[go-fan] Go Module Review: gosec/v2

[github-actions[bot]]

Module Overview

gosec (Go Security) v2.22.11 is a comprehensive security scanner that inspects Go AST to find common security vulnerabilities. Latest release: December 11, 2025 with major new features.

Current Usage in gh-aw

Integration Points

• CLI Tool Dependency (not programmatic API)
• Makefile: security-gosec target for local scans
• GitHub Actions: Daily automated scans at 6:00 AM UTC
• Documentation: Comprehensive exclusions documented in specs/gosec.md

Usage Statistics

• Files: 4 integration points
• Features Used:
  • JSON and SARIF output formats
  • Suppression tracking for audit trails
  • Generated code exclusion
  • Multiple rule exclusions with CWE mappings
• Current Version: v2.22.11 ✅ (up to date!)

Best Practices Observed

The project demonstrates excellent security practices:

• ✅ Comprehensive documentation of all exclusions with CWE mappings
• ✅ Audit trail with review dates for compliance
• ✅ Suppression guidelines with examples
• ✅ Integration with GitHub Security tab via SARIF
• ✅ Version pinning for reproducibility

Research Findings

Repository Health

• Activity: Very active (commit yesterday: Jan 26, 2026)
• Maintenance: Well-maintained by security-focused team
• Community: Popular Go security scanner with strong adoption

Recent Updates (v2.22.11)

🆕 New Security Features

1. G424: Trojan Source Detection - Detects bidirectional Unicode attacks (CVE-2021-42574)
2. AI-Powered Analysis - OpenAI and custom API provider support for enhanced vulnerability detection
3. Claude Model Support - Latest Claude models (Sonnet 4.5, Opus 4.5) for security insights

⚡ Performance Improvements

1. SSA Analysis Optimization - Skip if no analyzers loaded (5-15% faster scans)
2. Global Cache - Regex pattern matching cache for repeated scans

🐛 Bug Fixes

1. Build Tag Parsing - Fixed recognition of Go build tags
2. SARIF Validation - Added schema validation for CI/CD compliance

Improvement Opportunities

🏃 Quick Wins

1. Enable Trojan Source Detection (Priority: HIGH)

What: Verify G424 (Trojan Source) is not excluded
Why: Protects against invisible source code manipulation attacks
How: Check .golangci.yml and workflow configs for G424 exclusions
Impact: Enhanced security against supply chain attacks
Effort: 5 minutes

2. Leverage Performance Optimizations (Priority: MEDIUM)

What: SSA analysis skip feature already enabled by default
Why: Faster CI/CD pipelines
Impact: 5-15% speedup on security scans
Effort: None (automatic in v2.22.11)

✨ Feature Opportunities

1. AI-Powered Security Analysis (Priority: LOW)

What: v2.22.11 adds AI integration for context-aware vulnerability detection
Example:

gosec --ai-provider=anthropic \
      --ai-model=claude-sonnet-4 \
      --ai-api-key=$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY \
      -fmt=json ./...

Benefits:

• Natural language vulnerability explanations
• Suggested code fixes aligned with best practices
• Context-aware security recommendations

Considerations:

• API costs for AI analysis
• Best for high-value security reviews vs. daily scans
• Requires API key management

Use Case: Quarterly deep security reviews or pre-release audits

2. Custom AI Provider for Internal ML Models

What: Configure custom AI endpoint for specialized detection
Why: Leverage internal security ML models
How: --ai-provider=custom --ai-endpoint=(url)

📐 Best Practice Alignment

1. Centralize Gosec Configuration (Priority: MEDIUM)

Current: Hardcoded exclusions in Makefile (line 158) and GitHub Actions
Recommended: Move to .golangci.yml for single source of truth

Implementation:

# .golangci.yml
linters-settings:
  gosec:
    excludes:
      - G101  # Hardcoded credentials (false positives)
      - G115  # Integer overflow (validated inputs)
      - G602  # Slice bounds (Go runtime checks)
    config:
      G204: "0644"
      G306: "0644"

