---
name: implementing-infrastructure-as-code-security-scanning
description: 'Implements automated security scanning for Infrastructure as Code using
  Checkov, tfsec, and KICS to detect misconfigurations in Terraform, CloudFormation,
  Kubernetes manifests, and Helm charts, plus policy-based governance and CI/CD
  integration. Use when validating cloud infrastructure before deployment or blocking
  insecure changes (public S3 buckets, open security groups) in pull requests.

  '
domain: cybersecurity
subdomain: devsecops
tags:
- devsecops
- cicd
- iac-security
- checkov
- tfsec
- terraform
- secure-sdlc
version: 1.0.0
author: mahipal
license: Apache-2.0
nist_csf:
- PR.PS-01
- GV.SC-07
- ID.IM-04
- PR.PS-04
mitre_attack:
- T1195
- T1554
- T1059.004
- T1078.004
- T1530
---

# Implementing Infrastructure as Code Security Scanning

## When to Use

- When provisioning cloud infrastructure with Terraform, CloudFormation, or Pulumi and needing automated security validation
- When compliance frameworks require evidence of infrastructure configuration review before deployment
- When preventing common cloud misconfigurations like public S3 buckets, open security groups, or unencrypted storage
- When establishing guardrails that block insecure infrastructure changes in pull requests
- When managing multi-cloud environments requiring consistent security policies across AWS, Azure, and GCP

**Do not use** for scanning application source code (use SAST), for monitoring already-deployed infrastructure drift (use cloud security posture management tools), or for container image vulnerability scanning (use Trivy).

## Prerequisites

- Checkov v3.x installed (`pip install checkov`) or tfsec installed
- Terraform, CloudFormation, or Kubernetes IaC files in the repository
- CI/CD pipeline with access to IaC directories
- Bridgecrew API key (optional, for Checkov platform integration)

## Workflow

### Step 1: Run Checkov Against Terraform Files

```bash
# Scan all Terraform files in a directory
checkov -d ./terraform/ --framework terraform --output cli --output json --output-file-path ./results

# Scan specific file
checkov -f main.tf --output json

# Scan Terraform plan (more accurate for dynamic values)
terraform init && terraform plan -out=tfplan
terraform show -json tfplan > tfplan.json
checkov -f tfplan.json --framework terraform_plan

# Scan with specific checks only
checkov -d ./terraform/ --check CKV_AWS_18,CKV_AWS_19,CKV_AWS_20

# Skip specific checks
checkov -d ./terraform/ --skip-check CKV_AWS_145,CKV2_AWS_6
```

### Step 2: Integrate IaC Scanning into GitHub Actions

```yaml
# .github/workflows/iac-security.yml
name: IaC Security Scan

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - 'terraform/**'
      - 'cloudformation/**'
      - 'k8s/**'

jobs:
  checkov:
    name: Checkov IaC Scan
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Run Checkov
        uses: bridgecrewio/checkov-action@v12
        with:
          directory: terraform/
          framework: terraform
          output_format: cli,sarif
          output_file_path: console,checkov.sarif
          soft_fail: false
          skip_check: CKV_AWS_145

      - name: Upload SARIF
        if: always()
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        with:
          sarif_file: checkov.sarif
          category: checkov-iac

  tfsec:
    name: tfsec Scan
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Run tfsec
        uses: aquasecurity/tfsec-action@v1.0.3
        with:
          working_directory: terraform/
          sarif_file: tfsec.sarif
          soft_fail: false

      - name: Upload SARIF
        if: always()
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        with:
          sarif_file: tfsec.sarif
          category: tfsec
```

### Step 3: Create Custom Checkov Policies

```python
# custom_checks/s3_versioning.py
from checkov.terraform.checks.resource.base_resource_check import BaseResourceCheck
from checkov.common.models.enums import CheckResult, CheckCategories


class S3BucketVersioning(BaseResourceCheck):
    def __init__(self):
        name = "Ensure S3 bucket has versioning enabled"
        id = "CKV_CUSTOM_1"
        supported_resources = ["aws_s3_bucket"]
        categories = [CheckCategories.GENERAL_SECURITY]
        super().__init__(name=name, id=id, categories=categories,
                         supported_resources=supported_resources)

    def scan_resource_conf(self, conf):
        versioning = conf.get("versioning", [{}])
        if isinstance(versioning, list) and len(versioning) > 0:
            if versioning[0].get("enabled", [False])[0]:
                return CheckResult.PASSED
        return CheckResult.FAILED


check = S3BucketVersioning()
```

