integrating-sast-into-github-actions-pipeline

Files (5)

• SKILL.md
• template.md · assets/
• standards.md · references/
• workflows.md · references/
• process.py · scripts/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Integrating SAST into GitHub Actions Pipeline

## When to Use

- When development teams need automated code-level vulnerability detection on every pull request
- When security teams require consistent SAST enforcement across all repositories in an organization
- When migrating from manual or periodic security reviews to continuous security testing
- When compliance frameworks (SOC 2, PCI DSS, NIST SSDF) require evidence of automated code analysis
- When multiple languages coexist in a monorepo and need unified scanning under one workflow

**Do not use** for runtime vulnerability detection (use DAST instead), for scanning third-party dependencies (use SCA tools like Snyk), or for infrastructure-as-code scanning (use Checkov or tfsec).

## Prerequisites

- GitHub repository with GitHub Actions enabled
- GitHub Advanced Security license (required for CodeQL on private repos; free for public repos)
- Semgrep account for managed rules and Semgrep App dashboard (free tier available)
- Repository code in a supported language: Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, C/C++, C#, Go, Ruby, Swift, Kotlin

## Workflow

### Step 1: Configure CodeQL Analysis Workflow

Create a CodeQL workflow that runs on pull requests and on a weekly schedule to catch vulnerabilities in existing code.

```yaml
# .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml
name: "CodeQL Analysis"

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
  schedule:
    - cron: '30 2 * * 1'  # Weekly Monday 2:30 AM

jobs:
  analyze:
    name: Analyze (${{ matrix.language }})
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      actions: read
      contents: read
      security-events: write

    strategy:
      fail-fast: false
      matrix:
        language: ['javascript', 'python']

    steps:
      - name: Checkout repository
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Initialize CodeQL
        uses: github/codeql-action/init@v3
        with:
          languages: ${{ matrix.language }}
          queries: security-extended,security-and-quality

      - name: Autobuild
        uses: github/codeql-action/autobuild@v3

      - name: Perform CodeQL Analysis
        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v3
        with:
          category: "/language:${{ matrix.language }}"
```

### Step 2: Add Semgrep Scanning for Custom Rules

Semgrep complements CodeQL with faster scans and support for custom pattern-based rules. Configure it to upload SARIF results to the same GitHub Security tab.

```yaml
# .github/workflows/semgrep.yml
name: "Semgrep SAST Scan"

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, develop]
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  semgrep:
    name: Semgrep Scan
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      security-events: write
      contents: read

    container:
      image: semgrep/semgrep:latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Run Semgrep
        run: |
          semgrep ci \
            --config auto \
            --config p/owasp-top-ten \
            --config p/cwe-top-25 \
            --sarif --output semgrep-results.sarif \
            --severity ERROR \
            --error
        env:
          SEMGREP_APP_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.SEMGREP_APP_TOKEN }}

      - name: Upload SARIF
        if: always()
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        with:
          sarif_file: semgrep-results.sarif
          category: semgrep
```

From Njones17/AI-agent-master-cyber-skills-list, MIT.

More from Njones17/AI-agent-master-cyber-skills-list