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You spot a subtle security bug during a code review and flag it, making sure it's fixed before it gets deployed. Taking this one step further you want to make sure others don't make same mistake. Short of reviewing every piece of code, what can you do? That's where Rubocop comes in. You can save time in code reviews by using it to enforce coding patterns and styles. As a security-minded engineer you might ask: could we use it to find security bugs? Turns out you can! This talk will cover how Betterment uses Rubocop to detect vulnerabilities and the thought process that went into this work.
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In this presentation at RubyConf 2021, Omar discusses how to utilize Rubocop for identifying security bugs in code. He begins with an explanation of static analysis, contrasting it with dynamic analysis, and emphasizes its significance in software development. The core focus is on how Rubocop can automate the detection of coding patterns and security vulnerabilities, improving the overall developer experience. Key Points Discussed: - **Definition of Static Analysis**: Static analysis is about examining code without executing it, providing fast and efficient error detection but may lead to false positives. - **Role of Abstract Syntax Trees (ASTs)**: Omar explains how ASTs help in analyzing the structure of code and how Rubocop leverages this concept. - **Automating Code Reviews**: Rubocop enforces style guides and finds issues automatically, allowing developers to focus on substantive code review rather than stylistic preferences. - **Security Anti-patterns**: The speaker outlines the concept of security anti-patterns—common coding practices that may lead to vulnerabilities over time, illustrated with examples like using `eval` method carelessly and allowing unrestricted access in Rails controllers. - **Creating Custom Cops**: Omar shares his experience building a Rubocop cop to detect unscoped `find` calls in Ruby on Rails. He explains the process of defining anti-patterns and creating ASTs to automate this detection, making code safer by preventing such patterns from emerging in the future. - **Developer Experience Consideration**: An essential aspect of integrating security tools is ensuring they do not hinder productivity. Omar argues for a balance between security and usability, emphasizing the importance of clear communication and ideally integrating security checks into existing workflows without adding undue overhead. - **Tools and Resources**: Throughout the talk, Omar provides resources and tools his team developed to aid in this analysis, encouraging developers to utilize Rubocop for better security practices. In conclusion, the key takeaways from this presentation include the importance of prioritizing developer experience in security tools, the ease of creating custom security checks with Rubocop, and the critical nature of addressing security anti-patterns in codebases. This talk serves as a practical guide for developers looking to leverage Rubocop as a tool for enhancing security in their applications.
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