gitlab-vulnerability

---
name: gitlab-vulnerability
description: GitLab vulnerability operations via API. ALWAYS use this skill when user wants to: (1) list security vulnerabilities, (2) view vulnerability details, (3) confirm/dismiss/resolve vulnerabilities, (4) view vulnerability findings.
license: MIT
---

# Vulnerability Skill

Security vulnerability management for GitLab using `glab api` raw endpoint calls.

## Quick Reference

| Operation | Command Pattern | Risk |
|-----------|-----------------|:----:|
| List vulnerabilities | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities` | - |
| Get vulnerability | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities/:vuln_id` | - |
| Confirm vulnerability | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities/:vuln_id/confirm -X POST` | ⚠️ |
| Dismiss vulnerability | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities/:vuln_id/dismiss -X POST -f ...` | ⚠️ |
| Resolve vulnerability | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities/:vuln_id/resolve -X POST` | ⚠️ |
| Revert to detected | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerabilities/:vuln_id/revert -X POST` | ⚠️ |
| List findings | `glab api projects/:id/vulnerability_findings` | - |

**Risk Legend**: - Safe | ⚠️ Caution | ⚠️⚠️ Warning | ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Danger

## When to Use This Skill

**ALWAYS use when:**
- User mentions "vulnerability", "security issue", "CVE"
- User wants to view security scan results
- User mentions "SAST", "DAST", "dependency scanning", "container scanning"
- User wants to dismiss or resolve security findings
- User asks about security dashboard

**NEVER use when:**
- User wants to run security scans (use gitlab-ci)
- User wants to configure security settings (use project settings)
- User wants general issue tracking (use gitlab-issue)

## API Prerequisites

**Required Token Scopes:** `read_api` or `api`

**Permissions:**
- Read vulnerabilities: Developer+
- Manage vulnerabilities: Developer+

**GitLab Tier:** Ultimate required for full vulnerability management features

## Vulnerability States

| State | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `detected` | New, unreviewed vulnerability |
| `confirmed` | Verified as real vulnerability |
| `dismissed` | Marked as false positive or won't fix |
| `resolved` | Fixed and no longer present |

## Severity Levels

| Severity | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| `critical` | Highest severity, immediate action needed |
| `high` | Significant risk |
| `medium` | Moderate risk |
| `low` | Minor risk |
| `info` | Informational finding |
| `unknown` | Severity not determined |

## Available Commands

### List Project Vulnerabilities

```bash
# List all vulnerabilities
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities --method GET

# Filter by state
glab api "projects/123/vulnerabilities?state=detected" --method GET

# Filter by severity
glab api "projects/123/vulnerabilities?severity=critical,high" --method GET

# Filter by multiple criteria
glab api "projects/123/vulnerabilities?state=detected&severity=critical,high" --method GET

# With pagination
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities --paginate

# Using project path
glab api "projects/$(echo 'mygroup/myproject' | jq -Rr @uri)/vulnerabilities"
```

### Get Vulnerability Details

```bash
# Get specific vulnerability
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456 --method GET
```

### Confirm Vulnerability

Marks a detected vulnerability as confirmed (real security issue).

```bash
# Confirm vulnerability
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/confirm --method POST
```

### Dismiss Vulnerability

Marks a vulnerability as dismissed (false positive or accepted risk).

```bash
# Dismiss as false positive
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/dismiss --method POST \
  -f comment="False positive - this code path is not reachable"

# Dismiss as acceptable risk
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/dismiss --method POST \
  -f comment="Accepted risk - mitigated by network controls"

# Dismiss with dismissal reason (if available)
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/dismiss --method POST \
  -f comment="Not applicable to our use case" \
  -f dismissal_reason="used_in_tests"
```

### Resolve Vulnerability

Marks a vulnerability as resolved (fixed).

```bash
# Resolve vulnerability
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/resolve --method POST
```

### Revert to Detected State

Reverts a vulnerability back to detected state.

```bash
# Revert to detected
glab api projects/123/vulnerabilities/456/revert --method POST
```

### List Vulnerability Findings

Findings are the raw results from security scanners.

```bash
# List all findings
glab api projects/123/vulnerability_findings --method GET

# Filter by severity
glab api "projects/123/vulnerability_findings?severity=critical,high" --method GET

# Filter by scanner
glab api "projects/123/vulnerability_findings?scanner=sast" --method GET

# Filter by pipeline
glab api "projects/123/vulnerability_findings?pipeline_id=789" --method GET

# With pagination
glab api projects/123/vulnerability_findings --paginate
```

### Security Dashboard (Group Level)

```bash
# Get security statistics for group
glab api groups/456/vulnerability_exports --method POST \
  -f export_format="csv"

# Get group vulnerability statistics
glab api "groups/456/vulnerability_statistics" --method GET
```

