16 KiB
16 KiB
CI/CD Gate Flow
Overview
The CI/CD Gate Flow describes how StellaOps integrates into continuous integration and deployment pipelines to provide automated security gates. The flow covers CLI-based scanning, policy evaluation, and pass/fail decisions that control pipeline progression.
Business Value: Shift-left security by catching vulnerabilities before deployment, with deterministic, reproducible verdicts that integrate into existing DevOps workflows.
Actors
| Actor | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|
| CI Pipeline | System | GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, etc. |
| StellaOps CLI | Tool | Executes scans from pipeline |
| Gateway | Service | API entry point |
| Scanner | Service | Performs image analysis |
| Policy Engine | Service | Evaluates security policies |
| Attestor | Service | Signs scan results |
Prerequisites
- StellaOps CLI installed in CI environment
- API credentials configured (token or OIDC)
- Policy set defined for the pipeline
- Container image built and available
Supported CI/CD Platforms
| Platform | Integration Method | Credentials |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub Actions | Action + CLI | OIDC or PAT |
| GitLab CI | Job template + CLI | CI_JOB_TOKEN or PAT |
| Azure DevOps | Task + CLI | Service connection |
| Jenkins | Plugin + CLI | Credentials binding |
| CircleCI | Orb + CLI | Context variables |
| Tekton | Task + CLI | Kubernetes secrets |
Flow Diagram
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CI/CD Gate Flow │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌────────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌────────┐ ┌─────────┐
│ CI Pipeline│ │StellaOps │ │ Gateway │ │ Scanner │ │ Policy │ │ Attestor│
│ │ │ CLI │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
└─────┬──────┘ └─────┬─────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └───┬────┘ └────┬────┘
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ docker build │ │ │ │ │
│───────┐ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│<──────┘ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ stellaops │ │ │ │ │
│ scan │ │ │ │ │
│ --policy=prod │ │ │ │ │
│──────────────>│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ POST /scans │ │ │ │
│ │────────────>│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ Dispatch │ │ │
│ │ │───────────>│ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Analyze │ │
│ │ │ │ image │ │
│ │ │ │───┐ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │<──┘ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Evaluate │ │
│ │ │ │──────────>│ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ Apply │
│ │ │ │ │ rules │
│ │ │ │ │───┐ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │<──┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Verdict │ │
│ │ │ │<──────────│ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ Sign │ │
│ │ │ │──────────────────────>│
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ DSSE │ │
│ │ │ │<──────────────────────│
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ Result │ │ │
│ │ │<───────────│ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ Verdict │ │ │ │
│ │<────────────│ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ Exit code │ │ │ │ │
│ (0=pass, │ │ │ │ │
│ 1=fail) │ │ │ │ │
│<──────────────│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ [if pass] │ │ │ │ │
│ docker push │ │ │ │ │
│───────┐ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │
│<──────┘ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
Step-by-Step
1. Pipeline Configuration
GitHub Actions Example
name: Build and Scan
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
build-and-scan:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
permissions:
contents: read
id-token: write # For OIDC
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Build Docker image
run: |
docker build -t myapp:${{ github.sha }} .
- name: Install StellaOps CLI
run: |
curl -sSL https://get.stellaops.io/cli | sh
echo "$HOME/.stellaops/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH
- name: Authenticate with OIDC
run: |
stellaops auth login --oidc \
--issuer ${{ secrets.STELLAOPS_OIDC_ISSUER }} \
--client-id ${{ secrets.STELLAOPS_CLIENT_ID }}
- name: Scan image
id: scan
run: |
stellaops scan myapp:${{ github.sha }} \
--policy production \
--format sarif \
--output results.sarif \
--attestation \
--fail-on violation
- name: Upload SARIF to GitHub Security
if: always()
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v2
with:
sarif_file: results.sarif
- name: Push to registry
if: steps.scan.outcome == 'success'
run: |
docker tag myapp:${{ github.sha }} ghcr.io/org/myapp:${{ github.sha }}
docker push ghcr.io/org/myapp:${{ github.sha }}
GitLab CI Example
stages:
- build
- scan
- deploy
variables:
STELLAOPS_API_URL: https://api.stellaops.local
build:
stage: build
script:
- docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA .
- docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
scan:
stage: scan
image: stellaops/cli:latest
script:
- stellaops auth login --token $STELLAOPS_TOKEN
- stellaops scan $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
--policy production
--fail-on violation
artifacts:
reports:
sast: gl-sast-report.json
deploy:
stage: deploy
needs: [scan]
script:
- kubectl set image deployment/myapp app=$CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
2. CLI Authentication
The CLI supports multiple authentication methods:
| Method | Command | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Token | stellaops auth login --token $TOKEN |
CI/CD with secrets |
| OIDC | stellaops auth login --oidc |
GitHub/GitLab OIDC |
| Interactive | stellaops auth login |
Local development |
| Keyless | stellaops auth login --keyless |
Sigstore OIDC |
3. Scan Execution
CLI submits scan request and waits for completion:
stellaops scan docker.io/myorg/myapp:v1.2.3 \
--policy production \
--format json \
--output scan-results.json \
--attestation \
--timeout 5m \
--fail-on violation
CLI Options
| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
--policy |
Policy set to evaluate against | default |
--format |
Output format (json, sarif, table) | table |
--output |
Write results to file | stdout |
--attestation |
Generate DSSE attestation | false |
--timeout |
Maximum wait time | 10m |
--fail-on |
Exit 1 on: violation, warning, any |
violation |
--quiet |
Suppress progress output | false |
4. Policy Evaluation
Policy engine evaluates findings against CI-specific rules:
# Policy Set: production
version: "stella-dsl@1"
name: production
rules:
- name: block-critical
condition: severity == 'critical' AND vex_status != 'not_affected'
action: FAIL
- name: block-high-unfixed
condition: severity == 'high' AND fixed_version == null
action: FAIL
- name: block-known-exploited
condition: kev == true
action: FAIL
- name: require-sbom
condition: sbom_complete == false
action: FAIL
message: "SBOM must cover all detected packages"
gates:
ci:
max_critical: 0
max_high_unfixed: 0
require_attestation: true
5. Verdict and Exit Code
CLI translates verdict to exit code:
| Verdict | Exit Code | Pipeline Result |
|---|---|---|
| PASS | 0 | Continue |
| WARN | 0 (or 1 if --fail-on warning) |
Continue with warning |
| FAIL | 1 | Block deployment |
| ERROR | 2 | Pipeline failure |
6. SARIF Integration
CLI outputs SARIF for IDE and GitHub integration:
{
"$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/oasis-tcs/sarif-spec/master/Schemata/sarif-schema-2.1.0.json",
"version": "2.1.0",
"runs": [
{
"tool": {
"driver": {
"name": "StellaOps",
"version": "2.1.0",
"informationUri": "https://stellaops.io"
}
},
"results": [
{
"ruleId": "CVE-2024-1234",
"level": "error",
"message": {
"text": "Critical vulnerability in lodash@4.17.20"
},
"locations": [
{
"physicalLocation": {
"artifactLocation": {
"uri": "package-lock.json"
}
}
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
7. Attestation Storage
If --attestation is specified, CLI stores attestation:
# View attestation
stellaops attestation show --scan $SCAN_ID
# Verify attestation
stellaops attestation verify --image myapp:v1.2.3 --policy production
Attestation is stored as DSSE envelope:
{
"payloadType": "application/vnd.in-toto+json",
"payload": "eyJfdHlwZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vaW4tdG90by5pby9TdGF0ZW1lbnQvdjEi...",
"signatures": [
{
"keyid": "sha256:abc123...",
"sig": "MEQCI..."
}
]
}
Gate Behaviors
Soft Gate (Warning Only)
# .stellaops.yaml
gates:
ci:
mode: soft # Report but don't fail
notify:
- slack://security-channel
Hard Gate (Blocking)
gates:
ci:
mode: hard # Fail pipeline on violations
exceptions:
- CVE-2024-9999 # Known false positive
Progressive Gate
gates:
ci:
mode: progressive
thresholds:
- branch: main
max_critical: 0
max_high: 5
- branch: develop
max_critical: 2
max_high: 20
- branch: feature/*
mode: soft # Warn only on feature branches
Data Contracts
CLI Scan Output Schema
interface CliScanOutput {
scan_id: string;
image: string;
digest: string;
verdict: 'PASS' | 'WARN' | 'FAIL';
confidence: number;
summary: {
critical: number;
high: number;
medium: number;
low: number;
};
violations: Array<{
cve: string;
severity: string;
package: string;
rule: string;
message: string;
}>;
attestation?: {
digest: string;
rekor_log_index?: number;
};
timing: {
queued_ms: number;
scan_ms: number;
policy_ms: number;
total_ms: number;
};
}
Error Handling
| Error | Exit Code | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Auth failure | 2 | Check credentials |
| Image not found | 2 | Verify image reference |
| API timeout | 2 | Retry with --timeout |
| Policy not found | 2 | Check policy name |
| Network error | 2 | Check connectivity |
Observability
Metrics
| Metric | Type | Labels |
|---|---|---|
cli_scan_total |
Counter | verdict, ci_platform |
cli_scan_duration_seconds |
Histogram | ci_platform |
cli_gate_blocked_total |
Counter | policy, reason |
CI/CD Annotations
GitHub Actions annotations:
::error file=package-lock.json::CVE-2024-1234: Critical vulnerability in lodash@4.17.20
::warning file=Dockerfile::Using outdated base image
Related Flows
- Scan Submission Flow - Underlying scan mechanics
- Policy Evaluation Flow - Policy rule details
- Binary Delta Attestation Flow - Attestation details