4 Software Security Development Issues and How to Fix Them

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Cyberattacks remain a constant threat to modern businesses, making robust software security essential for continuity and resilience. In this article, we explore four common software security challenges developers face today and practical ways to overcome them.

Teams striving to ship features rapidly often run into hidden hurdles when trying to keep code secure. According to recent industry data, 59% of companies now deploy code multiple times per day, once per day, or every few days. Cyberattacks continue to target applications relentlessly, so integrating security into the development lifecycle is no longer optional—it is vital.

The shift-left movement, which pushes security testing earlier in the development process, has raised expectations for developers to take ownership of application security. Yet a notable skills gap persists among those trained in secure coding. Understanding the most frequent DevSec challenges is an excellent starting point for closing that gap.

Issue #1: Slowly Remediating Vulnerabilities

Security debt accumulates when vulnerabilities linger in codebases for extended periods, becoming far more expensive to resolve than if addressed promptly. Automated scanning and testing offer an effective way to prevent this buildup.

The 2026 State of Software Security report shows that organizations combining Dynamic Analysis with Static Analysis (SAST) resolve 50% of security flaws 24.5 days faster on average. Scanning more frequently accelerates remediation further: teams reach the halfway mark 22.5 days sooner. Using API-driven SAST scans can shorten the time to fix 50% of flaws by an additional 17.5 days.

Consistent scanning also reveals meaningful trends in flaw types over time. Think of security testing as a marathon rather than a sprint—steady effort yields far better results than last-minute intensity.

Issue #2: Common Code Security Flaws

Recognizing the most widespread and dangerous flaws helps developers prevent the cyberattacks they enable. The 2026 SoSS report identifies the top issues as information leakage (64.9%), CRLF injection (65.4%), cryptographic issues (63.7%), and code quality problems (60.4%).

Developers can tackle these recurring flaws with targeted practices:

• Prevent information leakage through secure coding standards and integrated security testing from the outset.
• Block CRLF injection by validating and sanitizing all user input, then ensuring proper encoding in HTTP headers.
• Address cryptographic vulnerabilities by following language-specific secure defaults and reviewing implementations case by case.
• Improve code quality with consistent patterns, automated security checks in the SDLC, and ongoing training.

These same flaw categories have ranked in the top 10 across multiple years of the report, highlighting an ongoing need for developer awareness. Universities rarely teach secure coding, and on-the-job training is often limited because security teams traditionally own this domain.

Organizations that provide practical, hands-on training help developers apply new skills immediately, turning secure coding into a daily habit.

Issue #3: Relying on Open-Source Libraries While Scanning Only In-House Code

Open-source components are ubiquitous in modern applications. The 2026 data reveals that 46.6% of insecure open-source libraries are transitive—introduced indirectly through other dependencies. Initial scans show that 71% of applications contain at least one flaw in an open-source library.

Integrating Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools detects these risks efficiently. Research indicates 74% of open-source vulnerabilities can be resolved simply by applying a patch or updating to a newer version. Pairing the right scanning tools with open-source usage significantly reduces hidden risk.

Issue #4: Code Containing Too Many High- and Very High-Severity Flaws

Understanding severity trends across languages helps teams prioritize testing. The 2026 report highlights notable differences:

Key language-specific findings include:

• C++ applications: Nearly 60% contain high- and very high-severity flaws, commonly related to error handling, buffer management, numeric errors, and directory traversal.
• PHP applications: 52.6% include high- and very high-severity issues, most often cross-site scripting, cryptographic problems, and directory traversal.
• Java applications: Frequently affected by CRLF injection, code quality issues, information leakage, and cryptographic flaws. With 97% of Java code coming from third-party sources, unseen risks are especially high.

By studying these patterns, developers can apply secure coding practices and targeted training to reduce critical vulnerabilities before they reach production. This proactive approach ensures applications meet the security demands of continuous delivery while building long-term security awareness across teams.

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