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Potential fixes for 3 code scanning alerts from the Copilot AutoFix: Missing Permissions in Workflows security campaign:

  • https://github.com/github/ossar-action/security/code-scanning/8
    To resolve the issue, an explicit permissions block should be added with the least privileges required for this workflow to function. For most OSSAR and security scanning upload jobs, the required permissions are contents: read (to fetch the code) and security-events: write (to upload SARIF results to the Security tab). This permissions block should be added to either the root of the workflow YAML file, affecting all jobs, or specifically to the sample job under jobs:. The single best way, in this case, is to add it to the sample job, just beneath the job’s name key (line 13), ensuring minimum privilege for only this job.

    What’s needed:

    • Add a permissions block with contents: read and security-events: write beneath name: Open Source Static Analysis Runner in the sample job section of .github/workflows/sample-workflow-ubuntu-latest.yml.

  • https://github.com/github/ossar-action/security/code-scanning/7
    To fix the problem, the workflow must add a permissions block to restrict the workflow's access to the repository via the GITHUB_TOKEN. Since the steps only check out code and upload a SARIF file, contents: read is the minimum permission required. This should be set at the workflow root (after name: and before on:), ensuring least-privilege for all jobs. No changes to steps, secrets, or additional features are required. Update the section between name: OSSAR on-push-verification windows-latest and on: push to include permissions: as described in the recommendation.


  • https://github.com/github/ossar-action/security/code-scanning/6
    To mitigate this issue, add a permissions: block limiting the GITHUB_TOKEN scope. This is best placed at the job level (under sample:), unless you want the same restriction across all jobs (in which case, put it at the root just below name:). To follow the principle of least privilege and the CodeQL suggestion, set contents: read, which restricts the token so it can read repository contents (e.g., source code), but not write (e.g., push code or modify files).

    You should add:

    permissions:
    contents: read

    directly under the job definition (ideal for single-job workflows). This change can be implemented by editing .github/workflows/sample-workflow-windows-latest.yml at the correct indentation under sample:.

    No additional methods, imports, or external definitions are required.


Suggested fixes powered by Copilot Autofix. Review carefully before merging.

cinderellasecure and others added 3 commits November 3, 2025 13:28
…n permissions

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <62310815+github-advanced-security[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
…n permissions

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <62310815+github-advanced-security[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
…n permissions

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <62310815+github-advanced-security[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
@cinderellasecure cinderellasecure marked this pull request as ready for review November 3, 2025 20:28
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings November 3, 2025 20:28
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Pull Request Overview

This PR adds explicit permission declarations to GitHub Actions workflows to follow the principle of least privilege. The changes ensure workflows only have the minimum required permissions to execute their tasks.

  • Added permissions blocks to restrict workflow access to specific GitHub API scopes
  • Configured appropriate permissions for SARIF upload workflows (ubuntu) versus non-upload workflows (windows)
  • Applied permissions at both workflow-level and job-level as appropriate

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

File Description
.github/workflows/sample-workflow-windows-latest.yml Added job-level permissions with read-only access to contents
.github/workflows/sample-workflow-ubuntu-latest.yml Added job-level permissions with contents read and security-events write for SARIF uploads
.github/workflows/on-push-verification.yml Added workflow-level permissions with read-only access to contents
Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

.github/workflows/on-push-verification.yml:40

  • This workflow uploads SARIF files to the Security tab but only has contents: read permission defined at the workflow level. The security-events: write permission is required for the codeql-action/upload-sarif action to successfully upload results.
    - name: Upload results to Security tab
      uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v2
      with:
        sarif_file: ${{ steps.ossar.outputs.sarifFile }}

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3 participants