npm-pip-maven-audit

npm-pip-maven-audit

Overview

Most package managers ship native audit subcommands that query the ecosystem-specific advisory feed (npm advisories, PyPA database, RubySec, Cargo advisory DB, etc.). They're the fastest first-line defense - already installed where the package manager is, no extra tooling, runs in seconds.

Tradeoffs vs snyk-test / osv-scanner:

Property	Native audit	Snyk / OSV
Speed	<5s typical	10s - 60s
DB coverage	Per-ecosystem only	Cross-ecosystem aggregated
False-positive triage	Per-ecosystem CLI	Unified config
Reachability analysis	None	None (most tools)
CI integration	Built into package manager	Per-tool action

For comprehensive coverage, run native audit + a unified scanner. Native audit catches the high-confidence per-ecosystem feed quickly; the unified scanner catches cross-ecosystem aggregations and waivers.

When to use

• Fast first-line CI gate (run before slower comprehensive scans).
• Single-ecosystem repo where one native audit is sufficient.
• Local dev loop: npm audit after npm install is faster than setting up Snyk locally.
• Layered with snyk-test + osv-scanner for full coverage.

Step 1 - npm / Yarn / pnpm

# npm (built-in since npm 6)
npm audit
npm audit --audit-level=high              # filter to HIGH+CRITICAL
npm audit --json > audit.json
npm audit fix                              # auto-upgrade where compatible
npm audit fix --force                      # may break: bumps majors

# Yarn 2+ (Berry)
yarn npm audit
yarn npm audit --severity=high
yarn npm audit --recursive                 # scan all workspaces

# pnpm
pnpm audit
pnpm audit --audit-level high
pnpm audit --json

Source: docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/commands/npm-audit + yarnpkg.com/cli/npm/audit + pnpm.io/cli/audit.

Step 2 - pip-audit (Python)

pip install pip-audit

# Scan installed packages in current env
pip-audit

# Scan a requirements file
pip-audit -r requirements.txt

# Scan with PyPA + OSV.dev
pip-audit -s pypi -s osv

# JSON / SARIF output
pip-audit --format json --output pip-audit.json
pip-audit --format sarif --output pip-audit.sarif

# Fix vulnerabilities (auto-upgrade)
pip-audit --fix

# Skip specific CVEs
pip-audit --ignore-vuln GHSA-xxxx-yyyy-zzzz

Source: pypi.org/project/pip-audit + github.com/pypa/pip-audit. pip-audit is the official PyPA tool (preferred over the older safety package).

Step 3 - Maven (OWASP Dependency-Check)

Maven's audit story is via the OWASP Dependency-Check plugin (no native mvn audit):

<!-- pom.xml -->
<plugin>
  <groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
  <artifactId>dependency-check-maven</artifactId>
  <version>10.0.4</version>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <goals>
        <goal>check</goal>
      </goals>
    </execution>
  </executions>
  <configuration>
    <failBuildOnCVSS>7.0</failBuildOnCVSS>
    <suppressionFile>dependency-check-suppressions.xml</suppressionFile>
    <formats>
      <format>HTML</format>
      <format>JSON</format>
      <format>SARIF</format>
    </formats>
  </configuration>
</plugin>

mvn dependency-check:check

Source: jeremylong.github.io/DependencyCheck/dependency-check-maven/.

For Gradle: same plugin via org.owasp.dependencycheck Gradle plugin.

Step 4 - cargo audit (Rust)

cargo install cargo-audit

cargo audit
cargo audit --json
cargo audit --deny warnings              # treat warnings as errors
cargo audit --ignore RUSTSEC-2023-0001   # specific advisory

Source: rustsec.org + github.com/rustsec/rustsec.

Step 5 - bundler-audit (Ruby)

gem install bundler-audit

bundle-audit check                        # one-time scan
bundle-audit update                       # refresh advisory DB
bundle-audit check --update               # combined refresh + scan
bundle-audit check --ignore CVE-2024-1234 # specific CVE

Source: github.com/rubysec/bundler-audit.