### Step 4: Configure Baseline and Suppressions

```yaml
# .checkov.yaml
branch: main
compact: true
directory:
  - terraform/
  - cloudformation/
framework:
  - terraform
  - cloudformation
  - kubernetes
output:
  - cli
  - sarif
skip-check:
  - CKV_AWS_145    # S3 default encryption with CMK (using SSE-S3 is acceptable)
  - CKV2_AWS_6     # S3 bucket request logging (handled at CloudTrail level)
soft-fail: false
```

### Step 5: Scan Kubernetes Manifests and Helm Charts

```bash
# Scan Kubernetes manifests
checkov -d ./k8s/ --framework kubernetes

# Scan Helm charts (renders templates first)
checkov -d ./charts/myapp/ --framework helm

# Scan with KICS (Keeping Infrastructure as Code Secure)
docker run -v $(pwd)/k8s:/path checkmarx/kics:latest scan \
  --path /path \
  --output-path /path/results \
  --type Kubernetes \
  --report-formats json,sarif
```

## Key Concepts

| Term | Definition |
|------|------------|
| IaC Scanning | Automated analysis of infrastructure code templates to detect security misconfigurations before deployment |
| Policy as Code | Security policies defined as executable code that can be version-controlled, tested, and enforced automatically |
| CKV Check ID | Checkov's unique identifier for each security check (e.g., CKV_AWS_18 for S3 public access) |
| Terraform Plan Scanning | Scanning the resolved Terraform plan JSON which includes computed values and module expansions |
| Graph-based Scanning | Checkov's ability to analyze relationships between resources, not just individual resource configs |
| Drift Detection | Identifying differences between IaC definitions and actual deployed infrastructure state |
| Custom Policy | Organization-specific security checks authored in Python or YAML to enforce internal standards |

## Tools & Systems

- **Checkov**: Open-source IaC scanner by Bridgecrew with 2500+ built-in policies covering major cloud providers
- **tfsec**: Terraform-focused static analysis tool by Aqua Security with deep HCL understanding
- **KICS**: Open-source IaC scanner by Checkmarx supporting 15+ IaC frameworks
- **Terrascan**: IaC scanner with OPA Rego policy support for custom policy authoring
- **Snyk IaC**: Commercial IaC scanner integrated with the Snyk platform

## Common Scenarios

### Scenario: Preventing Public S3 Buckets in Terraform

**Context**: A development team repeatedly creates S3 buckets without proper access controls. A recent incident exposed customer data through a public bucket.

**Approach**:
1. Enable Checkov in the CI/CD pipeline for all Terraform changes
2. Enforce CKV_AWS_18 (no public read ACL), CKV_AWS_19 (encryption), CKV_AWS_20 (no public access block disabled)
3. Create a custom policy requiring the `aws_s3_bucket_public_access_block` resource for every S3 bucket
4. Set `soft_fail: false` to block PR merges when S3 security checks fail
5. Provide Terraform modules with security defaults that teams can reuse

**Pitfalls**: Scanning only `.tf` files misses dynamically computed values. Use Terraform plan scanning for higher accuracy. Checkov's resource-relationship checks (CKV2 prefix) require graph analysis mode.

## Output Format

```
IaC Security Scan Report
==========================
Framework: Terraform
Directory: terraform/
Scan Date: 2026-02-23

Checkov Results:
  Passed: 187
  Failed: 12
  Skipped: 3
  Unknown: 0

FAILED CHECKS:
  CKV_AWS_18  [HIGH]   S3 Bucket has public read ACL
              Resource: aws_s3_bucket.data_lake
              File:     terraform/storage.tf:15-28

  CKV_AWS_24  [HIGH]   CloudWatch log group not encrypted
              Resource: aws_cloudwatch_log_group.app
              File:     terraform/monitoring.tf:3-8

  CKV_AWS_79  [MEDIUM] Instance metadata service v1 enabled
              Resource: aws_instance.web
              File:     terraform/compute.tf:12-30

QUALITY GATE: FAILED (2 HIGH severity findings)
```
