gosec-go

Overview

Per github.com/securego/gosec (opens in new window):

gosec is the Go-specific SAST. It "performs static code analysis by scanning the Go AST and SSA code representation" and supports "taint analysis tracking data flow from user inputs to dangerous functions" per gs-gh (opens in new window).

The taint analysis distinguishes gosec from regex-based linters - it tracks input flow through method chains, which catches injection patterns linters miss.

When to use

• Repo has Go source (gosec is Go-only).
• The team needs Go-focused SAST integrated with golangci-lint.
• A CI workflow needs PR-blocking security gates for Go services.
• Layered with semgrep-rules for cross-language coverage.

How to use

1. Install the CLI: go install github.com/securego/gosec/v2/cmd/gosec@latest (Step 1).
2. Run a baseline recursive scan gosec ./..., then narrow noise with -severity=high -confidence=high (Steps 2, 5).
3. Look up any flagged rule ID in references/rule-catalog.md to interpret the finding (Step 3).
4. Triage false positives with inline // #nosec Gxxx -- Reason: ... and never a bare #nosec (Step 5).
5. Wire gosec into golangci-lint via .golangci.yml so config is unified (Step 6).
6. Emit SARIF in CI (-fmt sarif -out gosec.sarif ./...) and upload it for a PR-blocking gate (Steps 4, 7).
7. Quarterly, grep for #nosec lines lacking -- Reason: and re-review them (Step 5).

Step 1 - Install

Per gs-gh (opens in new window):

go install github.com/securego/gosec/v2/cmd/gosec@latest

For pinned versions in CI:

go install github.com/securego/gosec/v2/cmd/gosec@v2.20.0

Docker:

docker pull securego/gosec
docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/code" securego/gosec ./code/...

Step 2 - Basic recursive scan

Per gs-gh (opens in new window):

gosec ./...

Common variations:

gosec -severity=high ./...           # only HIGH severity
gosec -confidence=high ./...         # only HIGH confidence
gosec -exclude=G104 ./...            # skip "unhandled errors" rule
gosec -include=G101,G102 ./...       # only run specific rules

Step 3 - Rule ID catalog

gosec ships 40+ rule IDs (G101 hardcoded creds, G104 unhandled errors, G304 path traversal, G401 weak crypto, G601 memory aliasing, and more). The full lookup table - every ID and its meaning - lives in references/rule-catalog.md.

Full current list at runtime: gosec -list-rules.

Step 4 - Output formats

Per gs-gh (opens in new window):

gosec -fmt sarif -out results.sarif ./...
gosec -fmt json -out results.json ./...
gosec -fmt junit-xml -out results.xml ./...
gosec -fmt html -out results.html ./...
gosec -fmt text -out results.txt ./...
gosec -fmt yaml -out results.yaml ./...

For multi-scanner triage integration, use JSON.

Step 5 - False-positive triage (MANDATORY)

Per gs-gh (opens in new window) the canonical inline suppression syntax:

// #nosec G404 -- justification text

Format: #nosec [RuleList] [-- Justification].

Three suppression layers:

Justification template (mandatory in code):

// #nosec G401 -- Reason: legacy MD5 required for vendor-mandated checksum format
// Reviewer: alice@example.com (2026-05-15)
// Expires: 2026-12-15
hash := md5.Sum(data)

Bandit-style cadence: every quarter, grep for #nosec patterns lacking -- Reason: and flag for review.

Step 6 - golangci-lint integration

Most Go teams run gosec via golangci-lint (the universal linter runner) rather than directly:

# .golangci.yml
linters:
  enable:
    - gosec

linters-settings:
  gosec:
    excludes:
      - G104                     # unhandled errors (often noise)
    severity: medium
    confidence: medium
    config:
      G306: "0644"               # default file perm threshold

golangci-lint run ./...

This is the recommended pattern - golangci-lint handles parallelism, caching, and unified output across multiple linters.

Step 7 - CI integration

Standalone:

jobs:
  gosec:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with: { go-version: '1.22' }
      - uses: securego/gosec@master
        with:
          args: -fmt sarif -out gosec.sarif ./...
      - uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        if: always()
        with: { sarif_file: gosec.sarif }

Via golangci-lint (preferred):

jobs:
  lint:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: actions/setup-go@v5
        with: { go-version: '1.22' }
      - uses: golangci/golangci-lint-action@v6
        with:
          version: latest

Step 8 - Custom rules via Go templates

Unlike Semgrep / CodeQL, gosec doesn't have a custom-rule DSL - adding new rules requires writing Go code in gosec/rules/ and contributing upstream OR forking. For most teams, leverage the 40+ built-in rules + suppressions.

Worked example

A Go microservice needs to clear a security review. Run gosec -severity=high -confidence=high ./...; gosec reports a G401 on a md5.Sum(data) call and a G104 on an unchecked w.Write return.

• G401 is a false positive here - the MD5 is a vendor-mandated checksum, not a security hash. Suppress it with an audited justification (Step 5):

  // #nosec G401 -- Reason: legacy MD5 required for vendor-mandated checksum format
  hash := md5.Sum(data)
  

• G104 is a real bug - the unhandled w.Write error is fixed by checking its return value, not suppressed.

Re-run gosec -fmt sarif -out gosec.sarif ./...; the SARIF now reports zero HIGH findings, and the golangci-lint gate from Step 6 passes in CI.

Anti-patterns

Limitations

• Go-only; for other languages see sister skills.
• Custom-rule authoring requires Go programming + upstream PR (vs YAML rule authoring in Semgrep).
• Some patterns (cross-package taint flow) miss what codeql-queries catches.
• Rule depth varies - newer Go patterns (generics, structured concurrency) coverage thinner.

References

• gs-gh (opens in new window) - repository, install, rule list, suppression syntax
• gosec subcommand gosec -list-rules - current rule catalog
• golangci-lint.run - golangci-lint integration
• securego/gosec GitHub Action - github.com/securego/gosec
• semgrep-rules, sonarqube-rules, codeql-queries, bandit-python - sister scanners