GitHub Copilot's LLM-based security scanning doesn't work

Nov 27, 2023 ·

GitHub Copilot is a security scanning tool developed by GitHub that helps users to keep their repositories secure. However, recent reports have indicated that this tool may not work as expected.

GitHub Copilot scans for vulnerabilities in code stored on repositories and alerts the user if any malicious activity is found. Unfortunately, researchers have found that it does not detect malicious code in all cases. This issue arises when the code has been modified or tampered with, which is common in open source projects.

In addition, it appears that GitHub Copilot also does not properly detect vulnerabilities in JavaScript files. It can sometimes miss some potential security holes in these types of files, which could leave a project vulnerable to attack.

The problem with GitHub Copilot is that it relies on static analysis to detect vulnerabilities, rather than dynamic analysis. Static analysis is only able to scan code at the time it was committed, while dynamic analysis scans code as it is running. Dynamic analysis is more effective at detecting malicious code and other issues with code, but it’s more difficult to implement.

Another issue is that GitHub Copilot is not updated regularly, leading to false positives and false negatives. As new vulnerabilities are discovered, the tool must be updated to detect them. However, this requires manual intervention from the users, so it’s not always done in a timely manner.

Overall, GitHub Copilot is a useful tool for keeping repositories secure, but it’s important to understand its limitations. It cannot detect all potential vulnerabilities, and it may not be updated often enough to protect against the latest threats. It’s still a good idea to use additional security scanning tools to ensure that your code is secure.