Detection: GitHub Dependabot Alert

REMOVED DETECTION

This detection has been removed from the Splunk Threat Research content library and is no longer maintained or supported.

Reason: Detection deprecated as it no longer effectively identifies the intended malicious activity

Removed in version: 5.4.0

Replacement: GitHub Enterprise Disable Dependabot

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at research@splunk.com.

Updated Date: 2026-05-13 ID: 05032b04-4469-4034-9df7-05f607d75cba Author: Patrick Bareiss, Splunk Type: Anomaly Product: Splunk Enterprise Security

Description

The following analytic identifies the creation of GitHub Dependabot alerts, which indicate potential vulnerabilities in the codebase. It detects this activity by searching for logs with the "create" action and analyzing fields such as affected package, severity, and fixed version. This detection is significant for a SOC because it helps identify and address security risks in the codebase proactively. If confirmed malicious, these vulnerabilities could be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access or cause breaches, leading to potential data loss or system compromise.

Search

1`github` alert.id=* action=create 
2| rename repository.full_name as repository, repository.html_url as repository_url sender.login as user 
3| stats min(_time) as firstTime max(_time) as lastTime by action alert.affected_package_name alert.affected_range alert.created_at alert.external_identifier alert.external_reference alert.fixed_in alert.severity repository repository_url user 
4| eval phase="code" 
5| `security_content_ctime(firstTime)` 
6| `security_content_ctime(lastTime)` 
7| `github_dependabot_alert_filter`

Data Source

Name	Platform	Sourcetype	Source
GitHub Webhooks	AWS	`'aws:firehose:json'`	`'github'`

Macros Used

Name	Value
github	`sourcetype=aws:firehose:json`
github_dependabot_alert_filter	``

github_dependabot_alert_filter is an empty macro by default. It allows the user to filter out any results (false positives) without editing the SPL.

Annotations

- MITRE ATT&CK

+ Kill Chain Phases

+ NIST

+ CIS

- Threat Actors

ID	Technique	Tactic
T1195.001

Default Configuration

This detection is configured by default in Splunk Enterprise Security to run with the following settings:

Setting	Value
Disabled	true
Cron Schedule	`N/A`
Earliest Time	`N/A`
Latest Time	`N/A`
Schedule Window	`N/A`
Creates Finding (Notable)	No
Creates Intermediate Finding (Risk Event)	No

Anomaly detections generate Intermediate Findings (Risk Events). They do not generate a Finding (Notable) directly.

Implementation

You must index GitHub logs. You can follow the url in reference to onboard GitHub logs.

Known False Positives

unknown

Associated Analytic Story

Dev Sec Ops

References

https://www.splunk.com/en_us/blog/tips-and-tricks/getting-github-data-with-webhooks.html

Detection Testing

Test Type	Status	Dataset	Source	Sourcetype
Validation	Not Applicable	N/A	N/A	N/A
Unit	Not Applicable	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`
Integration	Not Applicable	N/A	`N/A`	`N/A`

Replay any dataset to Splunk Enterprise by using our replay.py tool or the UI. Alternatively you can replay a dataset into a Splunk Attack Range

Source: GitHub |

Version: 6