scorecard/checks/checks.yaml

# Copyright 2021 Security Scorecard Authors
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

# This is the source of truth for all check descriptions and remediation steps.
# Run `python3 generate_checks.py` to generate `checks.json` and `checks.md`.
checks:
  Security-Policy:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if a project has published a security
      policy. It works by looking for a file named `SECURITY.md`
      (case-insensitive) in a few well-known directories.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Place a security policy file `SECURITY.md` in the root directory of
        your repository. This makes it easily discoverable by a vulnerability
        reporter.
      - >-
        The file should contain information on what constitutes a vulnerability
        and a way to report it securely (e.g. issue tracker with private issue
        support, encrypted email with a published public key).
  Contributors:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if a project has a set of contributors from
      multiple companies. It works by looking at the authors of recent commits
      and checking the `Organization` field on the GitHub user profile.
    remediation:
      - >-
        There is *NO* remediation work needed here. This is just to provide some
        insights on which organization(s) have contributed to the project and
        making trust decision based on that.
  Frozen-Deps:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if a project has declared and pinned its
      dependencies. It works by looking for a set of well-known package
      management lock files.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Declare all your dependencies with specific versions in your package
        format file (e.g. `package.json` for npm, `requirements.txt` for
        python). For C/C++, check in the code from a trusted source and add a
        `README` on the specific version used (and the archive SHA hashes).
      - >-
        If the package manager supports lock files (e.g. `package-lock.json`
        for npm), make sure to check these in the source code as well. These
        files maintain signatures for the entire dependency tree and saves from
        future exploitation in case the package is compromised.
  Signed-Tags:
    description: >-
      This check looks for cryptographically signed tags in the git history.
    remediation:
      - Generate a new signing key.
      - Add your key to your source hosting provider.
      - Configure your key and email in git.
      - Publish the tag and then sign it with this key.
      - >-
        For GitHub, check out the steps
        [here](https://docs.github.com/en/github/authenticating-to-github/signing-tags#further-reading).
  Signed-Releases:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if a project cryptographically signs
      release artifacts. It works by looking for well-known filenames within
      recently published GitHub releases.
    remediation:
      - Publish the release.
      - Generate a signing key.
      - Download the release as an archive locally.
      - Sign the release archive with this key (should output a signature file).
      - Attach the signature file next to the release archive.
      - >-
        For GitHub, check out the steps
        [here](https://wiki.debian.org/Creating%20signed%20GitHub%20releases).
  CI-Tests:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project run tests before pull
      requests are merged. It works by looking for a set of well-known
      CI-system names in GitHub `CheckRuns` and `Statuses`.
    remediation:
      - Check-in scripts that run all the tests in your repository.
      - >-
        Integrate those scripts with a CI/CD platform that runs it on every pull
        request (e.g.
        [GitHub Actions](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/learn-github-actions/introduction-to-github-actions),
        [Prow](https://github.com/kubernetes/test-infra/tree/master/prow),
        etc).
  Code-Review:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if a project requires code review before
      pull requests are merged. It works by looking for a set of well-known
      code review system results in GitHub Pull Requests.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Follow security best practices by performing strict code reviews for
        every new pull request.
      - >-
        Make "code reviews" mandatory in your repository configuration.
        E.g. [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/about-protected-branches#require-pull-request-reviews-before-merging).
      - >-
        Enforce the rule for administrators / code owners as well.
        E.g. [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/about-protected-branches#include-administrators)
  CII-Best-Practices:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project has a
      [CII Best Practices Badge](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/en).
      It uses the URL for the Git repo and the CII API.
    remediation:
      - Sign up for the [CII Best Practices program](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/en).
  Pull-Requests:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project requires pull requests for
      all changes to the default branch. It works by looking at recent commits
      and using the GitHub API to search for associated pull requests.
    remediation:
      - Always open a pull request for any change you intend to make, big or small.
      - >-
        Make "pull requests" mandatory in your repository configuration.
        E.g. [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/about-protected-branches#require-pull-request-reviews-before-merging)
      - >-
        Enforce the rule for administrators / code owners as well.
        E.g. [GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/about-protected-branches#include-administrators)
  Fuzzing:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project uses a fuzzing system. It
      currently works by checking if the repo name is in the
      [OSS-Fuzz](https://github.com/google/oss-fuzz) project list.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Integrate the project with OSS-Fuzz by following the instructions
        [here](https://google.github.io/oss-fuzz/).
  SAST:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project uses static code analysis
      systems. It currently works by looking for well-known results
      ([CodeQL](https://securitylab.github.com/tools/codeql), etc.) in GitHub
      pull requests.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Run CodeQL checks in your CI/CD by following the instructions
        [here](https://github.com/github/codeql-action#usage).
  Active:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project is still "actively
      maintained". It currently works by looking for commits within the last
      90 days.
    remediation:
      - >-
        There is *NO* remediation work needed here. This is just to indicate
        your project activity and maintenance commitment.
  Branch-Protection:
    description: >-
      This check tries to determine if the project has branch protection enabled. This check would
      work only when the token has [Admin access](https://github.community/t/enable-branch-protection-get-api-without-admin/14197) to the repository.
    remediation:
      - >-
        Enable branch protection settings in your source hosting provider to avoid
        force pushes or deletion of your important branches.
      - >-
        For GitHub, check out the steps
        [here](https://docs.github.com/en/github/administering-a-repository/managing-a-branch-protection-rule).