🔒 Secure Velocity: Copilot & CodeQL Advancements (GA + Preview)

[ebndev]

A trio of security-focused upgrades is here to help you ship faster and safer: Copilot coding agent now auto‑validates the code it writes, CodeQL adds Rust and build‑free C/C++ scanning to GA, and you can assign code scanning alerts directly to Copilot for automated fixes.

✅ Copilot Coding Agent: Built‑In Security & Quality Validation

When Copilot coding agent creates new code, it now:

• Runs CodeQL to detect vulnerabilities.
• Checks newly added dependencies against the GitHub Advisory Database.
• Performs secret scanning for exposed credentials.
• Conducts a quality review, attempting fixes before asking for your review.

No extra config. No GHAS requirement. Available across all paid Copilot plans (except explicitly disabled managed user account repos). It summarizes the actions taken in the draft PR so reviewers see what was auto-remediated.

Visit the changelog for more information.

🦀 + ⚙️ CodeQL GA: Rust Support & Build‑Free C/C++ Scanning

Two major platform upgrades are now generally available:

• Rust language support joins the GA set (C/C++, Java/Kotlin, JS/TS, Python, Ruby, C#, Go, GitHub Actions, Swift). Coverage includes all OWASP Top 10 categories except A06 (handled via Dependabot). See available queries: https://codeql.github.com/codeql-query-help/rust/
• Build‑free C/C++ scanning (default setup uses build mode none) drastically reduces adoption friction. During preview: >10,000 repos enabled, >70% success without manual intervention; one customer onboarded 1,400 repos in <48h.

Available on github.com, CodeQL CLI 2.23.3, and GitHub Enterprise Server 3.20+.

🛠 Assign Code Scanning Alerts to Copilot (Public Preview)

You can now delegate remediation of CodeQL code scanning alerts to Copilot coding agent, extending automation from feature work into security fixes.

Workflow:

1. Generate Autofix suggestions (alert page, security campaign, or REST API).
2. Assign Copilot (bulk via campaign or individually via alert detail).
3. Copilot drafts a remediation PR → applies changes → hands off for review.
4. Track progress through links in the UI per alert.

Supported for GitHub Code Security or GitHub Advanced Security users with Copilot coding agent on GitHub Enterprise Cloud.

Visit the changelog for more information.

🚀 Why This Matters

• Shrinks the gap between detection and actionable remediation.
• Boosts reviewer trust—security checks are auditable and summarized.
• Removes build barriers for C/C++ and adds mature Rust coverage.
• Scales security campaigns with bulk assignment + agent efficiency.

⚡ Quick Start

Goal	Action
Enable agent security validation	Delegate a small refactor task; inspect PR summary fields.
Adopt Rust scanning	Turn on CodeQL default setup in a Rust repo; review initial alerts.
Transition C/C++ repos	Reconfigure legacy advanced setups to use build mode none.
Pilot bulk remediation	Create a security campaign → select alerts with autofix → Assign Copilot.
Track efficiency	Measure mean time to fix before/after agent assignment.

🔧 Implementation Tips

• Standardize a copilot-setup-steps.yml that includes any internal security bootstrap.
• Tag security campaign PRs for expedited review lanes.
• Use secret scanning alerts + agent remediation to harden onboarding workflows.
• Export CodeQL alert metrics weekly to benchmark pre/post automation adoption.

📊 Success Signals to Watch

• % of autofix suggestions accepted without manual rewrite.
• Reduction in untriaged critical/severity alerts over sprint cadence.
• Time from alert open → remediation PR ready.
• Adoption curve of Rust scanning vs. other languages.

📘 References

• Copilot coding agent: https://docs.github.com/copilot/concepts/agents/coding-agent/about-coding-agent
• Built‑in protections: (see docs section linked above)
• CodeQL Rust queries: https://codeql.github.com/codeql-query-help/rust/
• Build‑free C/C++ scanning: https://docs.github.com/code-security/code-scanning/creating-an-advanced-setup-for-code-scanning/codeql-code-scanning-for-compiled-languages#about-build-mode-none-for-codeql
• Autofix & campaigns: https://docs.github.com/enterprise-cloud@latest/code-security/securing-your-organization/fixing-security-alerts-at-scale/about-security-campaigns

💬 Feedback

Want deeper per‑PR security summaries? Multi‑repo campaign dashboards? Enhanced remediation analytics? Join the discussion and tell us what accelerates secure velocity for your org.

Secure more; stall less. 🛡️⚡

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(Need a compliance-focused memo, social teaser, or internal enablement guide? Ask and I’ll generate it.)

[trajanovinicius]

This is a very solid set of updates — especially the combination of automated PR validation + CodeQL remediation through the Copilot agent. It meaningfully closes the loop between detection and action.
One question I’m curious about:
How does the Copilot agent prioritize or rank multiple potential CodeQL-based fixes when generating a remediation PR?

For example, in cases where a query returns several “acceptable” remediation paths (e.g., sanitization vs. structural refactor), does the agent:

follow a deterministic rule?
optimize for minimal diff size?
or rely on a learned preference from common patterns?

Understanding this would help teams assess predictability when scaling automated remediation across many repositories.
Either way, these improvements significantly reduce friction for orgs adopting secure-by-default workflows.