How to Optimize DevSecOps Workflows Using JFrog

Embedding security within the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is no longer just a best practice; it’s a full-on necessity. DevSecOps extends the DevOps model by making security a shared responsibility from the earliest stages of development. Today’s enterprises require this kind of integrated approach to streamline workflows from development to deployment.

The JFrog Platform enables this model by seamlessly integrating security, compliance, and automation throughout the entire software supply chain. In this blog, we’ll show you how JFrog’s unified toolset, including Artifactory, Xray, Distribution, and more, enhances DevSecOps workflows by ensuring security, visibility, and control from code commit to production deployment.

End-to-End DevSecOps with the JFrog Platform

JFrog provides a comprehensive suite of tools that enhance collaboration while ensuring security and efficiency throughout the software development pipeline. Here’s how it works, in a nutshell:

• This integration begins at the coding phase, where developers can use the JFrog extension within their Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to connect seamlessly with Git repositories. As code changes are committed, JFrog’s FrogBot scans each merge request for vulnerabilities, helping maintain code quality without disrupting developers’ focus.
• Once code is pushed to a Git repository, it triggers CI/CD pipelines (such as Azure Pipelines or Jenkins) to automate the build process. Here, JFrog Artifactory plays a crucial role as a universal repository manager, providing secure storage for artifacts. These artifacts then undergo thorough scanning via JFrog Xray, which identifies vulnerabilities and license compliance issues, ensuring that only safe and compliant code progresses through the pipeline.
• Following successful scans, JFrog Distribution takes charge, ensuring that the right artifacts are delivered to the appropriate environments. This facilitates efficient deployment and runtime protection across various locations.

In the following sections, we’ll explore each phase of this journey in detail, highlighting how JFrog’s integration across the software development pipeline ensures cohesion and efficiency at every step, from development to distribution. The diagram below demonstrates how JFrog components integrate across the software development pipeline to enforce security and automate governance at every stage.

The JFrog Platform across the SDLC

1. IDE Integration – Shift-Left with JFrog Xray

While security may not be developers’ top priority, the reality is that security starts at the developer’s workstation. To make this responsibility as easy as possible to fulfill, JFrog provides IDE extensions (e.g., IntelliJ IDEA, Visual Studio, Eclipse) that integrate directly with Xray, enabling real-time scanning of dependencies and source code for vulnerabilities.

Key Capabilities:

• Software Composition Analysis (SCA) with contextual insights
• Secrets detection and token validation
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) scanning
• Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

As developers write code, Xray flags known CVEs and provides actionable remediation guidance preventing insecure code from entering the codebase.

The screenshots below demonstrate how Xray’s integration within the IDE alerts developers to vulnerabilities in real time as they write code. In this example, a vulnerability is detected in one of the lodash dependencies used in the project. The right-hand panel provides detailed CVE information along with recommended remediation actions, empowering developers to address security issues proactively before the code is even committed.

Visual Studio IDE showcasing detailed vulnerability information

2. Secure Before You Build with JFrog Curation

JFrog Curation enables organizations to block components with known security or license issues before they’re downloaded.

In this example, a policy blocks any npm package with a CVSS score between 7-10. Attempts to download non-compliant packages are blocked, enforcing security before development even begins.

Curation policy setup in the JFrog Platform

Download unsuccessful due to enforced Curation policy

3. Code Commit and Git Repo Analysis – JFrog Frogbot

Once code is committed, JFrog Frogbot scans Git repositories for newly introduced vulnerabilities. This serves as a second layer of protection, ensuring any risks introduced post-IDE are detected and mitigated before progressing further in the pipeline.

The following images demonstrate the implementation of Frogbot within a GitHub Actions workflow:

Frogbot configuration view in GitHub

4. Pull Request Validation with Frogbot

When a pull request is opened, Frogbot automatically scans the changes and opens remediation PRs if issues are detected, proactively suggesting upgraded dependencies.

This enforces security within the review process and provides developers with real-time feedback directly in the Git platform.

Pull request validation in action using Frogbot

Frogbot-generated scan summary

Once the Frogbot scan is completed, you can review the Frogbot scan results under the pull request section of your Github, as shown below:

Frogbot-generated scan summary