Release Aggregate CVE Gate

Gate ID: release-aggregate-cve

Enforces aggregate CVE count limits per release by severity level. Unlike per-finding gates, this gate evaluates the total CVE profile of a release candidate.

How It Works

Counts CVE findings by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
Optionally filters by suppression status and reachability
Compares counts against configured limits
Blocks if any limit is exceeded
Warns when counts approach limits (80% threshold)

Configuration

{
  "Policy": {
    "Gates": {
      "ReleaseAggregateCve": {
        "Enabled": true,
        "MaxCritical": 0,
        "MaxHigh": 3,
        "MaxMedium": 20,
        "MaxLow": null,
        "MaxTotal": null,
        "CountSuppressed": false,
        "OnlyCountReachable": false,
        "Environments": {
          "development": {
            "Enabled": false
          },
          "staging": {
            "MaxCritical": 1,
            "MaxHigh": 10
          },
          "production": {
            "MaxCritical": 0,
            "MaxHigh": 0,
            "OnlyCountReachable": true
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`Enabled`	bool	`true`	Whether the gate is active
`MaxCritical`	int?	`0`	Maximum critical CVEs (CVSS 9.0+); null = unlimited
`MaxHigh`	int?	`3`	Maximum high CVEs (CVSS 7.0-8.9); null = unlimited
`MaxMedium`	int?	`20`	Maximum medium CVEs (CVSS 4.0-6.9); null = unlimited
`MaxLow`	int?	`null`	Maximum low CVEs (CVSS 0.1-3.9); null = unlimited
`MaxTotal`	int?	`null`	Maximum total CVEs regardless of severity; null = unlimited
`CountSuppressed`	bool	`false`	Include suppressed/excepted CVEs in counts
`OnlyCountReachable`	bool	`false`	Only count CVEs with reachable code paths
`Environments`	dict	`{}`	Per-environment overrides

Severity Classification

CVSS Score	Severity
9.0 - 10.0	Critical
7.0 - 8.9	High
4.0 - 6.9	Medium
0.1 - 3.9	Low
None/Invalid	Unknown

Example Gate Results

Pass:

Release CVE counts within limits. Critical: 0, High: 2, Medium: 15, Low: 8

Pass (with warning):

Release CVE counts within limits. Critical: 0, High: 2, Medium: 15, Low: 8. Warnings: High CVE count (2) approaching limit (3)

Fail:

Release CVE aggregate limits exceeded: Critical: 1/0, High: 5/3

Fail (total limit):

Release CVE aggregate limits exceeded: Total: 55/50

CLI Usage

# Evaluate aggregate gate
stella policy evaluate --gate release-aggregate-cve --image myapp:v1.2.3

# Custom limits
stella policy evaluate --gate release-aggregate-cve \
  --max-critical 0 --max-high 5 --max-medium 30 \
  --image myapp:v1.2.3

# Only count reachable CVEs
stella policy evaluate --gate release-aggregate-cve --only-reachable --image myapp:v1.2.3

# Include suppressed CVEs
stella policy evaluate --gate release-aggregate-cve --count-suppressed --image myapp:v1.2.3

Suppression Handling

When CountSuppressed: false (default):

CVEs with valid exceptions are excluded from counts
Expired exceptions are counted
CVEs suppressed via VEX statements are excluded

When CountSuppressed: true:

All CVEs are counted regardless of suppression status
Useful for tracking true vulnerability exposure

Progressive Environment Strategy

Recommended limit progression:

Environment	Critical	High	Medium	Notes
Development	Disabled	-	-	No blocking in dev
Staging	1	10	50	Lenient for testing
Production	0	0	20	Strict, reachable-only

Last updated: 2026-01-19.

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