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Scan for JetBrains

Veracode Scan for JetBrains is a plugin for popular JetBrains IDEs that integrates Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Veracode Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and Veracode Fix into your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

From within your IDE:

  • To detect flaws in your code, run Static Analysis scans
  • To detect vulnerabilities in open-source libraries and the risk level of open-source licenses, run SCA agent-based scans
  • To remediate flaws by applying suggested fixes, use Veracode Fix
  • To resolve findings manually, use the provided remediation guidance

When you scan your project, the plugin automatically:

  • Packages your project code into an artifact, such as ZIP or JAR.
  • Uploads the artifact to Veracode for analysis.
  • Downloads the results and displays them in your IDE.

Scan results are only available in your IDE. You cannot access the results in the Veracode Platform.

Supported versions

Veracode has tested the following versions of JetBrains IDEs, but the plugin might work with other versions.

Version 2023.2 or later of the following IDEs:

  • IntelliJ Ultimate and Community Edition
  • PyCharm
  • Rider

Supported languages and frameworks

Veracode has tested specific versions (if listed) of the following languages and frameworks, but the plugin might work with other versions.

About application packaging

Before Veracode can run a Static Analysis on your project, the code must be packaged into a supported artifact, such as ZIP or JAR. When you start a scan, the plugin uses an auto-packager to automatically package your project. Then, the plugin uploads the artifact to Veracode for scanning. This option does not apply to SCA scans.

If the auto-packager is not able to package your application, or you prefer to create the artifact yourself, you can use the Veracode packaging guidance to package your application manually. The default location for manually packaged artifacts is <project root>/.verascan. At the root of your project, create the .verascan folder and add your artifact to this folder. When you start the scans, the plugin first looks for an artifact in the default location. To store your artifact in a different location, where the plugin looks next, configure the setting Artifact Glob.

Important

A packaged artifact must not exceed the total file size limit of 200 MB.

Prerequisites

Before you can install and use Veracode Scan for JetBrains, you must have:

  • A supported JetBrains IDE and a source project of a supported language or framework. Monorepos are not supported.

  • Added your project to a Git-based repository, or configured a source code management (SCM) environment variable, such as SRCCLR_NO_GIT=1.

  • Ensured your source project is configured correctly for the language of your application. If you aren't sure, review the project requirements in the JetBrains documentation.

  • To generate suggested code fixes and apply them to flaws, you must have a Veracode Fix license, a supported code language, and your account must have the Submitter user role.

  • To use auto-packaging, you must have:

    • All required build tools, such as compilers and supported package managers, for the language of your project, installed on your local system.
    • All required build tools available on the default command line prompt, which typically uses PATH. If you open a different project that uses different tools, or different versions of the same tools, before you can scan, you must ensure these tools are available on the default command prompt.
  • To see the prerequisites for a scan type, select from the following:

    To run Static Analysis scans and view flaws, you must have:

    • An active Static Analysis license.
    • One of the following Veracode accounts:
      • A human user account with the Security Lead, Creator, or Submitter user role.
      • An API service account with the Upload and Scan API or Upload API - Submit Only API role.
    • Ensured your application builds successfully. If your project files change between scans, rebuild your project and ensure it builds successfully.
    • Enabled one-way communication on port 443.

Create an API credentials file

Before you can use the plugin, you must generate API credentials in the Veracode Platform and store them in a local credentials file. The plugin uses the API credentials to authenticate with Veracode. If you have generated an SCA agent token, you must still create an API credentials file.

Install the plugin

You install the plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace.

note

You can only install the plugin on one machine. If you install it on multiple machines, it might fail to authenticate with Veracode.

Before you begin:

To complete this task:

  1. In your IDE, open the JetBrains Marketplace.

  2. Search for veracode.

  3. Select Veracode Scan.

  4. Select Install.

  5. Restart your IDE.

  6. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png. The Getting Started with Veracode window opens. The plugin automatically detects your API credentials file and attempts to authenticate with Veracode.

