Automating DAST with OWASP ZAP in GitHub Actions

Automating DAST with OWASP ZAP in GitHub Actions

An autonomous way to posture visibility for teams and organizations

Sahil Sikarwar's photo
Sahil Sikarwar
·

4 min read

Introduction

Imagine deploying your shiny new app only to find it riddled with vulnerabilities—like discovering your house has no doors after moving in. Enter OWASP ZAP, your friendly neighborhood security scanner, and GitHub Actions, the automation superhero. Together, they form a dynamic duo for seamless Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) in your CI/CD pipeline. This article explores how to automate DAST with OWASP ZAP and GitHub Actions.

What is DAST?

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) is like hiring a hacker—a good one—to poke and prod your application for vulnerabilities while it’s running. Unlike static testing, which reviews code without executing it, DAST evaluates the application’s behavior in real-time. Think of it as stress-testing your app’s security defenses before malicious actors do.

Why Automate DAST in CI/CD?

Manual security testing is so last decade. Automating DAST ensures vulnerabilities are caught early, just like spotting spinach in your teeth before a big meeting. Integrating OWASP ZAP into GitHub Actions makes the process efficient, repeatable, and developer-friendly.

Requirements Summary

Tools and Technologies

  • OWASP ZAP: Open-source tool for DAST, like Sherlock Holmes for your app.

  • GitHub Actions: Automates pipeline execution, saving developers from repetitive tasks.

  • Python: Orchestrates ZAP, Newman, and reporting.

  • Newman: CLI for running Postman collections, because Postman deserves some CLI love too.

Environment Variables

  • POSTMAN_ACCESS_TOKEN: API token for accessing Postman collections. Keep it secret; keep it safe.

  • POSTMAN_URL: URL of the Postman collection to test.

  • TARGET_URL: URL of the target application or API.

Architecture

Overview

The architecture involves:

  1. Starting OWASP ZAP in daemon mode as a proxy.

  2. Fetching the Postman collection and environment variable via Postman API

    1. Share your Postman collection via the API

    2. Share your Environment variables (if any) by sharing your Environment ID

    3. Also, Get the target URL of the endpoint you would like to scan and paste it into the workflow inputs.

  3. Running the collection through Newman, routing requests via ZAP.

  4. Performing active scans on the target URL.

  5. Generating JSON and HTML reports.

  6. Uploading reports as workflow artifacts.

Here’s a simple architecture diagram:

Working Code

Find the working setup here on my GitHub repo: 🌟 https://github.com/SahilSikarwar/DevSecOps/tree/main/ZAP_Automation_GitHubActions

Workflow Steps

1. Trigger Workflow

The workflow is manually triggered with postman_share_url, environment and target_url.

2. Setup Environment

Install OWASP ZAP, Newman, and dependencies via GitHub Actions. Configure ZAP to run in daemon mode on localhost:8090.

3. Dynamic Application Security Testing

  • Fetch the Postman collection: Use the Postman API to retrieve the collection.

  • Run collection through Newman: Route the requests through ZAP’s proxy.

  • Initiate ZAP's active scan: Let ZAP loose on the target URL. It’s hunting season for vulnerabilities.

  • ZAP Policies: ZAP scans the target with the following policies:

    • Injection Attacks

    • Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

    • Broken Authentication

    • Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

    • Directory and File Path Issues

    • Insecure Configurations

    • Server-Side Code Injection

    • Data Exposure

    • Command Execution

    • Information Disclosure

    • Session Management

    • Open Redirects

    • File Upload Issues

    • Buffer Overflow

    • HTTP Parameter Pollution (HPP)

    • Security Headers

4. Reporting

Generate vulnerability reports in JSON and HTML formats. Upload these reports as GitHub workflow artifacts.

Benefits

1. Continuous Security

Automated vulnerability detection ensures your app stays secure as it evolves.

2. Early Risk Mitigation

Catching vulnerabilities early reduces costs and effort.

3. Compliance Support

Aligns with OWASP, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 27001 standards, making audits less painful.

4. Streamlined Reporting

Detailed, automated reports give developers and security teams clear visibility, turning security insights into actionable tasks.

5. Scalable and Repeatable

Fits into existing CI/CD pipelines effortlessly. Whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, it scales to meet your needs.

Future Work

Enhancements

  • Integrate with Slack or Teams: Send real-time alerts for high-severity findings.

  • Custom Rules: Define organization-specific security policies.

Advanced Reporting

Leverage dashboards like Grafana for visualizing historical trends in vulnerabilities.

AI-Powered Scanning

Incorporate AI tools to predict and prioritize vulnerabilities based on exploitability and business impact.

Conclusion

Automating DAST with OWASP ZAP in GitHub Actions is like giving your app a fitness tracker for security. It’s efficient, proactive, and adaptable. Whether you’re securing APIs or web applications, this approach ensures that security testing is baked into your development lifecycle—without breaking a sweat. So, suit up, automate, and stay secure!

That's all folks 🐰
Until next time... Keep slayin’

The Modern Witcher ⚔️

DASTzapgithub-actionsSecurityworkflowWorkflow Automationautomationowasp