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Scan for VS Code

Veracode Scan for VS Code is an extension for the Visual Studio Code IDE that integrates Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and Veracode Fix into your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

From within your IDE, you can:

  • 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.

Scan results are only available in the IDE. They are not available in the Veracode Platform.

Supported versions​

Veracode has tested the following versions, but the extension might work with other versions.

VS Code 1.78.2 or later

Supported languages and frameworks​

Veracode has tested specific versions (if listed) of the following languages and frameworks, but the extension 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 extension uses an auto-packager to automatically package your project. Then, the extension 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 extension first looks for an artifact in the default location. To store your artifact in a different location, where the extension looks next, configure the setting veracode-scan.SAST Features.artifactGlob.

Prerequisites​

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

  • A supported version of VS Code and a source project of a supported language or framework. Monorepos are not supported.

  • 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 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.
    • Ensured the artifact you want to scan does not exceed the total file size limit of 200 MB.
    • Enabled one-way communication on port 443.

Create an API credentials file​

Before you can use the extension, you must generate API credentials in the Veracode Platform and store them in a local credentials file.

The extension 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 extension​

Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace the same as any other extension.

note

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

Before you begin

Ensure you meet the prerequisites.

To complete this task:

  1. In VS Code, on the Activity bar, select Extensions.

  2. Search for veracode.

  3. Select Veracode Scan for VS Code.

  4. Select Install. The extension automatically detects your API credentials file and attempts to authenticate with Veracode.

  5. On the Activity bar, select Veracode Scan vs-code-side-bar.png.

    If authentication failed, the AUTHENTICATION view opens and you need to do one or both of the following:

    • Ensure your API credentials file is configured correctly, the file is in the required location, and your credentials are valid. If your API credentials are invalid or expired, you can generate new credentials. Then, select Test Authentication to sign in.
    • To authenticate through a proxy server, add your proxy credentials.

  6. In the SETUP view, select Install Agent to install a local agent. The extension uses this agent to upload your code to Veracode for scanning. This agent is specific to the extension and does not affect any other local Veracode agents.

  7. To apply an SCA security policy that will filter the discovered vulnerabilities, select Open policy settings. This policy does not apply to flaws.

  8. On the Settings tab, select the checkbox under Policy.

  9. From Policy, select a policy to apply to your project. The menu only lists policies that contain the Findings by Severity or Vulnerability CVSS Score rule types. The installation is complete.

Configure the extension​

Optionally, configure scan settings, filter discovered findings, or add your proxy credentials to authenticate with Veracode through a proxy server.

To complete this task:

  1. To open the Settings tab, in the SCAN OVERVIEW view, select Settings vscode-settings-gear-icon.png.

  2. Configure the following options:

    • SAST Flaw.Sev Filters: to hide or show flaws in the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, add or remove the related severities.
    • SCA Features.Policy: to filter out vulnerabilities in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view, select to enable an SCA security policy that you can assign to your project. Then, from the Policy dropdown menu, select a policy. The menu only lists policies that contain the Findings by Severity or Vulnerability CVSS Score rule types. To use this option, the Unified Policy must be activated for your account. This policy does not apply to flaws.
    • SCA Features.Recursive Scan: select to run a recursive SCA scan of all folders and files in your selected project. After you select this option, you must rescan your project to update the results.
    • SCA Vulnerability.Sev Filters: to hide or show vulnerabilities in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view based on the risk level, add or remove the related severities.
    • SCA Vulnerability.Usage Filters: to filter vulnerabilities in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view based on how the project uses a vulnerable library, add or remove Direct or Transitive (indirect).
    • SAST Features.artifactGlob: provide the location of a custom artifact for a Static Analysis scan. Enter a glob pattern that defines the path and filename for your artifact. The path must be relative to your project root directory. The default location is $PROJECT_ROOT/.verascan. Ensure your artifact meets the Veracode packaging guidance. See About application packaging.

Add proxy credentials​

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

To add your proxy credentials:

  1. Open the VS Code settings, then search for proxy.
  2. Under Http: Proxy, enter the URL for your proxy server. If you do not know the proxy server URL, contact your IT administrator.
  3. In the Add Proxy Credentials window, enter your proxy username and password. If you do not see this window or you want to re-open it, in the Command Palette, enter HTTP Proxy Credentials.
  4. Select Add Credentials. The extension 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.
  2. On the Activity bar, select Veracode Scan vs-code-side-bar.png.
  3. In the SCAN OVERVIEW view, select Start Scanning. If you have already scanned this project, select Rescan vscode-sca-rescan-icon.png. If you have more than one project open, you can select the project you want to scan from the Command Palette.
  4. Wait for the scans to complete. When all scans are complete, the results for the selected project appear in the following views: 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 view 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. If there are suggested fixes from Veracode Fix, you see the total number of available fixes.
  • 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 view.

Review flaws​

Learn about the discovered flaws, 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. On the Activity bar, select Veracode Scan vs-code-side-bar.png.
  2. In the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, 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 for a flaw, the flaw icon shows a blue dot vs-code-flaw-fix-badge.png. After you apply a suggested fix from Veracode Fix, the flaw icon changes to gray vs-code-fix-applied-icon.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 opens in a tab and the line of code where the flaw exists is underlined red. 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 view, select View flaw details ide-flaw-details-icon.png. The Flaw Details tab opens.
  6. Alternatively, to open the Flaw Details tab from a flaw in a source code file, hover over a line of code with a red underline. Then, select Quick Fix and a CWE. You can also select a CWE from Show Code Actions vscode-show-code-actions-icon.png.
  7. To review ignored flaws, in the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, scroll down to the bottom of the view. Then, expand Ignored findings.