## Common Workflows

### Workflow 1: Triage New Vulnerabilities

```bash
project_id=123

# Get all detected (new) vulnerabilities
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities?state=detected" --paginate | \
  jq -r '.[] | "[\(.severity)] \(.title) - \(.id)"'

# Review critical/high first
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities?state=detected&severity=critical,high" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "ID: \(.id)\nTitle: \(.title)\nSeverity: \(.severity)\nScanner: \(.scanner.name)\nLocation: \(.location | @json)\n---"'
```

### Workflow 2: Generate Security Report

```bash
project_id=123

# Summary by severity
echo "=== Vulnerability Summary ==="
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate | \
  jq -r 'group_by(.severity) | map({severity: .[0].severity, count: length}) | .[] | "\(.severity): \(.count)"'

# Summary by state
echo ""
echo "=== By State ==="
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate | \
  jq -r 'group_by(.state) | map({state: .[0].state, count: length}) | .[] | "\(.state): \(.count)"'

# Summary by scanner
echo ""
echo "=== By Scanner ==="
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate | \
  jq -r 'group_by(.scanner.name) | map({scanner: .[0].scanner.name, count: length}) | .[] | "\(.scanner): \(.count)"'
```

### Workflow 3: Bulk Dismiss False Positives

```bash
project_id=123

# Dismiss all info-level findings from specific scanner
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities?severity=info&state=detected" --paginate | \
  jq -r '.[].id' | while read vuln_id; do
    echo "Dismissing $vuln_id"
    glab api projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities/$vuln_id/dismiss --method POST \
      -f comment="Bulk dismissed - info level findings"
  done
```

### Workflow 4: Track Critical Vulnerabilities

```bash
project_id=123

# List critical vulnerabilities with details
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities?severity=critical" --paginate | \
  jq -r '.[] | {
    id: .id,
    title: .title,
    state: .state,
    detected_at: .detected_at,
    scanner: .scanner.name,
    identifiers: [.identifiers[]?.name] | join(", ")
  }'
```

### Workflow 5: Check for CVEs

```bash
project_id=123
cve="CVE-2021-44228"

# Search for specific CVE
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate | \
  jq -r ".[] | select(.identifiers[]?.name == \"$cve\") | \"ID: \(.id), State: \(.state), Title: \(.title)\""
```

### Workflow 6: Export Vulnerabilities

```bash
project_id=123

# Export to JSON
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate > vulnerabilities.json

# Export to CSV format
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerabilities" --paginate | \
  jq -r '["id","title","severity","state","scanner","detected_at"],
         (.[] | [.id, .title, .severity, .state, .scanner.name, .detected_at]) | @csv' > vulnerabilities.csv
```

### Workflow 7: Compare Pipeline Results

```bash
project_id=123

# Get findings from specific pipeline
pipeline_id=789
glab api "projects/$project_id/vulnerability_findings?pipeline_id=$pipeline_id" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.severity): \(.name)"'
```

## Scanner Types

| Scanner | Report Type | Description |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| `sast` | SAST | Static Application Security Testing |
| `dast` | DAST | Dynamic Application Security Testing |
| `dependency_scanning` | Dependency Scanning | Third-party dependency vulnerabilities |
| `container_scanning` | Container Scanning | Container image vulnerabilities |
| `secret_detection` | Secret Detection | Hardcoded secrets in code |
| `coverage_fuzzing` | Coverage Fuzzing | Fuzzing test results |
| `api_fuzzing` | API Fuzzing | API fuzzing results |

## Troubleshooting

| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| 403 Forbidden | Ultimate required or no access | Check GitLab tier and permissions |
| Empty results | No scans run | Configure and run security scanners in CI |
| Old vulnerabilities | No recent pipeline | Run new pipeline with security jobs |
| Can't dismiss | Already dismissed or resolved | Check current state |
| Missing scanner type | Scanner not configured | Add scanner to CI configuration |

## Best Practices

1. **Triage regularly**: Review new vulnerabilities frequently
2. **Document dismissals**: Always add comments explaining why
3. **Track critical issues**: Monitor critical/high severity closely
4. **Integrate with issues**: Create issues for confirmed vulnerabilities
5. **Automate where possible**: Use CI to fail on new critical findings

## Related Documentation

- [API Helpers](../shared/docs/API_HELPERS.md)
- [Safeguards](../shared/docs/SAFEGUARDS.md)
- [Quick Reference](../shared/docs/QUICK_REFERENCE.md)
- [GitLab Vulnerabilities API](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/vulnerabilities.html)
- [GitLab Vulnerability Findings API](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/vulnerability_findings.html)