Extending PMD

PMD (Programming Mistake Detector) is a popular open source static code analysis tool that helps developers identify potential programming errors and coding issues in Java code. It can be used to improve the quality of software by detecting common coding mistakes such as unused variables, empty catch blocks, and other issues that could lead to security vulnerabilities.

In the context of network security, PMD can be extended to detect security vulnerabilities in network-related code such as network protocols, cryptography, and data transmission. This can be achieved by creating custom rules that are specific to network security and adding them to PMD’s rule set.

Developers can extend PMD to support network security by following these steps:

Understand network security: Developers need to have a good understanding of network security concepts and common security vulnerabilities in network-related code.
Create custom rules: Developers can create custom rules that check for security vulnerabilities in network-related code. For example, a custom rule could check for the use of weak encryption algorithms or the use of deprecated network protocols.
Add rules to PMD: Once the custom rules are created, they can be added to PMD’s rule set. This can be done by creating a new rule set XML file that includes the custom rules.
Integrate with build process: To ensure that the custom rules are run automatically as part of the build process, developers can integrate PMD with their build tools such as Maven or Gradle.

By extending PMD to support network security, developers can improve the security of their network-related code and reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities in their software. This can help to protect sensitive data and prevent security breaches.

PMD’s default rulesets serve as a solid foundation for developing new rulesets to find common insecure coding practices. Initial rules should target code that’s high-risk and easily exploitable. Dynamically building SQL statements with user-controllable input is a good example of high-risk code commonly vulnerable to SQL injection. Rule implementations should be adaptable to new or previously unseen custom code. This is an important feature, as web applications differ in how they implement common functionality, such as authentication, authorization, and data access.