cfn-nag vs Checkmarx One Assist: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
cfn-nag is a free static application security testing tool. Checkmarx One Assist is a commercial static application security testing tool by Checkmarx. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best static application security testing fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, integrations, company size fit, here is our conclusion:
Platform engineers and DevOps teams building on AWS will find cfn-nag indispensable for catching CloudFormation misconfigurations before they hit production, particularly because it runs entirely in your CI/CD pipeline with zero cloud dependencies. The tool has 1,288 GitHub stars and catches real security gaps,IAM overpermissions, unencrypted storage, exposed secrets,that CSPM tools often flag only after deployment. Skip this if your infrastructure spans multiple cloud providers or you need policy-as-code enforcement with drift remediation; cfn-nag is template scanning only, not a compliance orchestration platform.
Development teams shipping code faster than your AppSec pipeline can scan will find real value in Checkmarx One Assist's pre-commit IDE integration and agentic remediation; it catches vulnerabilities before they hit CI/CD, not after. The tool covers four distinct attack surfaces,application code, dependencies, secrets, and infrastructure,in a single platform, which cuts alert fatigue from managing disparate tools. Skip this if your organization needs deep CSPM or runtime container security; One Assist prioritizes the development phase and assumes your infrastructure scanning happens elsewhere.
