Checkmarx vs StackHawk

About StackHawk

StackHawk sells two plans, Wingman and StackHawk Scale, that run on HawkScan, a runtime testing engine for running applications. StackHawk calls itself the security feedback layer for coding agents. StackHawk integrates into the agent loop to test the running app. The same AI coding agent that builds a feature calls StackHawk to scan the app, fix issues, and verify them before a push. StackHawk was founded in 2019 by Joni Klippert and Scott Gerlach. StackHawk is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. In July 2019 the StackHawk founding team came together to fix a problem: application security testing ran quarterly while software shipped daily.^[1][3]

Wingman runs inside the coding agent that engineers already use, including Claude Code, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, and Antigravity. When the agent finishes a feature, Wingman tests the running app with HawkScan, hands the findings to the same agent, and rescans after the fix. Wingman auto-configures and boots the app, then tests it the way an attacker would. Wingman finds and fixes vulnerabilities in the same session, then rescans to verify the fix held. StackHawk provides a clean signal for CI and an attestation tied to each commit.^[16]

StackHawk Scale is the plan for security teams covering every app in the organization. StackHawk Scale adds attack surface discovery and program reporting for security teams. StackHawk Scale is priced by team, not by usage, and unlimited apps and unlimited agentic scans are included.^[16]

HawkScan tests the running application with real requests. StackHawk scans run as a CLI or Docker container that spins up and shuts down per scan. StackHawk scan configuration is YAML config-as-code, versioned alongside the app. StackHawk scans execute directly in GitHub Actions, GitLab, Jenkins, and CircleCI. StackHawk runs scans with no vendor cloud and no traffic traversing the internet to reach the apps. StackHawk supports incremental testing on code changes rather than full-app rescans. StackHawk delivers results in PR comments, Slack, Jira, and Datadog.^[7][17]

StackHawk tests REST, GraphQL, SOAP, and gRPC APIs with real requests, auth flows, and attack scenarios. StackHawk tests LLM interfaces for prompt injection, data leakage, and unvalidated model outputs at runtime. StackHawk coverage runs from SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and remote code execution to sensitive data exposure, broken access control, and LLM risks such as prompt injection.^[8][17]

The StackHawk platform extends the DAST testing engine with visibility from code and oversight across an AppSec program. Once a source code management system is integrated, StackHawk maps every API and app component from the code, including shadow APIs and AI/LLM interfaces. StackHawk uses risk insights from code to focus testing on the repositories and applications that carry the most exposure. StackHawk has native connections to GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Slack, Datadog, and SIEM and ticketing tools. StackHawk has native integrations with Jira, ServiceNow, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.^{[2][5][9][17][18]}

With the HawkScan skill, the agent runs security tests against the running app, and vulnerabilities are identified, remediated, and verified post-commit and pre-PR. StackHawk agent skills install into Cursor via .cursor/rules/. StackHawk agent skills ship as a Codex plugin, and after install Codex can configure scans, test the local app, and remediate findings. Copilot discovers StackHawk skills from a repository.^[1][3]

StackHawk names engineering teams shipping with AI coding agents among the teams that use it. StackHawk serves regulated and high-volume industries: financial services, health tech, insurance, media, transportation, education technology, and cloud analytics. StackHawk has SOC 2 Type II certification and role-based access control. StackHawk reached general availability in September 2020. StackHawk raised a $10 million Series A led by Sapphire Ventures in October 2020 and a $20.7 million Series B co-led by Sapphire and Costanoa Ventures in May 2022. In September 2026 StackHawk launched Wingman, which moves the find, fix, and verify loop inside the coding agent.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][11][16][17][18]}