Capstone - DevSecOps Pipeline

Author: Damien Burks

Welcome to the Capstone Project of the DevSecOps section! This is where everything you’ve learned, such as application security, the secure SDLC, and DevSecOps fundamentals, comes together into one powerful, automated pipeline.

In this capstone, you’ll build your own End-to-End Application DevSecOps Pipeline, a hands-on project that demonstrates your ability to integrate and automate security throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Overview

The goal of this capstone is to design and implement a fully functional, application-centric DevSecOps pipeline that enforces security at every stage, from code commit to deployment. You’ll simulate what real-world engineering teams do: integrate static analysis, dependency checks, runtime testing, and secret scanning all through CI/CD automation.

In short, this project highlights how security can be developer-friendly, automated, and actionable, ensuring vulnerabilities are caught early and fixed fast.

Pipeline Breakdown

Your DevSecOps pipeline will include four key security layers:

1. Code Security (SAST + SCA) – Detect vulnerabilities in your source code and dependencies before deployment.
2. Runtime Security (DAST) – Test your running application for real-world exploit paths.
3. Secrets & Configuration Management – Prevent accidental credential exposure in your codebase and pipeline.
4. Continuous Feedback & Reporting – Provide visibility to developers through reports, badges, and notifications.

You'll bring it all together by doing all of the tasks below.

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If you're looking for a great place or example to start from, check out the GitHub Actions DevSecOps Pipeline that has been developed by the DSB Community.

Capstone Tasks

Phase 1 – Code Security (SAST + SCA)

Focus on securing your codebase and open-source dependencies. To make this happen, you'll want to:

• Integrate SAST using Semgrep, SonarQube, or CodeQL.
• Add SCA (Software Composition Analysis) using Trivy, Snyk, or OWASP Dependency-Check.
• Configure both to run automatically on each pull request or code push.

✅ Deliverable: A CI/CD stage that fails builds on high-severity vulnerabilities and reports findings in PR comments or pipeline logs.

Phase 2 – Runtime Security (DAST)

Simulate attacks to identify vulnerabilities in your deployed application. To make this happen, you'll want to:

• Deploy your app locally or within a test container.
• Use OWASP ZAP, Nikto, or StackHawk for dynamic scanning.
• Archive results for visibility and trend tracking.

✅ Deliverable: A DAST stage that runs after deployment and generates reports in your pipeline output.

Phase 3 – Secrets & Configuration Management

Even great code can fail if secrets leak. Secure your pipeline configurations. To make this happen, you'll want to:

• Implement GitLeaks or TruffleHog for pre-commit or CI/CD secret scanning.
• Use GitHub Encrypted Secrets, or Vault for secure variable management.
• Enforce scanning policies that prevent secret commits.

✅ Deliverable: A verified configuration that prevents credentials from being committed or printed in pipeline logs.

Phase 4 – Continuous Feedback & Reporting

Automate visibility and make security results meaningful to your team. To make this happen, you'll want to:

• Aggregate scan results into Markdown or HTML reports.
• Notify developers via Slack, email, or GitHub comments.
• Add a “Security Scans Passing” badge to your README.

✅ Deliverable: An automated reporting system that keeps developers informed and accountable for security outcomes.

Deliverables Summarized

Deliverable	Description
CI/CD Pipeline Configuration	Fully automated pipeline integrating SAST, SCA, DAST, and secret scanning.
Reports and Artifacts	Archived scan outputs (Markdown, HTML, or JSON).
Security Badges and Notifications	Visual pipeline feedback (e.g., "Scans Passing" badge).
Documentation	A concise README explaining tools, pipeline logic, and integration steps.

important

Treat this project like a production system. Write documentation, version your configs, and showcase it in your portfolio. If I were you, I'd write a post about it on Hashnode or dev.to, and post about it on LinkedIn.

Learning Outcomes

By completing this capstone, you’ll demonstrate your ability to:

• Automate static, dynamic, and dependency scanning in application pipelines.
• Implement secure CI/CD workflows using tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab CI.
• Manage secrets and environment variables securely.
• Build feedback loops that make security findings visible and actionable.
• Apply DevSecOps principles to improve software resilience without slowing delivery.

Stretch Goal: Unified DevSecOps Workflow

Push your pipeline further by combining all scans into a single orchestrated workflow with centralized reporting. Here are some high level ideas or requirements:

• Trigger all security stages from a single “Security Scan” job.
• Aggregate results in DefectDojo, GitHub Security Dashboard, or custom dashboards.
• Generate consolidated risk scores for every build.

This transforms your CI/CD into a Security Quality Gate, where code quality and security share the same metrics.

Summary

This capstone ties together everything from secure coding to automation, giving you hands-on experience with what real DevSecOps teams do daily. When complete, you’ll have a tangible, portfolio-ready project proving your ability to secure modern applications through automation and collaboration.

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Do us a huge favor, and make a post about your project on LinkedIn or any other social media applications with #DevSecBlueprint so that we can inspire others to build security into their pipelines too.