How to Use the Command 'snyk' (with examples)

Snyk is a powerful tool designed to help developers locate and remediate vulnerabilities within their code and software dependencies. By integrating with your projects, Snyk enables early detection and easy resolution of security issues, helping ensure your code is secure before deployment. It provides developers with a range of capabilities such as testing code, Docker images, monitoring vulnerabilities, and automatically patching them. Below, we explore several common use cases of the Snyk command line tool, complete with examples.

Use case 1: Logging in to Your Snyk Account

Code:

snyk auth

Motivation:

Logging into your Snyk account is a fundamental step required before you can leverage other Snyk features. Authentication ensures that any tests, monitors, or patches you perform are linked to your account, allowing you to track vulnerability history, remediation actions, and generate reports. Ensuring security tools are used under authorized accounts helps maintain the integrity of monitoring and provides a point of accountability.

Explanation:

• snyk auth: Initiates the authentication process. Running this command opens a web browser where you will be prompted to authorize Snyk using your credentials. This command does not take any arguments, as its sole purpose is to authenticate and establish a link between your terminal and Snyk’s services.

Example Output:

After executing snyk auth, a browser page will open prompting you to log in. Upon successful authentication, you should see an output like:

Your account has been authenticated correctly. Now you can start using Snyk.

Use case 2: Testing Your Code for Known Vulnerabilities

Code:

snyk test

Motivation:

Testing your code for vulnerabilities is crucial to maintaining robust security postures. By using Snyk test, you can proactively identify vulnerabilities within your project’s dependencies or codebase before they lead to security incidents, ensuring safer release cycles. Regular testing helps catch potential flaws early, reducing the risk of exploitation in production.

Explanation:

• snyk test: This command analyzes your project’s files to identify any known vulnerabilities. It requires no arguments if you wish to test the current working directory. Snyk checks for vulnerabilities against its extensive database and provides information on severity, description, and available fixes.

Example Output:

After running snyk test, you might receive output indicating vulnerabilities, such as:

Testing /path/to/your/project...



✗ Medium severity vulnerability found in package-name
  Description: Prototype Pollution
  Introduced through: package-name@1.2.3
  Fix: Upgrade to package-name@1.2.4.

Use case 3: Testing a Local Docker Image for Vulnerabilities

Code:

snyk test --docker docker_image

Motivation:

Container security plays an integral role in today’s cloud-native application deployments. By testing Docker images locally, you can identify vulnerabilities in the underlying software components of your images before they are deployed to production. Snyk’s Docker vulnerability testing provides transparency into the security health of your images, aiding in secure software supply chains.

Explanation:

• snyk test: Initiates a vulnerability analysis.
• –docker: Specifies that the target for testing is a Docker image.
• docker_image: Replace docker_image with the name (and optionally, the tag) of the Docker image you want to test.

Example Output:

Running snyk test --docker my-image:latest may provide output like:

Scanning docker image: my-image:latest...
Package manager: deb
Tested 100 dependencies for known issues, found 2 vulnerabilities.


Issues Summary:
 
✗ Low severity vulnerability found in library-name
  Description: Buffer Overflow
  Introduced through: library-name@0.0.1
  Fix: Upgrade to library-name@0.0.2.

Use case 4: Recording the State of Dependencies and Vulnerabilities on snyk.io

Code:

snyk monitor

Motivation:

Keeping track of your project’s dependency state and associated vulnerabilities over time is essential for maintaining security standards and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. snyk monitor captures a snapshot of your project’s dependencies and uploads it to Snyk, enabling continuous monitoring and generating alerts as new vulnerabilities are discovered.

Explanation:

• snyk monitor: Captures your project’s current state and sends it to your Snyk account for ongoing monitoring. This command does not require additional arguments as it defaults to the present working directory.

Example Output:

On running snyk monitor, you might see:

Monitoring /path/to/your/project...


Project monitored successfully.
Available to see at: https://snyk.io/org/your-org/project/unique-id

Use case 5: Automatically Patch and Ignore Vulnerabilities

Code:

snyk wizard

Motivation:

Automated patching and configuration management reduce manual intervention and ensure consistency in patch application. By automating these tasks with snyk wizard, you can streamline your security maintenance workflows, ensure vulnerabilities are addressed promptly, and configure rules to ignore specific advisories when legitimate to do so.

Explanation:

• snyk wizard: Launches an interactive CLI tool that guides you through the process of patching vulnerabilities or setting configurations to ignore known issues intentionally. It empowers users to make informed decisions per vulnerability, providing clarity on impact and resolution options.

Example Output:

Executing snyk wizard initiates a guided experience:

Running Snyk Wizard...

# Interactive steps to walk through and apply available patches or ignore policies

1/3: A high-severity vulnerability found in: package-name@version
 ✗ Description: Arbitrary Code Execution
 Choose how to proceed:
 ⁼ Apply patch automatically
 ⁼ Ignore for now

Conclusion:

By understanding and leveraging the functionalities of the Snyk tool, developers can greatly enhance the security posture of their projects. Each use case, whether it’s logging in, testing code, monitoring dependencies, or automatic patching, plays a critical role in maintaining a robust security framework ready to tackle modern threats.