GitHub-Advanced-Security Questions and Answers

The GitHub Code Scanning API includes endpoints that allow you to:

List alertsfor a repository (filtered by branch, state, or tool) — useful for monitoring security over time.

Get a single alertby its ID to inspect its metadata, status, and locations in the code.

However, GitHub doesnotsupport modifying the severity of alerts via API — severity is defined by the scanning tool (e.g., CodeQL). Likewise, alertscannot be deletedvia the API; they are resolved by fixing the code or dismissing them manually.

To create or modify acode scanning workflow file(typically under .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml), you must haveWriteaccess to the repository.

Write permission allows you to commit the workflow file, which is required to run or configure code scanning using GitHub Actions.

Youmust enable secret scanningbefore defining custom patterns. Secret scanning provides the foundational capability for detecting exposed credentials, and custom patterns build upon that by allowing organizations to specify their own regex-based patterns for secrets unique to their environment.

Without enabling secret scanning, GitHub will not process or apply custom patterns.

To ensure you're notified whenever a vulnerability is detected via Dependabot, you mustenablealerts for Dependabotin your personal notification settings. This applies to both new and existing repositories. It ensures you get timely alerts about security vulnerabilities.

The dependency graph must be enabled for scanning, but does not send alerts itself.

To grant specific users access toview and manage secret scanning alerts, you do this via theSettingstab of the repository. From there, under the"Code security and analysis"section, you can add individuals or teams with roles such assecurity manager.

The Security tab only displays alerts; access control is handled in Settings.

Validity checks, also calledsecret validation, allow GitHub to check if a detected secret isstill active. If verified as live, the alert is marked as"valid", allowing security teams to prioritize the most critical leaks.

Push protectionblockssecrets but does not check their validity. Custom patterns are user-defined and do not include live checks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In the advanced setup for CodeQL code scanning, GitHub generates a workflow file named codeql-analysis.yml. This file is located in the .github/workflows directory of your repository. It defines the configuration for the CodeQL analysis, including the languages to analyze, the events that trigger the analysis, and the steps to perform during the workflow.​

To proactively address secret scanning:

Webhookscan be configured to listen for secret scanning events. This allows automation, logging, or alerting in real-time when secrets are detected.

Documenting secure development practices(like using environment variables or secret managers) helps reduce the likelihood of developers committing secrets in the first place.

Dismissal based on age is not a best practice without triage. SCIM deals with user provisioning, not scanning alerts.

Whenmultiple instances of the same secret valueappear in a repository,only one alertis generated. Secret scanning works by identifying exposed credentials and token patterns, and it groups identical matches into asingle alertto reduce noise and avoid duplication.

This makes triaging easier and helps teams focus on remediating the actual exposed credential rather than reviewing multiple redundant alerts.

The correct place to look is the SECURITY.md file. This file provides contributors and security researchers with instructions on how to responsibly report vulnerabilities. It may include contact methods, preferred communication channels (e.g., security team email), and disclosure guidelines.

This file is considered a GitHub best practice and, when present, activates a “Report a vulnerability” button in the repository’sSecuritytab.

When integrating CodeQL outside of GitHub Actions (e.g., in Jenkins, CircleCI):

Install the CLI: Needed to run CodeQL commands.

Analyze code: Perform the CodeQL analysis on your project with the CLI.

Upload scan results: Export the results in SARIF format and use GitHub’s API to upload them to your repo’s security tab.

You don’t need to write custom queries unless extending functionality. “Processing alerts” happens after GitHub receives the results.

In a repository'sSecuritytab, you can view:

Secret scanning alerts: Exposed credentials or tokens

Dependabot alerts: Vulnerable dependencies from the advisory database

Code scanning alerts: Vulnerabilities in code detected via static analysis (e.g., CodeQL)

Youwon’t seegeneral "security status alerts" (not a formal category) or permission-related alerts here.

When apublic repositorycontains credentials that match known secret formats, GitHub willautomatically notify the service providerthat issued the secret. This process is known as"secret scanning partner notification". The provider may then revoke the secret or contact the userdirectly.

GitHub doesnotpublicly display the alert and does not send internal repository notifications for public detections.

Toexclude.txt and .md files from triggering workflows on pull requests to the main branch:

on: defines the event (e.g., pull_request)

pull_request: is the trigger

paths-ignore: is the key used to ignore file patterns

Example YAML:

yaml

CopyEdit

on:

pull_request:

branches:

- main

paths-ignore:

- '*.md'

- '*.txt'

Using paths: would include only specific files instead — not exclude. paths-ignore: is correct here.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Secret scanning push protection is a proactive feature that scans for secrets in your code during the push process. If a secret is detected, the push is blocked, preventing the secret from being added to the repository. This helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive information.​

GitHub Docs

By default,users with Write, Maintain, or Admin permissionswill receive notifications for newDependabot alerts. However,Write permissionis theminimum levelneeded to be automatically notified. Users with only Read access do not receive alerts unless added explicitly.

To exclude specific files or directories from being scanned by secret scanning in GitHub Actions, you can use thepaths-ignore:key within your YAML workflow file.

This tells GitHub toignore specified pathswhen scanning for secrets, which can be useful for excluding test data or non-sensitive mock content.

Other options listed are invalid:

branches-ignore: excludes branches, not files.

decrypt_secret.sh is not a YAML key.

secret scanning.yml is not a recognized filename for configuration.