Benefits:

• Single configuration source
• Easier to review and update
• Better golangci-lint integration

Effort: 1 hour

2. Suppression Audit Reports (Priority: LOW)

Current: Using --track-suppressions flag ✅
Enhancement: Generate quarterly suppression audit reports

Implementation:

# Extract suppression audit
gosec -fmt=json -track-suppressions ./... | \
    jq '.Issues[] | select(.suppressions) |
        {file, rule, line, suppression}' > suppressions-audit.json

Benefits:

• Compliance audit trail (SOC2, ISO 27001)
• Track suppression growth over time
• Identify patterns in security exceptions

Effort: 2-3 hours

🔧 General Improvements

1. Performance Monitoring

What: Track gosec scan duration in CI
Why: Detect performance regressions
Implementation: Add timing to GitHub Actions workflow
Effort: 15 minutes

2. Rule Documentation Links

What: Add gosec rule docs to specs/gosec.md
Why: Easier for developers to understand rules
Effort: 30 minutes

3. Automated Dependency Updates

What: Add gosec to Dependabot/Renovate config
Why: Automatic security updates
Effort: 10 minutes

Recommendations

Immediate Actions (This Sprint)

1. ✅ Verify G424 not excluded - Ensure Trojan Source detection is active
2. Document performance gains - Measure scan time improvement from v2.22.11

Short-term (Next Sprint)

1. Centralize configuration - Move exclusions to .golangci.yml
2. Add performance monitoring - Track scan duration in CI
3. Update documentation links - Add gosec rule references

Long-term (Next Quarter)

1. Pilot AI analysis - Test AI features on security-critical paths
2. Implement suppression audits - Quarterly compliance reports
3. Dependency automation - Add to Dependabot config

Next Steps

Would you like me to:

1. Create a PR to centralize gosec configuration?
2. Verify G424 (Trojan Source) detection is enabled?
3. Add performance monitoring to CI workflows?
4. Pilot AI-powered analysis on a specific module?

---

Generated by Go Fan
Module summary saved to: specs/mods/gosec.md
Workflow Run: §21387874115

AI generated by Go Fan

• expires on Feb 3, 2026, 7:13 AM UTC

[pelikhan]

/plan

[github-actions[bot]]

🎉 Yo ho ho! Plan Command found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

[github-actions[bot]]

Plan Created Successfully ✅

I've analyzed the gosec module review and created 5 actionable sub-issues that break down the improvement opportunities into concrete tasks for GitHub Copilot agents.

Created Issues

The work has been organized by priority and effort:

🔴 High Priority (Security)

1. Verify G424 Trojan Source detection - Ensure the new security rule from gosec v2.22.11 is active (5-10 min)

🟡 Medium Priority (Best Practices)

2. Centralize gosec configuration - Move exclusions to .golangci.yml for single source of truth (1 hour)

🟢 Low Priority (Enhancements)

3. Add scan duration monitoring - Track performance in CI workflows (15-20 min)
4. Add rule documentation links - Enhance specs/gosec.md with reference links (30-45 min)
5. Add automated dependency updates - Configure Dependabot/Renovate for gosec (10-15 min)

What's Next

These issues are now ready to be assigned to GitHub Copilot agents. Each issue has:

• Clear objectives and context
• Specific files to modify
• Detailed acceptance criteria
• Priority and effort estimates

The issues are automatically grouped under a parent tracking issue for easy progress monitoring.

Out of Scope

The following items from the discussion were intentionally not included as they require further evaluation:

• AI-powered security analysis - Needs cost/benefit analysis and API key strategy
• Custom AI provider integration - Requires internal ML model availability
• Suppression audit reports - Best implemented after centralized config is in place

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This discussion is now resolved as the planning phase is complete. Implementation tracking will continue through the created issues.