DevSecOps6 min readโขDec 2025โข1.2K views
CI/CD Pipeline Security: The 10-Point Checklist We Use
Your CI/CD pipeline is a prime attack vector. Here's how to harden it: secrets management, image signing, SBOM generation, vulnerability scanning, and supply chain security.
CI/CD pipelines have access to everything: source code, secrets, production deployments. A compromised pipeline = compromised infrastructure. Here's our security checklist.
Key Takeaways
- โNever store secrets in codeโuse secret managers (Vault, AWS Secrets, GitHub Secrets).
- โSign container images with Sigstore/Cosign and verify signatures before deployment.
- โGenerate SBOMs (Software Bill of Materials) for every build.
- โScan images for vulnerabilities with Trivy, Grype, or Snyk.
- โUse minimal base images (distroless, Alpine) to reduce attack surface.
- โEnforce branch protection and require signed commits.
- โRun SAST (static analysis) and DAST (dynamic analysis) in pipeline.
- โImplement least-privilege IAM for pipeline service accounts.
- โEnable audit logging for all pipeline actions.
- โPractice pipeline disaster recovery: can you rebuild from scratch?
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