Secure Development & DevSecOps

CI-CD Pipeline Security (Build Test Deploy)

  • May 9, 2025
  • 0

Sherlocked Security – CI/CD Pipeline Security (Build, Test, Deploy)

Securing Continuous Integration & Deployment Workflows Against Modern Threats

1. Statement of Work (SOW)

Service Name: CI/CD Pipeline Security Review
Client Type: Enterprises, DevOps-Driven Startups, SaaS Providers, Regulated Industries
Service Model: Pipeline Architecture Review + Configuration Audit + Threat Modeling
Compliance Coverage: NIST SP 800-53, CIS CI/CD Benchmarks, ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI-DSS

Assessment Types:

  • Build Pipeline Threat Modeling
  • CI/CD Configuration & Secrets Audit
  • Dependency & Supply Chain Integrity
  • Artifact Repository and Signing Validation
  • Access Control and Workflow Security

2. Our Approach

[Pipeline Discovery] → [Configuration Review] → [Credential & Secrets Audit] → [Threat Modeling] → [Artifact & Dependency Validation] → [Reporting & Advisory] → [Retest (Optional)]

3. Methodology

[CI/CD Tool Mapping] → [Config File Analysis] → [Identity & Token Flow Review] → [Artifact Signing & Integrity Checks] → [Privileged Workflow Evaluation] → [Access & Secrets Review] → [Report]

4. Deliverables to the Client

  1. CI/CD Threat Model and Risk Assessment
  2. Security Findings by Build/Test/Deploy Stage
  3. Misconfiguration & Secret Leak Reports
  4. Recommendations for Pipeline Hardening
  5. Secure-by-Design Workflow Templates
  6. Artifact Integrity & Supply Chain Validation Report
  7. Optional: Revalidation Report After Fixes

5. What We Need from You (Client Requirements)

  • Access to CI/CD pipelines (YAML, JSON, UI-based workflows)
  • Access to version control system (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.)
  • Documentation of deployment workflows and tools used
  • Role-based access details for CI users and service accounts
  • List of artifact registries and package managers in use
  • NDA and scope definition

6. Tools & Technology Stack

  • CI/CD Platforms: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Azure DevOps
  • Static Analysis: Semgrep, CodeQL, Trivy, Snyk, SonarQube
  • Secrets Detection: Gitleaks, TruffleHog, Detect Secrets
  • SBOM & Artifact Validation: Syft, Cosign, Notary, SLSA
  • Identity Flow Audits: OIDC/OAuth, Service Token Review
  • Custom Scripts for YAML/JSON CI Logic Reviews

7. Engagement Lifecycle

1. Kickoff & Pipeline Discovery → 2. Build/Test/Deploy Stage Review → 3. Secrets & Identity Review → 4. Artifact & Dependency Analysis → 5. Report + Fixes → 6. Revalidation (Optional)

8. Why Sherlocked Security?

Feature Sherlocked Advantage
End-to-End Pipeline Security Covers build, test, deploy, artifact handling, and identity flows
Secrets & Credential Auditing Token leaks, scoped access reviews, and safe storage analysis
Workflow Threat Modeling Custom threat scenarios mapped to your pipeline stages
Supply Chain Security Dependency pinning, SBOMs, signature validation, and tamper checks
DevSecOps Enablement Secure templates and shift-left integrations provided

9. Real-World Case Studies

E-Commerce CI/CD Leak & Build Hijack

Issue: GitHub Actions leak exposed PAT tokens used to deploy to production.
Impact: Unauthorized actor triggered deployments using forged PRs.
Fix: Restricted secret scope, enabled signed commits and branch protections, added OIDC identity federation.

SaaS CI Security Misconfigurations

Issue: Jenkins pipelines allowed script injection from untrusted PRs.
Impact: Remote command execution on build agents.
Fix: Switched to pull-based builds with sandboxing and approval gating on forks.

10. SOP – Standard Operating Procedure

  1. Collect CI/CD Configs and Workflows
  2. Review User Roles, Runner/Agent Permissions
  3. Map Pipeline Secrets, Tokens, and Credentials
  4. Perform Threat Modeling Across Stages
  5. Evaluate SBOM, Signature, and Artifact Handling
  6. Test for Insecure Defaults and Escalation Vectors
  7. Document Findings + Provide Secure Templates
  8. Retest and Integrate Recommended Fixes

11. CI/CD Pipeline Security Checklist

1. Identity & Access Controls

  • Validate least privilege access for pipeline service accounts
  • Enforce SSO or OIDC for pipeline access
  • Rotate API tokens and SSH keys regularly
  • Disable personal access tokens (PATs) in favor of fine-grained tokens
  • Audit runner permissions (self-hosted vs shared, elevated agents)

2. Secrets Management

  • Scan for hardcoded secrets in pipeline definitions and repos
  • Use secure vault integrations (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)
  • Prevent environment variable leakage via verbose logs or print statements
  • Validate GitHub Actions/GitLab secrets scoping
  • Rotate CI/CD secrets on schedule and on contributor departure

3. Workflow Security

  • Enforce signed commits and protected branches
  • Block untrusted PRs from running privileged workflows (e.g., deploy, release)
  • Require manual approval for production workflows
  • Use reusable workflows with security controls baked in
  • Apply sandboxing for user-submitted code (e.g., forks, contributors)

4. Build Environment Hardening

  • Run jobs in ephemeral, isolated containers (avoid persistent agents)
  • Enforce read-only or no-network builds where applicable
  • Limit installed software and disable sudo/root unless explicitly required
  • Monitor for pipeline privilege escalations (e.g., via script injection)
  • Patch runner base images and dependencies frequently

5. Dependency & Artifact Security

  • Enforce hash or version pinning for third-party packages
  • Generate and validate Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
  • Sign build artifacts with tools like Cosign or Notary
  • Store artifacts in trusted and access-controlled registries
  • Validate dependency licenses for legal and security compliance

6. Deployment Controls

  • Ensure canary or staged deployment support exists
  • Validate that rollback mechanisms are tested and available
  • Confirm that production deployments require human approval or ticket links
  • Avoid automatic deploys on untrusted merges (e.g., from forks)
  • Use scoped deployment credentials (least privilege)

7. Logging, Monitoring & Alerting

  • Enable pipeline execution logs with RBAC-controlled access
  • Detect and alert on pipeline failures, secret usage, or unusual job durations
  • Monitor for usage anomalies (e.g., deploy jobs triggered from non-prod branches)
  • Integrate with SIEM or audit systems for log forwarding

8. Compliance & Shift-Left Enablement

  • Ensure all CI/CD activities are logged and traceable for audit readiness
  • Document security controls for build, test, and deploy phases
  • Include security gates and code scanning tools (e.g., SAST, IaC linters)
  • Run pipelines in secure enclaves for regulated environments (FIPS, HIPAA, etc.)
  • Train developers and DevOps teams on secure CI/CD practices

9. Reporting & Dev Enablement

  • Provide annotated findings with file/line references in YAML/JSON workflows
  • Map issues to CWE/NIST/SANS compliance identifiers
  • Offer secure workflow templates with pre-applied best practices
  • Recommend CI/CD policy enforcement tools (e.g., OPA, Conftest)
  • Help integrate alerts into Slack/MS Teams for rapid remediation
Container Image Hardening
Automated SBOM Generation