  7. Under Authenticate with Veracode, review the Status.

    • If authentication is successful, the Status shows Authenticated. Continue to Step 8.

    • If authentication failed, the Status shows Not Authenticated. Complete one or more of the following, then select Test Authentication:

      a. Ensure your API credentials file is configured correctly and the file is in the required location.

      b. Ensure your API credentials are valid. If your credentials are invalid or expired, generate new credentials and replace the invalid credentials in your credentials file with your new credentials.

      c. If you need to authenticate through a proxy server, add your proxy credentials.

  8. Under Install Local Agent, select Install Agent. The plugin uses this agent to communicate with Veracode. This agent is specific to the plugin and does not affect any other local Veracode agents. The installation is complete.

Configure the plugin

Optionally, turn on recursive scanning, configure a custom location for packaged artifacts, or add your proxy credentials to authenticate with Veracode through a proxy server.

To complete this task:

  1. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.

  2. To open Veracode Scan Settings, in the Veracode Scan window, from the dropdown menu intellij-sca-menu.png, select Settings.

  3. Configure the following options:

    • Recursive Scan: to have each scan run recursively on all folders in your project, select Enable SCA recursive scan. This option is selected by default.
    • Artifact Glob: enter a glob pattern that defines the path and filename for a packaged artifact that you created manually or placed in a custom location. The path must be relative to your project root directory.
    • HTTP Proxy URL: enter the URL for your proxy server. You must include the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. Alternatively, you can add the URL as an environment variable. This setting overrides the environment variable. After you enter the URL, add your proxy credentials.

Add proxy credentials

If your organization requires you to authenticate with Veracode through a proxy server, add your proxy credentials to the plugin. Only Basic authentication is supported.

To complete this task:

  1. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.

  2. To open Veracode Scan Settings, in the Veracode Scan window, from the dropdown menu intellij-sca-menu.png, select Settings.

  3. For HTTP Proxy URL, enter the URL for your proxy server. If you do not know the proxy server URL, contact your IT administrator.

    Alternatively, add the proxy server URL to an environment variable. The HTTP Proxy URL option overrides the environment variable.

    Create the following environment variable:

    • For Variable name, enter https_proxy or veracode_https_proxy.
    • For Variable value, enter the URL for your proxy server.
  4. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.

  5. In the Veracode Scan window, from the dropdown menu intellij-sca-menu.png, select Add Proxy Credentials. The Veracode Scan Details window opens.

  6. In the Veracode Scan Details window, enter your proxy username and password.

  7. Select Add Credentials. The plugin authenticates with Veracode.

Scan your project

To analyze the security risk of your code and all open-source libraries and licenses, scan your project. Because each scan uses the data paths in your project files to detect flaws in lines of code, it does not scan your code as you type. To detect flaws in new or changed lines of code, you must rescan your project.

A Veracode account is limited to six scans per 60 seconds and each scan is limited to a maximum scan time of 60 minutes.

Before you begin:

Ensure you meet the prerequisites.

To complete this task:

  1. Open a supported project in your IDE.
  2. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.
  3. To start the scans, in the Veracode Scan window, select Scan Project intellij-sca-scan-button.png.
  4. Wait for the scans to complete. When all scans are complete, the results for the selected project appear in the following panes: Scan Overview, Flaws In My Code, Vulnerabilities In My Libraries, and Library Licenses.

Review the scan overview

After you scan your project, in the Veracode Scan window, the Scan Overview pane provides the following information about the scans and the results:

  • The scan completion time stamp and the duration of the scans.
  • The total number of flaws from the Static Analysis scan. To view the flaws categorized by severity, expand Flaws.
  • The total number of vulnerabilities from the SCA scan. To view the vulnerabilities categorized by severity, expand Vulnerabilities.

Working with flaws

To review, fix, or ignore discovered flaws, use the Flaws In My Code pane.

