GitHub GitHub-Advanced-Security GitHub Advanced Security GHAS Exam Exam Practice Test

Dependabot builds a dependency graph by analyzing package manifests and lockfiles in your repository. This graph includes both direct and transitive dependencies. It then compares this graph against the GitHub Advisory Database, which includes curated, security-reviewed advisories.

This method provides a comprehensive and automated way to discover all known vulnerabilities across your dependency tree.

Validity checks— where GitHub verifies if a secret is still active — are available forpartner patternsonly. These are secrets issued by GitHub's trusted partners (like AWS, Slack, etc.) and have APIs for GitHub to validate token activity status.

Custom patterns and high entropy patterns donotsupport automated validity checks.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In private repositories, users with write access can fix code scanning alerts. They can do this by committing changes that address the issues identified by the code scanning tools. This level of access ensures that only trusted contributors can modify the code to resolve potential security vulnerabilities.​

GitHub Docs

Users with read or triage roles do not have the necessary permissions to make code changes, and the security manager role is primarily focused on managing security settings rather than directly modifying code.​

If a secret isintentionally used in a test environmentandposes no real-world security risk, you may close the alert with the reason"used in tests". This helps reduce noise and clarify that the alert was reviewed and accepted as non-critical.

Just being in a test file isn't enough unless itspurpose is purely for testing.

Query suite definitions in CodeQL are stored using the .qls file extension. A query suite defines a collection of queries to be run during an analysis and allows for grouping them based on categories like language, security relevance, or custom filters.

In contrast:

.ql files are individual queries.

.qll files are libraries used by .ql queries.

.yml is used for workflows, not query suites.

The correct place to look is the SECURITY.md file. This file provides contributors and security researchers with instructions on how to responsibly report vulnerabilities. It may include contact methods, preferred communication channels (e.g., security team email), and disclosure guidelines.

This file is considered a GitHub best practice and, when present, activates a “Report a vulnerability” button in the repository’sSecuritytab.

By default,users with Write, Maintain, or Admin permissionswill receive notifications for newDependabot alerts. However,Write permissionis theminimum levelneeded to be automatically notified. Users with only Read access do not receive alerts unless added explicitly.

In a repository'sSecuritytab, you can view:

Secret scanning alerts: Exposed credentials or tokens

Dependabot alerts: Vulnerable dependencies from the advisory database

Code scanning alerts: Vulnerabilities in code detected via static analysis (e.g., CodeQL)

Youwon’t seegeneral "security status alerts" (not a formal category) or permission-related alerts here.

Toexclude.txt and .md files from triggering workflows on pull requests to the main branch:

on: defines the event (e.g., pull_request)

pull_request: is the trigger

paths-ignore: is the key used to ignore file patterns

Example YAML:

yaml

CopyEdit

on:

pull_request:

branches:

- main

paths-ignore:

- '*.md'

- '*.txt'

Using paths: would include only specific files instead — not exclude. paths-ignore: is correct here.

Whenmultiple instances of the same secret valueappear in a repository,only one alertis generated. Secret scanning works by identifying exposed credentials and token patterns, and it groups identical matches into asingle alertto reduce noise and avoid duplication.

This makes triaging easier and helps teams focus on remediating the actual exposed credential rather than reviewing multiple redundant alerts.

When a vulnerability is detected, GitHub shows a warning that includes abrief description of the vulnerability. This typically covers the name of the CVE (if available), a short summary of the issue, severity level, and potential impact. The message also links to additional advisory data from the GitHub Advisory Database.

This helps developers understand the context and urgency of the vulnerability before applying the fix.

In a dependabot.yml configuration file,package-ecosystemis arequired key. It defines the package manager being used in that update configuration (e.g., npm, pip, maven, etc.).

Without this key, Dependabot cannot determine how to analyze or update dependencies. Other keys like rebase-strategy or commit-message are optional and used for customizing behavior.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Secret scanning push protection is a proactive feature that scans for secrets in your code during the push process. If a secret is detected, the push is blocked, preventing the secret from being added to the repository. This helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive information.​

GitHub Docs

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

By default, users with write access to a repository have the ability to merge pull requests, including those created by Dependabot for security updates. This access level allows contributors to manage and integrate changes, ensuring that vulnerabilities are addressed promptly.​

Users with only read access cannot merge pull requests, and enterprise administrators do not automatically have merge rights unless they have write or higher permissions on the specific repository.​

All results from CodeQL analysis appear under therepository’s code scanning alertstab. This section is part of theSecuritytab and provides a list of all current, fixed, and dismissed alerts found by CodeQL.

A CodeQL database is used internally during scanning but does not display results. Query packs contain rules, not results. Security advisories are for published vulnerabilities, not per-repo findings.

Bydefault,no repositoriesreceive Dependabot alerts unless configuration is explicitly enabled. GitHub doesnotenable Dependabot alerts automatically for any repositories unless:

The feature is turned on manually

It's configured at the organization or enterprise level via security policies

This includes public, private, and enterprise-owned repositories —manual activation is required.

To create or modify acode scanning workflow file(typically under .github/workflows/codeql-analysis.yml), you must haveWriteaccess to the repository.

Write permission allows you to commit the workflow file, which is required to run or configure code scanning using GitHub Actions.

To proactively address secret scanning:

Webhookscan be configured to listen for secret scanning events. This allows automation, logging, or alerting in real-time when secrets are detected.

Documenting secure development practices(like using environment variables or secret managers) helps reduce the likelihood of developers committing secrets in the first place.

Dismissal based on age is not a best practice without triage. SCIM deals with user provisioning, not scanning alerts.

Requesting a CVE ID for a security advisory in a GitHub repository requiresAdminpermissions. This level of access is necessary because it involves managing sensitive security information and coordinating with external entities to assign a CVE, which is a formal process that can impact the public perception and security posture of the project.​

Dependabot alerts are generated as soon as GitHub detects a known vulnerability in one of your dependencies. GitHub does this by analyzing your repository’s dependency graph and matching it against vulnerabilities listed in the GitHub Advisory Database. Once a match is found, the system raises an alert automatically without waiting for a PR or manual action.

This allows organizations to proactively mitigate vulnerabilities as early as possible, based on real-time detection.

TheSecurity tabin a GitHub repository provides a central location for viewing security-related information, especially when GitHub Advanced Security is enabled. The following can be accessed:

Number ofalertsrelated to:

Code scanning

Secret scanning

Dependency (Dependabot) alerts

Summary and visibility into open, closed, and dismissed security issues.

It doesnotshow 2FA options, access control settings, or configuration panels for GHAS itself. Those belong to account or organization-level settings.

Thedependency graphin a repository is built byparsing manifest and lock files(like package.json, pom.xml, requirements.txt). It helps GitHub detect dependencies and cross-reference them with known vulnerability databases for alerting.

It is specific to each repository and does not show org-wide or cross-repo summaries.