`n

Dependency Vulnerability Scanning - Complete Guide

Published: September 25, 2024 | Reading time: 20 minutes

Vulnerability Scanning Overview

Dependency vulnerability scanning protects against security threats:

Security Benefits
# Security Benefits
- Vulnerability detection
- Security risk assessment
- Automated remediation
- Compliance monitoring
- Threat prevention
- Risk mitigation
- Security awareness

NPM Audit

NPM Security Scanning

NPM Audit Commands
# NPM Audit Commands

# 1. Basic audit
npm audit

# 2. Audit with fix
npm audit fix

# 3. Audit with force fix
npm audit fix --force

# 4. Audit production only
npm audit --production

# 5. Audit with JSON output
npm audit --json

# 6. Audit specific package
npm audit package-name

# 7. Audit with registry
npm audit --registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

# 8. Audit with audit-level
npm audit --audit-level moderate

# 9. Audit with dry-run
npm audit fix --dry-run

# 10. Audit with verbose output
npm audit --verbose

# 11. Audit with fix strategy
npm audit fix --audit-level high

# 12. Audit with package-lock
npm audit --package-lock-only

# 13. Audit with fund
npm audit --fund

# 14. Audit with audit-level critical
npm audit --audit-level critical

# 15. Audit with fix and fund
npm audit fix --fund

Yarn Audit

Yarn Security Scanning

Yarn Audit Commands
# Yarn Audit Commands

# 1. Basic audit
yarn audit

# 2. Audit with fix
yarn audit --fix

# 3. Audit with level
yarn audit --level moderate

# 4. Audit with groups
yarn audit --groups dependencies

# 5. Audit with registry
yarn audit --registry https://registry.yarnpkg.com/

# 6. Audit with verbose
yarn audit --verbose

# 7. Audit with JSON output
yarn audit --json

# 8. Audit with summary
yarn audit --summary

# 9. Audit with recursive
yarn audit --recursive

# 10. Audit with pattern
yarn audit --pattern "react*"

# 11. Audit with exclude
yarn audit --exclude "devDependencies"

# 12. Audit with ignore
yarn audit --ignore "lodash"

# 13. Audit with fix and level
yarn audit --fix --level high

# 14. Audit with groups and level
yarn audit --groups dependencies --level moderate

# 15. Audit with recursive and fix
yarn audit --recursive --fix

Advanced Security Tools

Third-Party Security Scanners

Advanced Security Tools
# Advanced Security Tools

# 1. Snyk Security Scanner
# Install Snyk
npm install -g snyk

# Authenticate
snyk auth

# Test for vulnerabilities
snyk test

# Monitor project
snyk monitor

# Fix vulnerabilities
snyk fix

# 2. OWASP Dependency Check
# Install dependency-check
npm install -g dependency-check

# Run dependency check
dependency-check package.json

# 3. Retire.js
# Install retire
npm install -g retire

# Run retire scan
retire

# 4. Audit-ci
# Install audit-ci
npm install -g audit-ci

# Run audit-ci
audit-ci --config audit-ci.json

# 5. npm-audit-resolver
# Install resolver
npm install -g npm-audit-resolver

# Resolve audit issues
npm-audit-resolver

# 6. Security audit with custom config
# .auditrc
{
  "audit-level": "moderate",
  "fix": true,
  "force": false
}

# 7. GitHub Security Advisories
# Enable Dependabot
# .github/dependabot.yml
version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"

# 8. GitLab Security Scanning
# .gitlab-ci.yml
security_scan:
  stage: test
  script:
    - npm audit
    - yarn audit

# 9. Jenkins Security Plugin
# Jenkinsfile
pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Security Scan') {
      steps {
        sh 'npm audit'
        sh 'yarn audit'
      }
    }
  }
}

# 10. Custom security script
# security-scan.js
const { execSync } = require('child_process');

try {
  execSync('npm audit --audit-level moderate', { stdio: 'inherit' });
  console.log('Security scan passed');
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Security vulnerabilities found');
  process.exit(1);
}

Security Best Practices

Vulnerability Management

Security Best Practices

  • Regular security audits
  • Automated vulnerability scanning
  • Dependency updates
  • Security monitoring
  • Risk assessment
  • Incident response
  • Security training

Common Vulnerabilities

  • Outdated dependencies
  • Known security flaws
  • Weak authentication
  • Insecure configurations
  • Code injection
  • Cross-site scripting
  • SQL injection

CI/CD Security Integration

Automated Security Scanning

CI/CD Security
# CI/CD Security Integration

# 1. GitHub Actions Security
# .github/workflows/security.yml
name: Security Scan
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  security:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
    - uses: actions/setup-node@v3
      with:
        node-version: '18'
    - run: npm ci
    - run: npm audit --audit-level moderate
    - run: npm audit fix

# 2. GitLab CI Security
# .gitlab-ci.yml
security_scan:
  stage: test
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm audit --audit-level moderate
    - npm audit fix
  only:
    - main
    - develop

# 3. Jenkins Security Pipeline
# Jenkinsfile
pipeline {
  agent any
  stages {
    stage('Security Scan') {
      steps {
        sh 'npm ci'
        sh 'npm audit --audit-level moderate'
        sh 'npm audit fix'
      }
    }
  }
}

# 4. Azure DevOps Security
# azure-pipelines.yml
trigger:
- main
pool:
  vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:
- task: NodeTool@0
  inputs:
    versionSpec: '18.x'
- script: |
    npm ci
    npm audit --audit-level moderate
    npm audit fix
  displayName: 'Security Scan'

# 5. CircleCI Security
# .circleci/config.yml
version: 2
jobs:
  security:
    docker:
      - image: node:18
    steps:
      - checkout
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm audit --audit-level moderate
      - run: npm audit fix

Summary

Dependency vulnerability scanning involves several key components:

  • NPM Audit: Built-in security scanning and remediation
  • Yarn Audit: Yarn-specific security tools and commands
  • Advanced Tools: Third-party security scanners and monitoring
  • CI/CD Integration: Automated security scanning in pipelines

Need More Help?

Struggling with dependency vulnerability scanning or need help implementing security best practices? Our security experts can help you protect your applications.

Get Security Help