Seeker IAST

Seeker IAST provides runtime vulnerability detection with active verification and sensitive data tracking.

Supporting 14+ languages, it confirms that detected vulnerabilities are actually exploitable, dramatically reducing false positives compared to traditional DAST approaches.

What is Seeker IAST?

Seeker is an interactive application security testing solution that instruments applications during testing to observe code execution in real time.

Originally developed by Synopsys, it is now part of the Black Duck Software portfolio following the 2024 divestiture.

What distinguishes Seeker from passive IAST tools is its active verification capability.

When Seeker detects a potential vulnerability, it automatically generates safe exploit payloads to confirm whether the issue is genuinely exploitable.

This validation step eliminates the false positives that frustrate development teams and slow remediation efforts.

Key Features

Active Vulnerability Verification

Seeker goes beyond passive observation by actively testing detected vulnerabilities.

When the agent identifies a potential SQL injection or XSS vulnerability, it constructs and sends verification payloads to confirm exploitability.

Only verified vulnerabilities appear in reports, ensuring developers spend time fixing real issues.

Sensitive Data Tracking

The platform tracks how sensitive data flows through applications, identifying where personal information, credentials, and financial data are processed, stored, or transmitted.

This capability supports compliance reporting for PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, and other regulatory frameworks.

Broad Language Support

Seeker supports an extensive range of languages and frameworks:

• JVM: Java, Scala, Kotlin, Groovy
• .NET: C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET
• JavaScript: Node.js, Express, Koa
• Other: Go, Python, Ruby, PHP

Microservices Tracing

In distributed architectures, Seeker traces requests across service boundaries to identify vulnerabilities that span multiple components.

The agent propagates correlation headers through HTTP calls, providing end-to-end visibility into data flow across microservices.

SIEM Integration

Seeker integrates with security information and event management platforms including Splunk and IBM QRadar.

Vulnerability data flows into existing security dashboards for centralized monitoring and incident response workflows.

How to Use Seeker IAST

Java Agent Installation

Deploy the Seeker agent as a Java agent attached to your application:

# Download agent from Black Duck portal
curl -o seeker-agent.zip https://seeker.blackduck.com/download/agent

# Extract and configure
unzip seeker-agent.zip -d /opt/seeker

# Start application with agent
java -javaagent:/opt/seeker/seeker-agent.jar \
     -Dseeker.server.url=https://seeker.example.com \
     -Dseeker.project.key=MY_PROJECT \
     -jar myapplication.jar

Node.js Agent Installation

For Node.js applications, install the agent as an npm package:

npm install @synopsys-sig/seeker-agent --save-dev

Then require it at the entry point of your application:

// First line of your app.js or index.js
require('@synopsys-sig/seeker-agent');

// Rest of your application code
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
// ...

Configure via environment variables:

export SEEKER_SERVER_URL=https://seeker.example.com
export SEEKER_PROJECT_KEY=MY_PROJECT
npm start

Docker Deployment

For containerized applications, build an instrumented image:

FROM node:18-alpine

# Install Seeker agent
RUN npm install -g @synopsys-sig/seeker-agent

# Copy application
COPY . /app
WORKDIR /app
RUN npm install

# Configure Seeker via environment
ENV SEEKER_SERVER_URL=https://seeker.example.com

CMD ["node", "-r", "@synopsys-sig/seeker-agent", "app.js"]

CI/CD Integration

Integrate Seeker into your pipeline to catch vulnerabilities during automated testing:

# GitHub Actions example
name: Security Testing
on: [push, pull_request]

jobs:
  iast-testing:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Build instrumented container
        run: docker build -t myapp:seeker -f Dockerfile.seeker .

      - name: Run application with Seeker
        run: |
          docker run -d --name app-under-test \
            -e SEEKER_SERVER_URL=${{ secrets.SEEKER_URL }} \
            -e SEEKER_PROJECT_KEY=${{ github.repository }} \
            -p 8080:8080 \
            myapp:seeker

      - name: Execute integration tests
        run: npm run test:integration

      - name: Finalize Seeker session
        run: |
          curl -X POST "${{ secrets.SEEKER_URL }}/api/v2/sessions/finalize" \
               -H "Authorization: Bearer ${{ secrets.SEEKER_TOKEN }}"

      - name: Check vulnerability threshold
        run: |
          CRITICAL=$(curl -s "${{ secrets.SEEKER_URL }}/api/v2/projects/${{ github.repository }}/vulnerabilities?severity=CRITICAL" | jq '.total')
          if [ "$CRITICAL" -gt 0 ]; then exit 1; fi

When to Use Seeker IAST

Seeker IAST excels in environments where false positive reduction and compliance reporting are priorities.

The active verification capability makes it particularly valuable for teams that have struggled with noisy scan results from other tools.

Consider Seeker IAST when you need:

• Active verification to confirm vulnerabilities are exploitable before reporting
• Sensitive data flow tracking for compliance with PCI DSS, GDPR, or HIPAA
• Support for diverse language stacks including JVM, .NET, Node.js, and Go
• Microservices tracing across distributed architectures
• Integration with existing SIEM platforms like Splunk or QRadar
• Combined analysis with Black Duck SCA for comprehensive coverage

Organizations already using Black Duck for software composition analysis will benefit from the unified platform and correlated findings across IAST and SCA.