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Trivy CI/CD integration with Snapsec VM

This guide shows you, step by step, how to:
  1. Run trivy in your GitHub Actions or GitLab CI pipeline.
  2. Generate a JSON report.
  3. Send that JSON report directly to Snapsec VM using a webhook.
You do not need to be a CI/CD expert to follow this guide.

1. Prerequisites

  • A container image, filesystem, or repository you want to scan with Trivy.
  • Trivy installed in your CI environment (we’ll show how below).
  • Snapsec:
    • An Assessment in Snapsec VM where Trivy vulnerabilities will be stored.
    • Assessment ID (<assessment-id>)
    • API key (<your-api-key>)
  • CI environment with curl available.

2. Create an assessment in Snapsec VM

Before you send any results, create a dedicated assessment in Snapsec VM that will hold the Trivy findings:
  1. Log in to the Snapsec UI.
  2. Go to the VM / Assessments section.
  3. Click New Assessment and give it a clear name, for example:
    • Trivy - MyService
  4. Save the assessment and copy its Assessment ID value.
You will use this Assessment ID in the webhook URL in the next steps.

3. Generate Trivy JSON report (locally or in CI)

To scan a container image (example: my-registry/my-image:latest) and save the results as JSON:
trivy image --format json --output trivy.json my-registry/my-image:latest
To scan the current directory (filesystem / source code):
trivy fs --format json --output trivy.json .
These commands write a machine-readable report to trivy.json. You can try this locally first to confirm it works before adding it to your CI.

4. Push Trivy JSON directly to Snapsec VM via webhook

Snapsec already knows how to parse Trivy JSON output, so you can send the file directly to an import endpoint.
curl -X POST "https://suite.snapsec.co/csm/api/import/<assessment-id>/nuclei-scanning" \
     -H "x-api-key: <your-api-key>" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d @trivy.json \
     -k
Important: Replace <assessment-id> with your actual Assessment ID and <your-api-key> with your API key. Note on the -k flag: This flag tells curl to perform an “insecure” SSL transfer, which bypasses certificate validation. You may need this for local or development environments. Remove it if your endpoint has a valid SSL certificate.
Below are ready-to-use examples for GitHub Actions and GitLab CI.

5. GitHub Actions example

name: Trivy to Snapsec

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main ]
  pull_request:

jobs:
  trivy-snapsec:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install Trivy and scan filesystem
        uses: aquasecurity/[email protected]
        with:
          scan-type: "fs"
          format: "json"
          output: "trivy.json"

      - name: Push to Snapsec
        env:
          SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID: ${{ secrets.SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID }}
          SNAPSEC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.SNAPSEC_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          curl -X POST "https://suite.snapsec.co/csm/api/import/${SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID}/nuclei-scanning" \
               -H "x-api-key: ${SNAPSEC_API_KEY}" \
               -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
               -d @trivy.json \
               -k
How to use this:
  1. Create .github/workflows/trivy-to-snapsec.yml in your repository.
  2. Copy the YAML above into that file.
  3. In your GitHub repository settings, create secrets:
    • SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID
    • SNAPSEC_API_KEY
  4. Adjust the Trivy configuration (scan type, target, etc.) as needed.
  5. Push your changes. GitHub Actions will run the workflow on each push or pull request.

6. GitLab CI example

If you use GitLab, add a job like this to your .gitlab-ci.yml:
trivy_to_snapsec:
  image: aquasec/trivy:latest
  stage: test
  script:
    - trivy fs --format json --output trivy.json .
    - >
      curl -X POST
      "https://suite.snapsec.co/csm/api/import/${SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID}/nuclei-scanning"
      -H "x-api-key: ${SNAPSEC_API_KEY}"
      -H "Content-Type: application/json"
      -d @trivy.json
      -k
  variables:
    SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID: "$SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID"
    SNAPSEC_API_KEY: "$SNAPSEC_API_KEY"
  only:
    - merge_requests
    - main
How to use this:
  1. Create or edit .gitlab-ci.yml in the root of your repository.
  2. Add the trivy_to_snapsec job shown above.
  3. In your GitLab project, go to Settings → CI/CD → Variables and add:
    • SNAPSEC_ASSESSMENT_ID
    • SNAPSEC_API_KEY
  4. Commit and push your changes. GitLab will run the job on merge requests and on the main branch.
With these examples, even if you are new to CI/CD, you can:
  1. Run Trivy automatically in your pipeline.
  2. Upload the trivy.json report directly to Snapsec VM using the provided webhook.