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Checkmarx vs Spring Security: What are the differences?
### Key Differences between Checkmarx and Spring Security
**1. Integration Approach:**
Checkmarx is a static application security testing (SAST) tool that scans the source code for vulnerabilities during the development phase, whereas Spring Security is a framework that provides authentication, authorization, and protection against common security vulnerabilities at runtime.
**2. Scope of Security Coverage:**
Checkmarx focuses on identifying security issues such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other vulnerabilities within the codebase, while Spring Security provides a broader range of security features including user authentication, access control, and protection against common attacks like CSRF and clickjacking.
**3. User Audience:**
Checkmarx is primarily used by developers and security professionals to identify and fix security vulnerabilities in the code, whereas Spring Security is integrated into Java applications by developers to implement security features without extensive security knowledge.
**4. Deployment Considerations:**
Checkmarx is typically integrated into the continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline for automated security testing, while Spring Security is deployed within the application itself to handle security concerns at runtime.
**5. Customization and Extensibility:**
Checkmarx provides a standardized approach to security testing with limited customization options, whereas Spring Security allows developers to customize authentication mechanisms, access control rules, and integrate with third-party security solutions for advanced security requirements.
**6. Learning Curve:**
Checkmarx requires some training to effectively use the tool and understand its scan results, whereas Spring Security may have a steeper learning curve for developers new to security concepts but offers comprehensive documentation and community support for implementation.
In Summary, Checkmarx focuses on static code analysis for vulnerabilities during development, while Spring Security provides runtime security features and is integrated into Java applications for authentication and access control.
I am working on building a platform in my company that will provide a single sign on to all of the internal products to the customer. To do that we need to build an Authorisation server to comply with the OIDC protocol. Earlier we had built the Auth server using the Spring Security OAuth project but since in Spring Security 5.x it is no longer supported we are planning to get over with it as well. Below are the 2 options that I was considering to replace the Spring Auth Server. 1. Keycloak 2. Okta 3. Auth0 Please advise which one to use.
It isn't clear if beside the AuthZ requirement you had others, but given the scenario you described my suggestion would for you to go with Keycloak. First of all because you have already an onpremise IdP and with Keycloak you could maintain that setup (if privacy is a concern). Another important point is configuration and customization: I would assume with Spring OAuth you might have had some custom logic around authentication, this can be easily reconfigured in Keycloak by leveraging SPI (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/server_development/index.html#_auth_spi). Finally AuthZ as a functionality is well developed, based on standard protocols and extensible on Keycloak (https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/authorization_services/)
We have good experience using Keycloak for SSO with OIDC with our Spring Boot based applications. It's free, easy to install and configure, extensible - so I recommend it.
You can also use Keycloak as an Identity Broker, which enables you to handle authentication on many different identity providers of your customers. With this setup, you are able to perform authorization tasks centralized.
Pros of Checkmarx
Pros of Spring Security
- Easy to use3
- Java integration3