CI Pipeline Vulnerability Suppression via Audit Segmentation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Continuous integration pipelines are hindered by vulnerabilities in image files, which can lead to blocked deployments and increased risk scores, requiring significant time to patch and diverting resources from fixable issues.

Innovation Solution

The vulnerabilities are suppressed by deferring them or marking them as false positives, allowing deployments to proceed while resources are allocated to address other issues, with adjustments based on availability of solutions and risk assessments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If vulnerabilities in image files are strictly enforced and blocked in the continuous integration pipeline, then security reliability is improved, but deployment productivity deteriorates due to blocked deployments and time-consuming patching

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity reliabilityVSAvoiddeployment productivity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments vulnerabilities into different categories (critical, high, medium, low severity) and applies different handling strategies to each segment. Critical vulnerabilities block deployment, while non-critical vulnerabilities are suppressed with warnings, allowing deployment to proceed. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by selectively applying security enforcement based on vulnerability severity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter of vulnerability severity classification to determine deployment blocking behavior. By categorizing vulnerabilities into severity levels and adjusting the blocking policy based on these parameters, the system maintains security for critical issues while allowing non-critical issues to be suppressed, thus resolving the contradiction between security enforcement and deployment productivity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If all vulnerabilities are addressed and patched before deployment, then security reliability is improved, but time consumption and resource allocation deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecurity reliabilityVSAvoidtime consumption for patching

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by addressing only critical vulnerabilities that require deployment blocking, while allowing non-critical vulnerabilities to be suppressed. This partial approach to vulnerability remediation reduces time consumption and resource allocation compared to addressing all vulnerabilities, while still maintaining adequate security reliability for critical issues.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The system allows development teams to self-manage non-critical vulnerabilities by suppressing them with warnings, rather than requiring centralized security team intervention for every vulnerability. This self-service approach reduces the time and resources required for vulnerability management while maintaining security for critical issues through automated blocking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If vulnerabilities are suppressed with warnings instead of blocking, then deployment productivity is improved, but security monitoring capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedeployment productivityVSAvoidsecurity monitoring capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback mechanisms where suppressed non-critical vulnerabilities generate warnings that are logged and tracked. This feedback allows the security monitoring capability to maintain awareness of suppressed vulnerabilities without blocking deployment, thus resolving the contradiction between deployment productivity and security monitoring precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary warning mechanism that sits between vulnerability detection and deployment blocking. Instead of directly blocking all vulnerabilities, the intermediary warning system allows non-critical vulnerabilities to pass through with alerts, maintaining deployment productivity while preserving security monitoring capability through warning logs and tracking.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS20250209182A1Suppressing a vulnerability of a continuous integration pipeline with audit functionality

Publication Date: 2025.06.26 RED HAT INC

AI summary

A vulnerability with respect to a file in a continuous integration (CI) pipeline can be suppressed according to some aspects described herein. For example, a computing system can determine that the vulnerability is suppressible. In response to determining the vulnerability is suppressible, the computing system can automatically adjust a status of the vulnerability from an observed state that prevents deployment of the file to a suppressed state that allows the deployment of the file. The computing system additionally can determine a security risk of deploying the file. The suppressed state of the vulnerability can exclude the vulnerability from the determination of the security risk. The computing system can deploy the file in the CI pipeline subsequent to automatically adjusting the status of the vulnerability to the suppressed state.