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@Copilot Copilot AI commented Sep 17, 2025

This PR improves the security posture of the varlock-action by adding comprehensive security documentation and implementing minimal permissions across all workflow examples.

Changes Made

README.md Security Enhancements

New "Required Workflow Permissions" Section

  • Added detailed explanation of why permission restriction is important
  • Recommends permissions: contents: read for principle of least privilege
  • Explains security benefits, compliance considerations, and audit trail improvements
  • Clarifies GitHub's default broad permissions behavior

Updated All Workflow Examples
All 5 workflow examples now include the recommended permissions block:

permissions:
  contents: read

Enhanced Security Features Documentation

  • Expanded security features section with GitHub Actions-specific measures
  • Added comprehensive security best practices subsection covering:
    • Minimal permissions usage
    • Sensitive data handling guidelines
    • Proper @sensitive decorator usage
    • Secret rotation recommendations
    • Environment isolation practices

JSON Output Security Warning
Added prominent security warning for the JSON output format:

# Security Warning: json-env output may contain sensitive data
# Avoid logging the entire JSON blob

example-workflow.yml Security Updates

  • Added top-level permissions: contents: read block
  • Added job-level permissions for both test-with-varlock and deploy-production jobs
  • Maintains all existing functionality while following security best practices

Security Impact

These changes significantly improve the security guidance for users by:

  1. Reducing Attack Surface: Minimal permissions limit potential damage if workflows are compromised
  2. Preventing Accidental Data Exposure: Clear warnings about JSON output handling
  3. Following Industry Standards: Implements GitHub's recommended security practices
  4. Maintaining Functionality: All existing features work unchanged

The action itself only requires read access to repository contents, making contents: read the appropriate minimal permission level for all use cases.

Validation

  • ✅ All existing tests continue to pass
  • ✅ Build process unchanged and successful
  • ✅ No breaking changes to the action's functionality
  • ✅ Security recommendations align with GitHub Actions best practices

Warning

Firewall rules blocked me from connecting to one or more addresses (expand for details)

I tried to connect to the following addresses, but was blocked by firewall rules:

  • ph.varlock.dev
    • Triggering command: node /home/REDACTED/work/varlock-action/varlock-action/node_modules/.bin/varlock --version (dns block)
    • Triggering command: node /home/REDACTED/work/varlock-action/varlock-action/node_modules/.bin/varlock load --format json-full (dns block)
    • Triggering command: node /home/REDACTED/work/varlock-action/varlock-action/node_modules/.bin/varlock load (dns block)

If you need me to access, download, or install something from one of these locations, you can either:

This pull request was created as a result of the following prompt from Copilot chat.

Update the dmno-dev/varlock-action repository to improve security documentation and workflow examples:

  1. Update README.md:
  • Add a new section "Required Workflow Permissions" explaining why and how to restrict permission scopes, recommending permissions: contents: read.
  • Update all workflow code examples to include the recommended permissions: block.
  • Ensure warnings and secure usage instructions are clear, especially regarding secrets and json-env output.
  1. Update example-workflow.yml:
  • Add a top-level permissions: block with contents: read.
  • Ensure all job-level examples use the same permissions block for least privilege.

The changes should improve user guidance for secure usage of the action and minimize permission risks.


💡 You can make Copilot smarter by setting up custom instructions, customizing its development environment and configuring Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers. Learn more Copilot coding agent tips in the docs.

@Copilot Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Improve security documentation and workflow examples: add permissions guidance to README and example workflow Add security documentation and minimal permissions to workflow examples Sep 17, 2025
@Copilot Copilot AI requested a review from philmillman September 17, 2025 20:44
Copilot finished work on behalf of philmillman September 17, 2025 20:44
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2 participants