Trivy scanning with Code Genie

A Control repository that is created as part of creating a IBM® DevOps Loop will be automatically configured to perform security scanning with Trivy. This ensures that every pull request is automatically scanned for problems such as vulnerabilities, security breeches, misconfigurations, etc. before code reaches the main branch. Use this procedure when you want to enforce severity-based merge protection across your team.

Before you begin, ensure that you have:

  • Administrator access to your team space.
  • Created a teamspace. See Creating a teamspace.
  • Created a DevOps Loop so that the Control repository, webhook, branch protection, and default .devops-loop/code-config.jsonc are provisioned automatically. See Creating a loop.
  • Read the Code genie topic to understand how Code genie works with features like Trivy.
  • Familiarized yourself with the Trivy CLI reference for available scan parameters.
  • Ensured your team follows a branching strategy with a protected main branch.

Trivy scans every pull request for vulnerabilities (CVEs), IaC misconfigurations, leaked secrets, and license violations. Code Genie (service-account-devopscode-genie) posts the scan results as pull request comments and blocks merges when findings equal or exceed the configured rejection threshold. You can customize the scan behavior in .devops-loop/code-config.jsonc by setting the rejection threshold (--reject), the scanner types (--scanners), and types of severity issues to scan for.

Important:
Automatic configuration of the webhook, branch protection rules, and .devops-loop/code-config.jsonc only applies to Control repositories created through the Loop creation process. If you create a Control repository manually at a later stage, you must manually add the webhook, configure branch protection rules, and create the .devops-loop/code-config.jsonc file for Trivy scanning to work.
Important:
When a pull request is closed, the TrivyScan dev container associated with it is automatically terminated. Any other open pull requests waiting for Code Genie scan results at that point may not receive their comments because the container is no longer running.

These are temporary limitations in the current release.

  1. Validate the end-to-end Trivy workflow by creating a test branch with a vulnerable dependency and opening a pull request to the main branch.
    1. Create a test branch in the DevOps Control repository, add a dependency with a known vulnerability, commit and push the changes, and open a pull request targeting main.
    2. Confirm that Code Genie shows a yellow dot next to its name, indicating the scan is running, and that the merge button is disabled.
    3. Wait until a pop-up appears that tells Trivy scanning is completed. It usually takes around 20 seconds, but it depends on the size of the Control repository.
    4. Review the Code Genie pull request comments and confirm that HIGH or CRITICAL findings are blocking the merge, if the --reject is set to high.
    5. Address the security issues, push the fix, and allow Code Genie to re-run the scan.
    6. Confirm that Code Genie approves the pull request after the clean scan and that the merge button becomes active.
  2. Verify the webhook that was automatically configured during Loop creation.
    1. Go to Settings > Webhooks in the repository.
    2. Confirm that the webhook shows the following values.
      • Target URL: http://devops-code-container-mgr:3005/api/pull-request
      • HTTP method: POST
      • Content type: application/json
      • Trigger events: Pull Request as well as PR Synchronized
      • Status: Active
      Warning:
      Do not delete or modify the auto-generated webhook. Doing so breaks Trivy scanning.
  3. Open .devops-loop/code-config.jsonc in the Control repository and customize the Trivy scan parameters to match your security policy.

    The default configuration is as follows:

    {
                        "code-genie": {
                        "pull-request": {
                        "dev-container": "TrivyScan",
                        "custom-commands": [
                        {
                        "run-trivy": "cp /opt/run-trivy.sh /usr/code/ && \
                        chmod +x /usr/code/run-trivy.sh && \
                        REPO_URL=https://${platform-fqdm}/control/${repo-owner}/${repo}/src/branch/${pr-branch}/ \
                        /usr/code/run-trivy.sh ${code-folder} ${result-json} \
                        --reject=high \
                        --trivyArgs=\"--scanners vuln,misconfig,secret,license --license-full --severity UNKNOWN,LOW,MEDIUM,HIGH,CRITICAL\""
                        }
                        ]
                        }
                        }
                        }

    You can adjust the following parameters:

    • --reject — sets the minimum severity level that blocks a pull request merge. Accepted values are never, low, medium, high, and critical. Also, never means that the PR will never be rejected, and that only Trivy scan results will be provided as PR comments.
    • --scanners — sets the scanner types to run.
    • --severity — sets the severity levels that Trivy reports on.
  4. Verify branch protection rules and Code Genie reviewer (auto-configured during Loop creation).
  5. Commit and push the updated code-config.jsonc to the main branch.

You have configured Trivy security scanning on your Control repository. Every pull request to the main branch now triggers an automatic Trivy scan. Code Genie approves or blocks the merge based on the --reject threshold you defined in code-config.jsonc.

After completing this configuration, you can:

  • Adjust the --reject threshold or --scanners list in code-config.jsonc as your security policy evolves.
  • Add further dev container blocks to run additional capabilities such as unit testing or static code analysis alongside Trivy. See Code Genie.
  • Review the Trivy CLI reference for the full list of available scan arguments.