What is CI/CD security?
CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery/Continuous Deployment) security refers to the practice of integrating security measures throughout the CI/CD pipeline to protect the software development lifecycle from potential threats and vulnerabilities.
This involves implementing security controls at every stage of the pipeline, from source code management to deployment, to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the software and its underlying infrastructure.
Securing CI/CD is distinct from traditional application security because threats can arise from the codebase as well as from third-party dependencies, pipeline configurations, and integrations. Issues often stem from privileged pipeline components, exposed secrets, or compromised build agents.
Here are a few reasons CI/CD security is important:
- Reduced risk: Integrating security into the CI/CD pipeline helps identify and mitigate vulnerabilities early in the development lifecycle, reducing the risk of security breaches and data leaks.
- Faster time to market: By automating security checks and testing, CI/CD security helps accelerate the software delivery process without compromising security.
- Improved compliance: Secure CI/CD pipelines can help organizations meet regulatory compliance requirements by ensuring that security practices are followed throughout the software development lifecycle.
- Cost savings: Addressing security issues early in the pipeline is more cost-effective than fixing them after deployment.
- Reputation management: Securing the CI/CD pipeline helps protect against potential attacks that could compromise the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of the software, protecting the organization’s reputation.
Key security risks in CI/CD pipelines
1. Insufficient control over pipeline flow
CI/CD pipelines often involve multiple automated stages and handoffs across code, artifacts, infrastructure, and environments. When access and triggers for these stages are not tightly controlled, unauthorized users or compromised components can inject malicious steps, modify workflows, or trigger deployments at will. Lack of flow control can also result in accidental overwrites, early deployments to production, or unintended privilege escalation.
To address these risks, organizations must enforce strict policies on who can change pipeline configurations, which repositories or artifacts are used, and what automated processes can run. Segregation of duties, multi-factor authentication, and automated logging for audit trails are essential. Monitoring for unexpected sequence changes or anomalous actions helps detect abuses of the flow, ensuring only approved code flows through controlled paths to production.
2. Exposed secrets
Credentials, API tokens, and private keys are fundamental to the operation of CI/CD pipelines, but when stored insecurely—such as in configuration files, version control, or environment variables—they become easy targets for attackers. One exposed secret can enable lateral movement, data theft, or infrastructure manipulation. Automated scanning tools are increasingly capable of identifying exposed secrets in code repositories, but attackers are just as quick to spot and exploit these weaknesses.
Preventing the risk of exposed secrets requires dedicated secrets management solutions that integrate with the CI/CD system. Tools such as HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager provide secure storage and fine-grained access control for sensitive credentials. Automating secret rotation and enforcing that secrets are never committed to version control are best practices to ensure there are no accidental leaks during pipeline execution.
3. Insecure dependencies
Modern software heavily relies on third-party libraries and open-source components. If these dependencies are not thoroughly vetted or are pulled from untrusted sources, they can introduce vulnerabilities directly into the codebase. Supply chain attacks, where malicious actors poison popular packages or update trusted libraries with malicious payloads, have become more frequent. Failure to check dependencies in CI/CD pipelines means vulnerable or compromised code can slip unnoticed into production.
Mitigating this risk requires automated dependency scanning within the CI/CD process using tools that identify known vulnerabilities and check the integrity and provenance of each package. Developers should set strict policies around allowable sources for dependencies, enforce version pinning to avoid unvetted updates, and regularly monitor advisories for vulnerable libraries.
4. Malicious code injection
CI/CD pipelines may be targets for adversaries intending to modify source code or build artifacts by injecting malicious segments. This can occur through compromised credentials, unprotected integrations, or manipulation of build scripts and containers. Malicious code injection threatens both internal systems and end users if undetected before release.
Comprehensive code review practices, automated static code analysis, and signed builds minimize the risk. Pipeline permissions should be restricted, with sensitive build scripts or containers isolated and monitored for unauthorized changes. Ensuring that each stage validates and attests the artifacts prevents silent modification, thereby reducing the opportunity for attackers to introduce and propagate harmful changes throughout the deployment cycle.