Step 6 - False-positive triage (MANDATORY)

Each native audit has its own suppression mechanism:

Tool	Suppression
npm audit	npm audit --omit dev (skip devDependencies) + package.json overrides field for forced version pin
pip-audit	--ignore-vuln <id> CLI flag (per-CVE)
dependency-check-maven	dependency-check-suppressions.xml (XML schema with vuln-name regex + reason)
cargo audit	--ignore <id> CLI flag (per RUSTSEC ID)
bundle-audit	--ignore <id> CLI flag (per CVE)

Justification template (mandatory in suppression file or audit-skip list):

<!-- dependency-check-suppressions.xml (Maven) -->
<suppress>
  <notes>
    Reason: log4j-core 2.14.x is bundled but not loaded at runtime
            (verified via dependency tree analysis)
    Approved-by: [email protected]
    Re-review-date: 2026-09-15
  </notes>
  <packageUrl regex="true">^pkg:maven/org\.apache\.logging\.log4j/log4j-core@2\.14\..*$</packageUrl>
  <vulnerabilityName>CVE-2021-44228</vulnerabilityName>
</suppress>

For ad-hoc CLI ignores (pip-audit --ignore-vuln, cargo audit --ignore), maintain a sibling AUDIT_IGNORES.md mapping each ID to reason + approver + re-review-date. Without the sibling file, the ignore is invisible to reviewers.

Cadence: every quarter, audit suppression entries; expired re-review dates remove entries.

Step 7 - CI integration patterns

# Fast first-line gate
jobs:
  audit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      # npm
      - if: hashFiles('package-lock.json') != ''
        run: npm audit --audit-level=high
      # Python
      - if: hashFiles('requirements.txt') != ''
        run: pip-audit -r requirements.txt
      # Maven
      - if: hashFiles('pom.xml') != ''
        run: mvn dependency-check:check
      # Rust
      - if: hashFiles('Cargo.lock') != ''
        run: cargo audit
      # Ruby
      - if: hashFiles('Gemfile.lock') != ''
        run: bundle-audit check --update

The if: hashFiles(...) pattern auto-skips ecosystems not present in the repo.

Step 8 - Output aggregation

For sca-prioritizer, output each tool's JSON to a stable filename:

npm audit --json > sca-npm.json || true        # || true: don't fail before triage
pip-audit --format json --output sca-pip.json || true
mvn dependency-check:check -Dformats=JSON
cargo audit --json > sca-cargo.json || true

The triager normalizes each tool's schema + dedupes cross-tool findings.

Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern	Why it fails	Fix
npm audit without --audit-level	Low-severity noise overwhelms; team disables	Start with --audit-level=high (Step 1)
npm audit fix --force in CI	Bumps majors silently; breaks builds	Manual review for force-fix; never in CI
Suppress without Re-review-date	Permanent debt	Mandatory template (Step 6)
Skip --update for bundle-audit	Stale advisory DB; misses recent CVEs	Always --update (Step 5)
Ignore bundle-audit check exit code	Findings invisible	Let exit code propagate to CI
Use only native audit; skip Snyk/OSV	Per-ecosystem-DB blind spots	Layered (Step 1 cross-ref)

Limitations

• Per-ecosystem DB coverage varies - npm advisories often have CVE earlier than PyPA; pip-audit may miss a npm-only-disclosed advisory.
• No reachability analysis - every CVE on a declared dep counts even if the vulnerable function isn't called.
• Maven Dependency-Check requires NVD data sync (slow first run; ~1 GB cache).
• npm audit fix --force is dangerous; always manual-review before applying.
• Yarn classic (1.x) and pnpm have slightly different audit output shapes vs npm.

References

• docs.npmjs.com/cli/v10/commands/npm-audit - npm audit reference
• yarnpkg.com/cli/npm/audit - Yarn audit reference
• pnpm.io/cli/audit - pnpm audit reference
• pypa.github.io/pip-audit - pip-audit docs
• jeremylong.github.io/DependencyCheck/ - OWASP Dependency-Check
• rustsec.org / github.com/rustsec/rustsec - cargo-audit
• github.com/rubysec/bundler-audit - bundler-audit
• snyk-test, osv-scanner, dependabot-config, renovate-config - sister tools
• sca-prioritizer - unifier agent