Semgrep Security Scan

Run a complete Semgrep scan with automatic language detection, parallel execution via Task subagents, and parallel triage. Automatically uses Semgrep Pro for cross-file taint analysis when available.

Prerequisites

Required: Semgrep CLI

semgrep --version

If not installed, see Semgrep installation docs.

Optional: Semgrep Pro (for cross-file analysis and Pro languages)

# Check if Semgrep Pro engine is installed
semgrep --pro --validate --config p/default 2>/dev/null && echo "Pro available" || echo "OSS only"

# If logged in, install/update Pro Engine
semgrep install-semgrep-pro

Pro enables: cross-file taint tracking, inter-procedural analysis, and additional languages (Apex, C#, Elixir).

When to Use

• Security audit of a codebase
• Finding vulnerabilities before code review
• Scanning for known bug patterns
• First-pass static analysis

When NOT to Use

• Binary analysis → Use binary analysis tools
• Already have Semgrep CI configured → Use existing pipeline
• Need cross-file analysis but no Pro license → Consider CodeQL as alternative
• Creating custom Semgrep rules → Use semgrep-rule-creator skill
• Porting existing rules to other languages → Use semgrep-rule-variant-creator skill

Orchestration Architecture

This skill uses parallel Task subagents for maximum efficiency:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MAIN AGENT                                                      │
│ 1. Detect languages + check Pro availability                    │
│ 2. Select rulesets based on detection (ref: rulesets.md)        │
│ 3. Present plan + rulesets, get approval [⛔ HARD GATE]         │
│ 4. Spawn parallel scan Tasks (with approved rulesets)           │
│ 5. Spawn parallel triage Tasks                                  │
│ 6. Collect and report results                                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
          │ Step 4                           │ Step 5
          ▼                                  ▼
┌─────────────────┐              ┌─────────────────┐
│ Scan Tasks      │              │ Triage Tasks    │
│ (parallel)      │              │ (parallel)      │
├─────────────────┤              ├─────────────────┤
│ Python scanner  │              │ Python triager  │
│ JS/TS scanner   │              │ JS/TS triager   │
│ Go scanner      │              │ Go triager      │
│ Docker scanner  │              │ Docker triager  │
└─────────────────┘              └─────────────────┘

Workflow Enforcement via Task System

This skill uses the Task system to enforce workflow compliance. On invocation, create these tasks:

TaskCreate: "Detect languages and Pro availability" (Step 1)
TaskCreate: "Select rulesets based on detection" (Step 2) - blockedBy: Step 1
TaskCreate: "Present plan with rulesets, get approval" (Step 3) - blockedBy: Step 2
TaskCreate: "Execute scans with approved rulesets" (Step 4) - blockedBy: Step 3
TaskCreate: "Triage findings" (Step 5) - blockedBy: Step 4
TaskCreate: "Report results" (Step 6) - blockedBy: Step 5

Mandatory Gates

Step 3 is a HARD GATE: Mark as completed ONLY after user says “yes”, “proceed”, “approved”, or equivalent.

Task Flow Example

1. Create all 6 tasks with dependencies
2. TaskUpdate Step 1 → in_progress, execute detection
3. TaskUpdate Step 1 → completed
4. TaskUpdate Step 2 → in_progress, select rulesets
5. TaskUpdate Step 2 → completed
6. TaskUpdate Step 3 → in_progress, present plan with rulesets
7. STOP: Wait for user response (may modify rulesets)
8. User approves → TaskUpdate Step 3 → completed
9. TaskUpdate Step 4 → in_progress (now unblocked)
... continue workflow

Workflow

Step 1: Detect Languages and Pro Availability (Main Agent)

# Check if Semgrep Pro is available (non-destructive check)
SEMGREP_PRO=false
if semgrep --pro --validate --config p/default 2>/dev/null; then
  SEMGREP_PRO=true
  echo "Semgrep Pro: AVAILABLE (cross-file analysis enabled)"
else
  echo "Semgrep Pro: NOT AVAILABLE (OSS mode, single-file analysis)"
fi

