DEVOPSdigest

Application security isn't just about scanning your source code for vulnerabilities anymore. With today's accelerated, automated, and third party–dependent development environments, risks can sneak in at every step of the software development life cycle (SDLC).

The New Frontier of Risk: Misconfigurations

Modern software pipelines — whether it's your source code management systems, build servers, or artifact repositories — are under constant threat. Misconfigurations in these systems aren't just theoretical; they're real vulnerabilities that attackers have exploited to infiltrate organizations and move laterally within their networks.

Take, for example, a recent incident in May 2024. In this case, a major tech firm fell victim to an attack that exploited a misconfigured GitHub Actions workflow. Attackers were able to inject malicious code by taking advantage of an open configuration setting, ultimately gaining access to sensitive internal data. This breach serves as a powerful reminder: if you're not locking down your CI/CD pipeline configurations, you're leaving a door wide open.

And there are many open doors. A recent study from Legit Security found that 89% of enterprises have pipeline misconfigurations, and 100% have branch protection issues.

Pipeline Misconfigurations: A Closer Look

Modern build systems like Jenkins or GitHub Actions are essentially automated, trusted conduits to your cloud infrastructure and production environments. Unfortunately, they're often not treated with the same rigor as other critical systems. Many of these systems are either misconfigured or not kept up to date, creating an easy target for threat actors.

Here are a few best practices to help you avoid pipeline misconfigurations:

■ Continuously monitor: Regularly verify that your pipeline configurations remain secure over time. Automation can help you detect changes or misconfigurations as soon as they occur.

■ Enforce authentication: Some build systems may allow actions without proper authentication — double-check your settings to ensure that only authorized users can access these critical systems.

■ Limit permissions: Restrict who can create public repositories. When non-admins have the ability to make repositories public, you risk accidental exposure of sensitive code or configurations.

■ Secure cloud storage: Ensure that cloud storage buckets (like AWS S3) are not publicly writable and are only publicly readable when absolutely necessary. Unprotected storage is a common entry point for data theft.

■ Manage keys: Set security key expiration dates and rotate keys regularly to minimize the impact of any potential compromise.

■ Verify third-parties: Never execute third-party resources without verifying their integrity — use checksums or pull from a vetted local artifact registry.

■ Employ safe image practices: Avoid using "latest" tags for container images. Instead, pin your images to specific versions to avoid automatically pulling compromised updates.

Strengthening Branch Protections

Branch protection is another crucial layer in your SDLC security. In a typical development workflow, a developer works on a separate branch and then submits a pull request. Without proper branch protection, a single compromised account could allow an attacker to introduce malicious code directly into your main branch.

Enforcing branch protection can help you:

■ Prevent force pushes and deletions.

■ Require pull requests for all changes.

■ Set a minimum number of approvals before merging.

■ Automatically dismiss stale approvals when new commits are added.

■ Require reviews from designated code owners.

■ Restrict who can dismiss pull request reviews.

■ Enforce that branches pass all status checks and are up to date before merging.

■ Mandate signed commits and successful deployments before any changes hit the main branch.

A Broader View on Application Security

As your development environment grows in complexity, so do the risks. Misconfigurations in the SDLC are just one facet of a broader challenge: securing your entire software factory — not just your code. With continuous monitoring, strict configuration controls, and robust branch protection, you can better defend against the evolving tactics of modern threat actors.

By keeping a vigilant eye on every aspect of your development process and implementing best practices, you ensure that your software remains as secure as it is innovative.