Frequently asked questions

Coana uses a static analysis known as a control-flow analysis to build a model of the analyzed program. This model, commonly known as a call graph, contains information about how the execution flows through the program. It allows us to answer questions like ‘from this specific place in my program to what other places in the program can the program execution go‘, where ‘this specific place’ could be any line in the analyzed program. Based on the call graph, Coana is able to tell which parts of the code are dead (unreachable) and which parts or live (reachable). You can learn more about how the static analysis works in the post What is SCA with reachability?

The reachability analysis is designed to over-approximate the actual runtime reachability of vulnerabilities. By over-approximating, the analysis will lean toward marking a vulnerability as reachable whenever it’s in doubt. By taking this approach, Coana allows you to safely ignore unreachable vulnerabilities without compromising on any real security.

As you develop and modify your program over time, the ways in which you use your dependencies are likely to change. That’s why Coana continues to monitor your application informing you about both new reachable vulnerabilities and unreachable vulnerabilities that become reachable.

At Coana, we have a dedicated security team that works on answering exactly that question. Whenever a new vulnerability is discovered, the security team initiates a thorough investigation of all the various resources related to the vulnerability. The team typically installs the affected package, reads the documentation, and builds a detailed understanding of how the package works. Once the functions, methods, properties, etc., responsible for the vulnerability have been identified, the team writes a specification that captures exactly these parts of the package. This specification is then used by the static analysis when it performs a reachability analysis on your code.

As a bonus, the team also writes an informal, human-readable version of this specification, which users of Coana can use to better understand the vulnerability.

Coana is designed as a zero-configuration, plug-and-play analysis tool that automatically infers whatever information it needs to run the analysis from the project being scanned. For example, it automatically determines the programming language(s) used in the project, which project manager(s) are utilized, etc. For more details about how to run the tool, please refer to our documentation.

We recommend running Coana on a regular basis in your CI/CD environment. Check our documentation to learn more about how Coana is setup.

No, Coana does not provide any container scanning capabilities at the moment. Code that is packaged into containers is typically either bundled, compiled or minified in some way where information about the specific dependencies is lost making it impossible to conduct proper security scanning of application dependencies in containers.

Please reach out to us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

A contributor is someone who makes commits to repositories scanned by Coana.

Our pricing model is centered on the number of contributors because it most accurately reflects the true value and impact of Coana on your organization. By focusing on contributors rather than the number of scans or lines of code, we ensure that our pricing aligns with the productivity gains your team experiences. This approach encourages unlimited usage of Coana, allowing you to run it as frequently as needed and across as many repositories as required, without any additional cost concerns.

Our customer research reveals that developers typically spend an average of 40 hours annually managing vulnerabilities in open-source dependencies. Coana's advanced reachability analysis—a method that assesses the actual usage of vulnerable third-party code in your codebase—significantly streamlines this process. By enabling teams to confidently disregard up to 95% of these vulnerabilities, Coana offers:

• Substantial Productivity Boost: By reducing time spent on vulnerabilities, a company with 100 engineers can save approximately $275,000 annually (based on average developer salary rates and time savings).
• Enhanced Developer Experience: Engineers can concentrate on crucial vulnerabilities, reducing frustration from unproductive tasks and boosting overall job satisfaction.

You can learn more about the ROI of doing reachability analysis in this blog post.

We provide a 30-day free pilot period, offering you to fully explore and understand how Coana can enhance your operations.

Our contracts are structured on an annual basis. To ensure you are confident in your decision, we include a 30-day free pilot period. This trial allows you to thoroughly test and assess Coana's effectiveness in your environment.

Yes, we offer a free tier for open-source projects. We believe in supporting the open-source community and would love to discuss how Coana can benefit your project. Contact us to learn more.

Please reach out to us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.