptography flaws. SAST is fast, deterministic, and runs without a deployed environment.
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) maps your dependency tree — direct and transitive — against vulnerability databases. It identifies packages with active CVEs and flags license risks. Most applications contain more third-party code than first-party code, making SCA a critical layer.
Secrets Detection scans your repository for API keys, tokens, passwords, and private keys. It checks the current codebase and commit history, catching credentials that were "removed" but still exist in git history.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) sends crafted requests to a running application and observes the responses. It finds runtime issues that static analysis misses — misconfigured headers, authentication bypasses, and server-side request forgery — but requires a deployed target.
A comprehensive security testing strategy uses multiple tool types in combination.
How Rafter Delivers Security Testing Software
Rafter combines SAST, secrets detection, and SCA into a single integration that runs on every pull request. There is no scanner to install, no rules to configure, and no separate dashboard to monitor.
The workflow is straightforward:
- Connect your repository through a one-click integration.
- Rafter scans every PR automatically — static analysis, secrets, and dependencies run in parallel.
- Results appear as inline comments on the pull request with severity ratings and fix suggestions.
- Set severity thresholds to block merges on critical or high findings.
Scans complete in 30 to 90 seconds for most repositories. Developers see results before their code review is finished, not in a report emailed three weeks later.
For teams using AI coding tools, Rafter includes AI-specific detection rules that catch the insecure patterns language models generate most frequently — weak validation, hardcoded credentials in boilerplate, and outdated library references.
Security Testing in CI/CD
The highest-value placement for security testing software is inside your CI/CD pipeline, running alongside your existing test suite. This ensures every change is scanned, every developer gets feedback, and no vulnerable code reaches the main branch unreviewed.
Rafter supports GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Bitbucket Pipelines natively. The integration adds one step to your pipeline and requires no configuration files to maintain.
Start security testing with Rafter — automated scanning on every commit, results in seconds.