Analyze issues using GitHub Copilot's Ask mode

  • 8 minutes

Identifying and understanding security issues is the first step toward resolving them. GitHub Copilot's Ask mode provides an interactive way to analyze code, identify vulnerabilities, and plan remediation strategies.

What is Ask mode?

GitHub Copilot's Ask mode is a conversational chat interface integrated into Visual Studio Code. You ask questions about your code, and GitHub Copilot responds using the context you provide. It functions like having a knowledgeable colleague who can read your code and provide security-focused guidance.

Ask mode is ideal for:

  • Understanding what specific code does.
  • Identifying potential security vulnerabilities.
  • Exploring alternative implementation approaches.
  • Getting explanations of security concepts.
  • Planning remediation strategies before making changes.

GitHub Copilot's Ask mode doesn't modify your code files. It provides analysis, explanations, and suggestions that you can use to make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Analyze security issues using Ask mode

You can use GitHub Copilot's Ask mode to systematically identify and understand security vulnerabilities in your codebase. GitHub Copilot helps you understand the nature of security issues, their potential effects, and appropriate remediation approaches.

Strategies for analyzing security issues

Here are effective strategies for using Ask mode to analyze security issues:

  • Understand the code: Ask GitHub Copilot to explain what vulnerable code does and how it processes data.

  • Identify vulnerabilities: Request analysis of potential security issues in specific code sections.

  • Assess impact: Explore the potential consequences of vulnerabilities if exploited.

  • Find edge cases: Identify scenarios where the code might behave unexpectedly or insecurely.

  • Evaluate solutions: Ask for multiple approaches to fixing the issue and understand their trade-offs.

  • Verify understanding: Confirm your interpretation of the security issue before implementing fixes.

  • Plan systematically: Develop a step-by-step remediation plan that addresses all aspects of the vulnerability.

Ask mode prompts for security analysis

Effective prompts are specific, provide context, and focus on actionable insights.

Understanding and analysis

These prompts help you understand what code does and identify its security implications.

  • "Explain what the selected authentication function does and identify any security concerns."
  • "Analyze the selected code for SQL injection vulnerabilities and explain how they could be exploited."
  • "Review the selected password storage implementation and explain why it's insecure."
  • "What security risks exist in the selected file handling code?"

Vulnerability assessment

Use these prompts to deeply analyze potential exploits and assess the severity of security issues.

  • "Identify all the ways an attacker could exploit the selected input validation."
  • "What sensitive information might be exposed through the selected error handling?"
  • "Analyze the selected encryption implementation for weaknesses."
  • "Does the selected code follow the OWASP Top 10 security guidelines? Explain any violations."

Solution exploration

These prompts help you evaluate different approaches to fixing security issues and understand their trade-offs.

  • "What are the recommended approaches for fixing SQL injection in the selected query?"
  • "Show me secure alternatives to the selected password hashing implementation."
  • "How should I implement path validation to prevent directory traversal?"
  • "What's the most secure way to log errors without exposing sensitive information?"

Consequence analysis

Use these prompts to understand the potential consequences of security vulnerabilities if they're exploited.

  • "What's the potential impact if the selected SQL injection vulnerability is exploited?"
  • "Explain the consequences of storing passwords in plaintext."
  • "What data could be compromised through the selected path traversal vulnerability?"
  • "How serious is the selected logging issue compared to other vulnerabilities in the codebase?"

Best practices verification

These prompts help you ensure your code follows industry standards and security guidelines.

  • "Does the selected code follow Microsoft's security guidelines for .NET?"
  • "Is the selected encryption implementation using current best practices?"
  • "What security improvements would you recommend for the selected authentication flow?"
  • "How does the selected code compare to industry standards for secure password storage?"

Establish effective chat context

GitHub Copilot's analysis quality depends on the context you provide. Follow these practices to ensure Copilot has sufficient information:

Add relevant files and code

Providing comprehensive context helps GitHub Copilot deliver more accurate and relevant security analysis.

  • Use the Add Context button in the chat interface to include relevant files.
  • Select specific code sections before asking questions to focus the analysis.
  • Include related files that provide context (like configuration files, helper classes, or data models).
  • Reference multiple files when the issue spans across them.

Provide clear problem descriptions

Clear context helps GitHub Copilot understand your specific situation and provide more targeted security guidance.

  • Describe what you're trying to accomplish.
  • Mention any constraints or requirements (performance considerations, compliance needs).
  • Specify your security concerns explicitly.
  • Note any relevant coding standards or guidelines that your team follows.

Ask mode workflow for security analysis

Follow this systematic workflow to analyze security issues using Ask mode:

Step 1: Open and select the problematic code

The first step in analyzing a security issue is to provide GitHub Copilot with the specific code you want to analyze.

Navigate to the file containing the security issue and select the relevant code section. Selecting a file or code section focuses GitHub Copilot's analysis on the specific area of concern.

Step 2: Ask for an explanation

Begin your analysis by understanding what the code does and confirming that a vulnerability exists.

Start with a broad understanding question to confirm the vulnerability and understand how it could be exploited.