# Find languages by file extension
fd -t f -e py -e js -e ts -e jsx -e tsx -e go -e rb -e java -e php -e c -e cpp -e rs | \
  sed 's/.*\.//' | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn

# Check for frameworks/technologies
ls -la package.json pyproject.toml Gemfile go.mod Cargo.toml pom.xml 2>/dev/null
fd -t f "Dockerfile" "docker-compose" ".tf" "*.yaml" "*.yml" | head -20

Map findings to categories:

Step 2: Select Rulesets Based on Detection

Using the detected languages and frameworks from Step 1, select rulesets by following the Ruleset Selection Algorithm in rulesets.md.

The algorithm covers:

1. Security baseline (always included)
2. Language-specific rulesets
3. Framework rulesets (if detected)
4. Infrastructure rulesets
5. Required third-party rulesets (Trail of Bits, 0xdea, Decurity – NOT optional)
6. Registry verification

Output: Structured JSON passed to Step 3 for user review:

{
  "baseline": ["p/security-audit", "p/secrets"],
  "python": ["p/python", "p/django"],
  "javascript": ["p/javascript", "p/react", "p/nodejs"],
  "docker": ["p/dockerfile"],
  "third_party": ["https://github.com/trailofbits/semgrep-rules"]
}

Step 3: CRITICAL GATE – Present Plan and Get Approval

⛔ MANDATORY CHECKPOINT – DO NOT SKIP

This step requires explicit user approval before proceeding. User may modify rulesets before approving.

Present plan to user with explicit ruleset listing:

## Semgrep Scan Plan

**Target:** /path/to/codebase
**Output directory:** ./semgrep-results-001/
**Engine:** Semgrep Pro (cross-file analysis) | Semgrep OSS (single-file)

### Detected Languages/Technologies:
- Python (1,234 files) - Django framework detected
- JavaScript (567 files) - React detected
- Dockerfile (3 files)

### Rulesets to Run:

**Security Baseline (always included):**
- [x] `p/security-audit` - Comprehensive security rules
- [x] `p/secrets` - Hardcoded credentials, API keys

**Python (1,234 files):**
- [x] `p/python` - Python security patterns
- [x] `p/django` - Django-specific vulnerabilities

**JavaScript (567 files):**
- [x] `p/javascript` - JavaScript security patterns
- [x] `p/react` - React-specific issues
- [x] `p/nodejs` - Node.js server-side patterns

**Docker (3 files):**
- [x] `p/dockerfile` - Dockerfile best practices

**Third-party (auto-included for detected languages):**
- [x] Trail of Bits rules - https://github.com/trailofbits/semgrep-rules

**Available but not selected:**
- [ ] `p/owasp-top-ten` - OWASP Top 10 (overlaps with security-audit)

### Execution Strategy:
- Spawn 3 parallel scan Tasks (Python, JavaScript, Docker)
- Total rulesets: 9
- [If Pro] Cross-file taint tracking enabled

**Want to modify rulesets?** Tell me which to add or remove.
**Ready to scan?** Say "proceed" or "yes".

⛔ STOP: Await explicit user approval

After presenting the plan:

1. If user wants to modify rulesets:

   • Add requested rulesets to the appropriate category
   • Remove requested rulesets
   • Re-present the updated plan
   • Return to waiting for approval

2. Use AskUserQuestion if user hasn’t responded:

   "I've prepared the scan plan with 9 rulesets (including Trail of Bits). Proceed with scanning?"
   Options: ["Yes, run scan", "Modify rulesets first"]
   

3. Valid approval responses:

   • “yes”, “proceed”, “approved”, “go ahead”, “looks good”, “run it”

4. Mark task completed only after approval with final rulesets confirmed

5. Do NOT treat as approval:

   • User’s original request (“scan this codebase”)
   • Silence / no response
   • Questions about the plan

