name: dependency-scan
description: Scans project dependencies for known vulnerabilities, outdated packages, and license compliance issues. Trigger keywords: dependency, vulnerability, CVE, npm audit, outdated, license, supply chain, SBOM.
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash
Dependency Scan
Overview
This skill focuses on identifying security vulnerabilities, outdated packages, and license compliance issues in project dependencies. It covers multiple package ecosystems and provides remediation guidance.
Instructions
1. Identify Dependencies
- Parse manifest files (package.json, requirements.txt, etc.)
- Build complete dependency tree
- Identify direct vs transitive dependencies
- Check for phantom dependencies
2. Vulnerability Scanning
- Check against CVE databases
- Identify severity levels
- Find affected versions
- Check for available patches
3. Assess Risks
- Evaluate exploitability
- Check for active exploitation
- Assess impact on application
- Prioritize remediations
4. Report and Remediate
- Document all findings
- Provide upgrade paths
- Suggest alternatives
- Create remediation plan
Best Practices
- Regular Scanning: Automate daily/weekly scans
- Lock Files: Use lockfiles for reproducibility
- Minimal Dependencies: Only include what's needed
- Verify Sources: Use trusted registries
- Review Updates: Don't blindly update
- License Compliance: Ensure compatible licenses
- SBOM: Maintain software bill of materials
Examples
Example 1: Scanning Commands by Ecosystem
npm audit
npm audit --json > audit-report.json
npm outdated
npx npm-check-updates
pip-audit
safety check
pip list --outdated
pip-compile --generate-hashes
cargo audit
cargo outdated
cargo deny check
go list -m all | nancy sleuth
govulncheck ./...
bundle audit
bundle outdated
mvn dependency-check:check
mvn versions:display-dependency-updates
dotnet list package --vulnerable
dotnet list package --outdated
composer audit
composer outdated
Example 2: GitHub Actions Dependency Scanning
name: Dependency Scanning
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
schedule:
- cron: "0 6 * * *"
jobs:
dependency-scan:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Run Trivy vulnerability scanner
uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
with:
scan-type: "fs"
scan-ref: "."
format: "sarif"
output: "trivy-results.sarif"
severity: "CRITICAL,HIGH"
- name: Upload Trivy scan results
uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v2
with:
sarif_file: "trivy-results.sarif"
-
Example 3: Dependency Analysis Report Template
# Dependency Security Report
**Generated:** 2024-01-15
**Project:** my-application
**Total Dependencies:** 245 (42 direct, 203 transitive)
## Summary
| Severity | Count | Status |
| -------- | ----- | ------------------ |
| Critical | 2 | Action Required |
| High | 5 | Action Required |
| Medium | 12 | Review Recommended |
| Low | 8 | Monitor |
## Critical Vulnerabilities
### CVE-2024-1234 - Remote Code Execution in lodash
- **Package:** lodash@4.17.20
- **Severity:** Critical (CVSS 9.8)
- **Affected Versions:** < 4.17.21
- **Fixed Version:** 4.17.21
- **Path:** my-app > express > lodash
- **Description:** Prototype pollution vulnerability allowing RCE
- **Remediation:** `npm update lodash`
### CVE-2024-5678 - SQL Injection in sequelize
- **Package:** sequelize@6.28.0
- **Severity:** Critical (CVSS 9.1)
- **Affected Versions:** < 6.29.0
- **Fixed Version:** 6.29.0
- **Path:** my-app > sequelize
- **Description:** SQL injection via raw query methods
- **Remediation:** `npm update sequelize`
## License Compliance
| License | Count | Compliance |
| ------------ | ----- | -------------------- |
| MIT | 180 | Approved |
| Apache-2.0 | 45 | Approved |
| BSD-3-Clause | 15 | Approved |
| GPL-3.0 | 3 | Review Required |
| Unknown | 2 | Investigation Needed |
Update lodash and sequelize to fix critical vulnerabilities
Review GPL-licensed dependencies for compatibility
Enable Dependabot/Renovate for automated updates
Example 4: Renovate Configuration
{
"$schema": "https://docs.renovatebot.com/renovate-schema.json",
"extends": ["config:base", ":semanticCommits", ":preserveSemverRanges"],
"schedule": ["before 6am on Monday"],
"vulnerabilityAlerts": {
"enabled": true,
"labels": ["security"]
},
"packageRules": [
{
"matchUpdateTypes": ["major"],
"labels": ["major-update"],
"automerge": false
}