Behind every developer is a beloved programming language. In heated debates over which language is the best, the security card will come into play in support of one language or discredit another. We decided to address this debate and put it to the test by researching WhiteSource's comprehensive database. We focused on open source security vulnerabilities in C, Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP, and C++, to find out which programming languages are most secure, which vulnerability types (CWEs) are most common in each language, and why.

We surveyed over 650 developers, and collected data from the NVD, security advisories, peer-reviewed vulnerability databases, issue trackers and more, to gather the latest industry insights in open source vulnerability management.

Developers across the industry are stepping up to take more responsibility for their code's vulnerability management. In this report we discuss trends in how security is shifting left to the earliest stages of development, putting the power developers in the front seat. We explore the growth of automated tools aimed at helping developers do more with fewer resources and look for answers on what is needed to help close the gap from detection to remediation.

Software development teams are constantly bombarded with an increasingly high number of security alerts. Unfortunately, there is currently no agreed-upon strategy or a straightforward process for vulnerabilities' prioritization. This results in a lot of valuable development time wated on assessing vulnerabilities, while the critical security issues remain unattended.