Under the Hood: How Bandit SAST Analyzes Your Python Code

Abstract While many developers use security scanners, few understand how they actually "read" code. This article explains the inner workings of Bandit, focusing on its use of the Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) to identify security patterns without ever executing a single line of code. 1. The Core Engine: AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) Unlike a simple text search (which might give many false positives), Bandit doesn't just look for words like "password". It converts your Python code into an AST. What is