1️⃣ What is Vulnerability Scanning in CI/CD?
Vulnerability scanning is the automated process of identifying security weaknesses in your application, dependencies, containers, or infrastructure before deployment.
Integrating it into CI/CD pipelines ensures that security issues are detected early, preventing insecure code from reaching production.
Key Goals:
Detect outdated or vulnerable dependencies.
Identify misconfigurations in infrastructure, containers, or cloud services.
Ensure compliance with security standards (e.g., OWASP Top 10).
2️⃣ Why Include Vulnerability Scanning in CI/CD?
Shift-left security – Find vulnerabilities early in development.
Automated detection – No manual scanning required for every build.
Faster remediation – Developers can fix issues before production.
Regulatory compliance – Ensure security policies are enforced automatically.
Prevent breaches – Reduces attack surface and exposure.
3️⃣ Types of Vulnerability Scanning in CI/CD
Type What it scans Tools/Examples
Dependency Scanning Application libraries and packages OWASP Dependency-Check, Snyk, Whitesource
Container Scanning Docker images and container layers Trivy, Clair, Anchore
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Source code, configuration files SonarQube, Checkmarx, Fortify
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Running web apps OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Scanning Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests Checkov, tfsec, KICS
4️⃣ Integrating Vulnerability Scanning into CI/CD Pipelines
Step 1: Identify What to Scan
Code dependencies – Maven, Gradle, npm, pip.
Containers/images – Docker images built in pipeline.
Infrastructure – IaC templates for cloud deployment.
Step 2: Choose Tools
Open-source: OWASP Dependency-Check, Trivy, Clair, tfsec.
Commercial: Snyk, WhiteSource, GitLab Ultimate Security, Aqua Security.
Step 3: Add Scanning Step in Pipeline
Example: GitHub Actions
name: CI/CD Pipeline
on: [push]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Set up JDK
uses: actions/setup-java@v3
with:
java-version: '17'
- name: Build
run: ./gradlew build
- name: Dependency Scan
run: |
./gradlew dependencyCheckAnalyze
- name: Container Scan
uses: aquasec/trivy-action@master
with:
image-ref: my-app:latest
Step 4: Fail Build on High-Risk Vulnerabilities
Most tools allow configuration to fail the build if vulnerabilities are found above a certain severity (e.g., High or Critical).
Example: Trivy exit code triggers pipeline failure for Critical vulnerabilities.
Step 5: Generate Reports
Security scan tools produce reports (HTML, JSON) for:
Developers
Security teams
Compliance audits
Example: dependency-check-report.html or trivy-report.json.
5️⃣ Best Practices
Shift Left – Integrate scanning early in the development pipeline.
Scan Everything – Code, dependencies, images, infrastructure.
Fail Fast – Prevent insecure builds from progressing.
Track Vulnerabilities – Maintain a dashboard for recurring issues.
Automate Remediation – Use automated PRs for updating vulnerable dependencies.
Combine SAST and DAST – Scan both code and running applications.
Use Baseline and Exceptions – Allow known low-risk vulnerabilities with proper documentation.
6️⃣ CI/CD Pipeline Security Workflow
Code Commit -> CI Build -> Dependency Scan -> Container Scan -> SAST/DAST -> Test -> Deploy
Pre-build scans: Dependency checks.
Post-build scans: Container images.
Runtime scans: Deployed environments (optional).
7️⃣ Tools to Consider for CI/CD Integration
Category Open-Source Commercial
Dependency Scanning OWASP Dependency-Check, Retire.js Snyk, Whitesource
Container Scanning Trivy, Clair Aqua Security, Anchore
SAST SonarQube Checkmarx, Fortify
DAST OWASP ZAP Burp Suite
IaC Security tfsec, Checkov Prisma Cloud, Fugue
8️⃣ Benefits of Vulnerability Scanning in CI/CD
Early detection → Reduces production incidents.
Automated security enforcement → Less manual intervention.
Compliance ready → Generates audit-ready reports.
Faster developer feedback → Issues are reported immediately.
Reduced remediation cost → Fixing issues earlier is cheaper.
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