Review flaws

Learn about the discovered flaws and their severity, and get remediation guidance that can help you fix them.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. From the left tool window bar, select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.
  2. In the Flaws In My Code pane, you see a list of flaws. Each flaw shows the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) ID and name, sorted by severity. The flaws with the highest severity are at the top of the list. If there are suggested fixes from Veracode Fix, a green banner shows the total number of available fixes and all flaws to which you can apply fixes show a green star jetbrains-flaw-fix-badge.png.
  3. Optionally, to only show specific flaws in the list, select Filter ide-filter-icon.png to filter the flaws.
  4. To view a flaw within a source file, select a flaw. The source file that contains the flaw opens in a tab and the line of code where the flaw exists is underlined in red. An icon to the left of the line of code shows the flaw severity. If the line of code contains multiple flaws, the icon shows the highest severity of all flaws. If there are suggested fixes for the flaw, to the right of the line of code, you see Veracode fix available.
  5. To view a detailed description of a flaw and the remediation actions you can take to fix it, in the Flaws In My Code pane, select View flaw details ide-flaw-details-icon.png. The Veracode Scan Details pane opens.
  6. Alternatively, to open the Veracode Scan Details pane from a flaw in a source code file, hover over a line of code with a red underline. Then, select More actions > Fix this flaw on a CWE. You can also select a CWE from code suggestions jetbrains-light-bulb-icon.png.
  7. To review ignored flaws, at the bottom of the Flaws In My Code pane, expand Ignored findings.

Filter flaws

To control which flaws are listed in the Flaws In My Code pane, you can filter them by severity.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. In the Flaws In My Code pane, select the filter ide-filter-icon.png.

  2. From the dropdown menu, select from the following filters:

    • Severity filters: hide or show flaws based on their severity.
    • Fix filter: only show flaws that have suggested fixes you can apply jetbrains-flaw-fix-badge.png or flaws that have fixes applied jetbrains-fix-applied-icon.png.
  3. From the dropdown menu, select one or more severities. The list of flaws updates automatically. To indicate that the pane is filtered, the filter icon shows an orange dot ide-filter-applied-icon.png.

Fix flaws

To fix discovered flaws, you can apply suggested fixes from Veracode Fix or follow the remediation guidance available in your IDE. If the scan results do not include the path to a flaw, Veracode Fix does not provide suggested fixes for that flaw.

Before you begin:

  • Ensure you have scanned your project.
  • To generate and apply suggested code fixes, you must have a Veracode Fix license.

To complete this task:

  1. In the Flaws In My Code pane, locate a flaw with suggested fixes jetbrains-flaw-fix-badge.png.

  2. Optionally, to show only flaws with suggested fixes, or flaws with fixes applied, you can filter the flaws.

  3. To open the Veracode Scan Details pane, expand a flaw and select View flaw details.

  4. To open the source file that contains the flaw, select the flaw. In the source file, the line of code where the flaw exists is underlined in red. A line of code can contain multiple flaws.

  5. In the Veracode Scan Details window, select from the following tabs. You only see the Veracode Fix tab if Fix supports the CWE ID for the selected flaw.

    • Veracode Fix: to apply the top suggested fix for this flaw, select Apply Fix. To apply other suggested fixes, select Fix Option, select a fix, then select Apply Fix. If no suggested fixes are available, this tab is empty. After you apply a suggested fix, a notification message opens with details about the applied fix. In the Flaws In My Code pane, the severity and fix icons change to gray jetbrains-fix-applied-icon.png. If you fix a flaw manually, the severity icon does not change to gray.
    • Remediation Guidance: to fix this flaw manually, follow the remediation guidance. To see the path that the scanner followed to locate this flaw: under Data Paths, expand a path. Then, select the Step link for the source file and code line number you want to view.
  6. Alternatively, to open the Veracode Scan Details window from a flaw in a source file, hover over a line of code with a red underline. Then, select More actions > Fix this flaw on a CWE or, if there are no suggested fixes, select More information. You can also select a CWE from code suggestions jetbrains-light-bulb-icon.png.