Pre-Scan Checklist

Before marking Step 3 complete, verify:

• Target directory shown to user
• Engine type (Pro/OSS) displayed
• Languages detected and listed
• All rulesets explicitly listed with checkboxes
• User given opportunity to modify rulesets
• User explicitly approved (quote their confirmation)
• Final ruleset list captured for Step 4

Step 4: Spawn Parallel Scan Tasks

Create output directory with run number to avoid collisions, then spawn Tasks with approved rulesets from Step 3:

# Find next available run number
LAST=$(ls -d semgrep-results-[0-9][0-9][0-9] 2>/dev/null | sort | tail -1 | grep -o '[0-9]*$' || true)
NEXT_NUM=$(printf "%03d" $(( ${LAST:-0} + 1 )))
OUTPUT_DIR="semgrep-results-${NEXT_NUM}"
mkdir -p "$OUTPUT_DIR"
echo "Output directory: $OUTPUT_DIR"

Spawn N Tasks in a SINGLE message (one per language category) using subagent_type: Bash.

Use the scanner task prompt template from scanner-task-prompt.md.

Example – 3 Language Scan (with approved rulesets):

Spawn these 3 Tasks in a SINGLE message:

1. Task: Python Scanner

   • Approved rulesets: p/python, p/django, p/security-audit, p/secrets, https://github.com/trailofbits/semgrep-rules
   • Output: semgrep-results-001/python-*.json

2. Task: JavaScript Scanner

   • Approved rulesets: p/javascript, p/react, p/nodejs, p/security-audit, p/secrets, https://github.com/trailofbits/semgrep-rules
   • Output: semgrep-results-001/js-*.json

3. Task: Docker Scanner

   • Approved rulesets: p/dockerfile
   • Output: semgrep-results-001/docker-*.json

Step 5: Spawn Parallel Triage Tasks

After scan Tasks complete, spawn triage Tasks using subagent_type: general-purpose (triage requires reading code context, not just running commands).

Use the triage task prompt template from triage-task-prompt.md.

Step 6: Collect Results (Main Agent)

After all Tasks complete, generate merged SARIF and report:

Generate merged SARIF with only triaged true positives:

uv run {baseDir}/scripts/merge_triaged_sarif.py [OUTPUT_DIR]

This script:

1. Attempts to use SARIF Multitool for merging (if npx is available)
2. Falls back to pure Python merge if Multitool unavailable
3. Reads all *-triage.json files to extract true positive findings
4. Filters merged SARIF to include only triaged true positives
5. Writes output to [OUTPUT_DIR]/findings-triaged.sarif

Optional: Install SARIF Multitool for better merge quality:

npm install -g @microsoft/sarif-multitool

Report to user:

## Semgrep Scan Complete

**Scanned:** 1,804 files
**Rulesets used:** 9 (including Trail of Bits)
**Total raw findings:** 156
**After triage:** 32 true positives

### By Severity:
- ERROR: 5
- WARNING: 18
- INFO: 9

### By Category:
- SQL Injection: 3
- XSS: 7
- Hardcoded secrets: 2
- Insecure configuration: 12
- Code quality: 8

Results written to:
- semgrep-results-001/findings-triaged.sarif (SARIF, true positives only)
- semgrep-results-001/*-triage.json (triage details per language)
- semgrep-results-001/*.json (raw scan results)
- semgrep-results-001/*.sarif (raw SARIF per ruleset)

Common Mistakes

Limitations

1. OSS mode: Cannot track data flow across files (login with semgrep login and run semgrep install-semgrep-pro to enable)
2. Pro mode: Cross-file analysis uses -j 1 (single job) which is slower per ruleset, but parallel rulesets compensate
3. Triage requires reading code context – parallelized via Tasks
4. Some false positive patterns require human judgment

Rationalizations to Reject