GitHub Advanced Security

GitHub's security suite with AI-powered code scanning, secret detection, and vulnerability remediation via Copilot Autofix.

Listed Needs re-verification

Security IT Ops $$ Small business Mid-market Enterprise Technology

What it does

GitHub Advanced Security is GitHub's application security suite providing code scanning, secret scanning, and dependency review natively within the GitHub developer workflow. AI capabilities include CodeQL-powered SAST (static application security testing) that finds security vulnerabilities in code using semantic analysis rather than simple pattern matching, Copilot Autofix - an AI feature that automatically generates code fixes for detected vulnerabilities allowing developers to remediate with one click, AI-powered secrets scanning that detects credentials and API keys committed to repositories using context-aware pattern recognition, and dependency review that surfaces vulnerable dependencies introduced in pull requests before they merge.

Strengths

Mid-market engineering organizations use GitHub Advanced Security for systematic application security - security scanning integrated into every PR and AI autofix reducing the time between detection and remediation.
Large enterprises use GitHub Advanced Security for enterprise application security programs - AI-powered SAST and secrets detection across all repositories with compliance reporting and security analytics.
Small software teams use GitHub Advanced Security for developer-native security - AI code scanning catching vulnerabilities in PRs and Copilot Autofix making remediation accessible to developers without security expertise.

Watch-outs

GitHub ecosystem dependency: GitHub Advanced Security is available only for GitHub-hosted repositories — organizations on GitLab, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps need different application security scanning solutions.
CodeQL coverage is language-specific: CodeQL's deep semantic analysis covers major languages (JavaScript, Python, Java, Go, C/C++) but has varying coverage depth for less common languages — teams with niche language stacks should verify CodeQL support.
Autofix quality varies by vulnerability type: Copilot Autofix generates code fixes but quality varies — complex vulnerabilities with multiple contributing factors may receive incomplete fixes requiring developer judgment and additional manual remediation.

Pricing

GitHub Advanced Security at $49/active committer/month for enterprise. Included in GitHub Enterprise. Free for public repositories. Annual contracts.