  7. To confirm that a flaw is fixed, rescan your project and check that the flaw is no longer listed in the Flaws In My Code pane.

Ignore flaws

To temporarily remove flaws from the Flaws in My Code pane, you can ignore them. For example, you might want to ignore flaws that continually appear or are of low importance, such as Informational.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. In the Flaws In My Code pane, select a flaw. The source file that contains the flaw opens in a tab and the line of code where the flaw exists is underlined in red.
  2. In the source file, hover over a line of code with a red underline.
  3. To ignore a flaw, select More actions > Ignore this finding on a CWE. If the line of code contains multiple flaws, the menu lists multiple CWEs. The flaw moves to the Ignored flaws section at the bottom of the Flaws in My Code pane and is no longer visible in the source file. You can also select this option from code suggestions jetbrains-light-bulb-icon.png.
  4. To unignore a flaw, at the bottom of the Flaws In My Code pane, expand Ignored flaws. Then, locate a flaw and select Unignore flaw ide-flaw-details-icon.png. The flaw moves out of the Ignored flaws list and is visible in the source file.

Working with vulnerabilities

To review and fix the discovered vulnerabilities, use the Vulnerabilities In My Libraries pane.

Review vulnerabilities

The Vulnerabilities In My Libraries pane lists all open-source libraries with one or more vulnerabilities.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. Select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png. The Vulnerabilities in My Libraries pane lists all detected libraries with vulnerabilities. The libraries with the most and highest-risk vulnerabilities are at the top of the list.
  2. Optionally, to only show specific vulnerabilities in the list, select the filter icon ide-filter-icon.png to filter the vulnerabilities.
  3. To see the vulnerabilities for a library, expand a library.
  4. To see additional information about the library you expanded, select View library details. The Veracode Scan Details window provides useful information about the library, such as its total vulnerability count with severities, the latest version available, the known safe version, and its usage.
  5. To view information about a vulnerability, select it. The Veracode Scan Details window shows the CVSS score, all libraries in your project with this vulnerability, a link to view it in the Veracode Vulnerability Database, and the recommended fix.

Filter vulnerabilities

To control which vulnerabilities are listed in the Vulnerabilities In My Libraries pane, you can filter them by severity.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. In the Vulnerabilities In My Libraries pane, select Filters ide-filter-icon.png.

  2. From the dropdown menu, select one or more filters:

    • Severity: hide or show vulnerabilities based on their risk level.
    • Usage: hide or show vulnerabilities based on their usage.

    After you apply a filter, the filter icon shows an orange dot intellij-sca-filter-icon-applied.png.

Review open-source licenses

You can review a list of all open-source licenses, the libraries that use these licenses, and the license risk level. Your organization uses this information when deciding whether it needs to change a license to a safe version.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. Select Veracode Scan jetbrains-scan-icon.png.
  2. To see the names, versions, and risk level of each license, scroll through the list of licenses in the Library Licenses pane. The licenses with the highest risk level are at the top of the list.
  3. To see the libraries that use a license, expand a license.

Clear all scan results

Remove all scan results from the Veracode Scan window and the plugin.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

Caution

You cannot undo this action or recover the cleared results. To see results, rescan your project.

In the Veracode Scan window, from the dropdown menu intellij-sca-menu.png, select Clear All Results.

Troubleshooting

To generate a log file for all scans, Veracode Fix, and the auto-packager, turn on debugging. You can use these logs to troubleshoot issues.

note

When turned on, the debug option does not persist. You must turn it on before each scan.

To complete this task:

In the Veracode Scan window, from the dropdown menu intellij-sca-menu.png, select Enable Debug. The Enable Debug menu item shows a checkmark.

The logs are stored on your local machine in .veracode/ide_agent/jetbrains/. To remove the logs, you must delete them manually.

To turn off debugging, select Enable Debug to remove the checkmark.

If you need additional help, contact Veracode Technical Support.