Example prompt: "Explain what this search function does and identify any security concerns."

GitHub Copilot describes how the code works, identify the vulnerability type, and explain potential exploitation methods.

Step 3: Ask targeted questions about the vulnerability

Once you understand the basic vulnerability, dig deeper to understand all possible attack vectors.

Drill deeper into specific aspects of the security issue.

Example prompt: "What are all the different ways an attacker could exploit this SQL injection vulnerability?"

Targeted questions help you understand the full scope of the risk, including authentication bypass, data extraction, data modification, and denial of service possibilities.

Step 4: Explore remediation options

Understanding multiple solution approaches helps you choose the most appropriate fix for your specific context.

Ask for solution strategies with pros and cons.

Example prompt: "What are the recommended approaches for fixing this SQL injection vulnerability? Include pros and cons of each approach."

GitHub Copilot can suggest multiple solutions such as parameterized queries, Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) frameworks, or stored procedures, helping you choose the most appropriate fix for your situation.

Step 5: Verify edge cases and requirements

Before implementing a fix, ensure you understand all the scenarios and special cases that need to be handled.

Ensure the fix works in all scenarios by asking about special considerations.

Example prompt: "Are there any edge cases or special considerations I should handle when implementing parameterized queries for this search function?"

GitHub Copilot can identify input validation requirements, performance considerations, and business logic concerns you need to address.

Step 6: Plan the implementation

The final step before coding is to create a comprehensive plan that guides the implementation process.

Request a comprehensive implementation plan that includes testing requirements.

Example prompt: "Based on our discussion, create a step-by-step plan for fixing this SQL injection vulnerability including testing requirements."

GitHub Copilot can provide a structured plan covering preparation, implementation, testing (unit, security, and regression), deployment, and documentation phases.

Iterative analysis approach

Security analysis often requires multiple rounds of questions. The following steps are recommended for an iterative approach:

  • Ask follow-up questions for clarification.
  • Request code examples for suggested solutions.
  • Explore alternative approaches.
  • Ensure a comprehensive understanding of the issue and the resolution process.

Consider the following series of prompts in an iterative analysis approach. This scenario assumes you opened a file containing a search function that's vulnerable to SQL injection and selected the code:

  1. Establish a general understanding of the code and the problem: "Explain what the selected search function does and identify any security concerns."

  2. Drill down into specific risks: "What are all the different ways an attacker could exploit this SQL injection vulnerability?"

  3. Explore the solution options: "What are the recommended approaches for fixing this SQL injection vulnerability? Include pros and cons of each approach."

  4. Improve your understanding of the recommended approach: "Why is a parameterized query better than escaping the input with a sanitization function?"

  5. Ensure a complete and comprehensive understanding: "Are there any edge cases or special considerations I should handle when implementing parameterized queries for this search function?"

  6. Plan the implementation: "Based on our discussion, create a step-by-step plan for fixing this SQL injection vulnerability including testing requirements."

This iterative approach builds comprehensive understanding and ensures you have a complete remediation strategy before modifying code.

Managing GitHub Copilot's responses

While GitHub Copilot is knowledgeable, treat its responses as informed guidance rather than absolute truth.

Verify critical security decisions

Always validate security recommendations against authoritative sources and your specific requirements.

  • Cross-reference GitHub Copilot's advice with official documentation.
  • Consult OWASP guidelines for security best practices.
  • Review Microsoft's security recommendations for .NET.
  • Consider your specific compliance requirements.

Recognize GitHub Copilot's limitations

Understanding what GitHub Copilot can and can't do helps you use it effectively while maintaining appropriate oversight.

GitHub Copilot is a powerful tool, but it has limitations that you need to be aware of.

Consider the following limitations:

  • GitHub Copilot analyzes static code but doesn't have runtime context.
  • GitHub Copilot might not know about your specific infrastructure or architecture.
  • GitHub Copilot can't access proprietary security policies.
  • GitHub Copilot might miss subtle vulnerabilities that require domain expertise.

Provide clarifying context

The quality of GitHub Copilot's responses improves significantly when you provide more context and details.

GitHub Copilot's accuracy improves with better context. If responses seem off-target:

  • Add more context about your environment.
  • Include related code files in the chat.
  • Specify constraints or requirements explicitly.
  • Rephrase your question with more detail.

Key benefits of Ask mode for security analysis

Using Ask mode for security analysis provides several advantages:

  • Rapid assessment: Get immediate analysis without researching documentation.
  • Comprehensive perspective: GitHub Copilot considers patterns from millions of codebases.
  • Educational: Learn security principles through explanations.
  • Planning aid: Develop implementation strategies before writing code.
  • Risk-free exploration: Investigate multiple approaches without modifying code.

Summary

GitHub Copilot's Ask mode is a powerful tool for analyzing security issues systematically. Ask targeted questions and provide appropriate context to get the best results. Follow an iterative workflow to thoroughly understand vulnerabilities and explore remediation options. Use Ask mode to develop comprehensive implementation plans before writing code. This approach helps you fix security issues confidently while learning security principles that improve your future code.