Securing your CI/CD pipeline is a fundamental part of DevSecOps. The CI/CD pipeline automates how code moves from development to production, making it a prime target for attackers. If this pipeline is not properly protected, you risk exposing your applications and data to serious threats.

Here are some of the most common risks:

• Compromised builds: attackers may tamper with your build process, inserting unauthorized changes or backdoors;
• Malicious code injection: without proper controls, harmful code can be introduced and deployed without detection;
• Credential leaks: exposed secrets or access keys in your pipeline can allow attackers to access sensitive systems and data.

By understanding these risks, you can see why securing every stage of your CI/CD pipeline is essential. This ensures your software is trustworthy, your data is protected, and your users remain safe.

Secure CI/CD Pipeline: Example Scenario

Imagine you are building a web application, and your team uses a CI/CD pipeline to automate testing and deployment. To keep your code and infrastructure secure, you decide to implement several best practices:

1. Signed Commits

• Require all developers to sign their Git commits using GPG keys;
• The pipeline rejects any unsigned commits, ensuring only trusted code is merged;
• This helps prevent unauthorized code changes from being introduced.

2. Automated Security Scans

• Integrate a security scanning tool, such as Trivy or SonarQube, into your pipeline;
• Every time code is pushed, the pipeline automatically scans for vulnerabilities in dependencies and code;
• If a critical issue is found, the pipeline fails and blocks deployment until the problem is fixed.

3. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

• Use your CI/CD platform’s RBAC features to assign roles;
• Developers can trigger builds and view logs, but only release managers can approve and deploy to production;
• This limits the risk of accidental or malicious changes reaching users.

How This Looks in Practice

1. A developer writes code, signs the commit, and pushes to the shared repository.
2. The pipeline checks the commit signature. If valid, it continues; if not, it stops.
3. The pipeline runs automated security scans. If no issues are found, the build proceeds.
4. Only users with the "Release Manager" role can approve and deploy the code to production.

By following these practices, you protect your application from unauthorized changes, catch vulnerabilities early, and control who can deploy updates. This approach makes your CI/CD pipeline a strong foundation for secure software delivery.