Filter flaws​

To control which flaws are listed in the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, you can filter them.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. In the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, select Filters ide-filter-icon.png.

  2. Select Filter Flaws, then select a filter:

    • Severity: hide or show flaws based on their severity.
    • Veracode Fix: only show flaws with suggested fixes you can apply vs-code-flaw-fix-badge.png or flaws that have fixes applied vs-code-fix-applied-icon.png.

  3. To apply a filter, select OK. To indicate that the view 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.

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 view, select a flaw you want to fix. If the flaw has suggested fixes, the severity icon shows a blue dot vs-code-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 Flaw Details tab, point to a flaw, then select View flaw details ide-flaw-details-icon.png.

  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 red. A line of code can contain multiple flaws.

  5. In the Flaws Details tab, select from the following:

    • Veracode Fix: to apply the top suggested fix for this flaw, select Apply Fix. To apply other suggested fixes, select a fix from Fix Option, 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 and the flaw icon in the FLAWS IN MY CODE view changes to gray vs-code-fix-applied-icon.png. If you fix a flaw manually, its flaw 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 Flaw Details tab from a flaw in the source file, hover over a line of code with a red underline. Then, select Quick Fix and select either Fix this flaw or, if there are no suggested fixes, select More information. You can also access the Quick Fix options from the Show Code Actions menu vscode-show-code-actions-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 view.

Ignore flaws​

To temporarily remove flaws from the scan results, 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 view, 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 red.
  2. To ignore a flaw, in the source file, hover over a line of code with a red underline.
  3. Select Quick Fix > Ignore this finding on a CWE. If the line of code contains more than one flaw, the menu lists multiple CWEs. You can also access the Quick Fix options from Show Code Actions vscode-show-code-actions-icon.png. The flaw moves to the Ignored flaws section at the bottom of the view.
  4. To unignore a flaw, at the bottom of the FLAWS IN MY CODE view, expand Ignored flaws. Then, locate a flaw and select Unignore flaw ide-unignore-flaw-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 discovered vulnerabilities, use the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view.

Review vulnerabilities​

To see detailed information about libraries with vulnerabilities, the vulnerability risk level, and guidance for mitigating them, review the discovered vulnerabilities for all open-source libraries in your project in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view.

If you do not have an active SCA subscription, you do not see vulnerabilities in the SCAN OVERVIEW view. The VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view and the LIBRARY LICENSES view are also empty.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. On the Activity bar, select Veracode Scan vs-code-side-bar.png.

  2. In the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view, you see a list of libraries sorted by risk level. The libraries with the most and highest-risk vulnerabilities are at the top of the list. The usage appears to the right of the library.

  3. If you have enabled a security policy for your project, select Policy vscode-policy-shield-icon.png to select a different policy. If the policy is disabled, select Policy to open the policy settings.

  4. Optionally, to only show specific vulnerabilities in the list, select Filters ide-filter-icon.png to filter the vulnerabilities.

  5. Expand a library to view the detected vulnerabilities.

  6. To view information about the library, select View library details. The Library Details tab provides useful information about the library, such as the usage, the latest version available, the known safe version, whether it has vulnerable methods, and links to more information.

  7. To view information about a vulnerability, select it. The Vulnerability Details window shows the CVSS score, the affected libraries in your project, a link for additional information in the Veracode Vulnerability Database, and the recommended fix.

  8. After you fix a vulnerability, select Rescan vscode-sca-rescan-icon.png in the SCAN OVERVIEW view to confirm that the affected library no longer has that vulnerability.

    For example, if a library in an NPM project has a vulnerability, and you update the library in the package.json file to a safe version, select Rescan to confirm that the vulnerability no longer appears in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view.

Filter vulnerabilities​

To control which vulnerabilities are listed in the VULNERABILITIES IN MY LIBRARIES view, 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 view, select Filters ide-filter-icon.png.

  2. Select Filter Vulnerabilities, then select one or more filters:

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

  3. To apply a filter, select OK. To indicate that the view is filtered, the filter icon shows an orange dot ide-filter-applied-icon.png.

Review open-source licenses​

Review a list of all open-source licenses in your project, the libraries that use these licenses, and the license risk level. Your organization uses this information when deciding whether it might need to change a license to a safe version.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

  1. On the Activity bar, select Veracode Scan vs-code-side-bar.png.
  2. In the LIBRARY LICENSES view, scroll through the list of detected licenses to see the names, versions, and license risk. The licenses with the highest risk level appear at the top of the list.
  3. Expand a license to see the libraries that use it.

Clear all findings​

Remove all findings from all views and the extension.

Before you begin:

Ensure you have scanned your project.

To complete this task:

note

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

In the SCAN OVERVIEW view, select Clear findings vscode-clear-findings-icon.png.

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.

To turn on debugging, in the HELP & FEEDBACK view, select Debug vscode-debug-icon.png. The icon shows a red dot and the tooltip changes to Debug Enabled. The log files are stored on your local machine in .veracode/ide_agent/vscode/. The filename for each log file is the VS Code session ID at the time you started the scan. To remove these files, you must delete them manually.

note

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

To turn off debugging, select Debug to remove the red dot. The tooltip changes to Debug Disabled.

If you need additional help, contact Veracode Technical Support.

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