Harden-Runner

Harden-Runner secures CI/CD workflows by controlling network access and monitoring activities on GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners. It blocks unauthorized network traffic and detects unusual activity to protect against potential threats. The name "Harden-Runner" comes from its purpose: strengthening the security of the runners used in GitHub Actions workflows.

Quick Links

• Why Use Harden-Runner
• Getting Started Guide
• Features and Capabilities
• Case Studies and Trusted Projects
• How It Works
• Known Limitations
• Join the Discussions

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Introduction

Learn how Harden-Runner works through the video below, which shows how it detected a supply chain attack on a Google open-source project.

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Why Choose Harden-Runner?

• Prevent Exfiltration: Monitor and block unauthorized outbound network traffic.
• Detect Tampering: Identify source code modifications during builds.
• Anomaly Detection: Spot unusual dependencies and workflow behaviors.
• Simplify Permissions: Determine the minimum required GITHUB_TOKEN permissions.

Learn More

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Getting Started

Ready to secure your CI/CD workflows? Follow our Getting Started Guide to learn how to harden GitHub-hosted runners with step-by-step instructions.

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Features

Harden-Runner offers a comprehensive suite of features to enhance the security of your CI/CD workflows, available in two tiers: Community (Free) and Enterprise (Paid).

Community (Free)

• Block Network Egress Traffic with Domain Allowlist: Control outbound network traffic by specifying allowed domains, preventing unauthorized data exfiltration.
• Detect Compromised Packages, Dependencies & Build Tools: Identify and mitigate risks from malicious or vulnerable components in your build process.
• Detect Modification of Source Code: Monitor and alert on unauthorized changes to your source code during the CI/CD pipeline.
• Disable Sudo Access: Restrict the use of superuser privileges in your workflows to minimize security risks.
• Insights Page for CI/CD Runs: Access detailed reports and analytics for each CI/CD run to monitor security events and compliance.

Enterprise (Paid)

Includes all features in the Community tier, plus:

• Support for Private Repositories: Extend Harden-Runner's security capabilities to your private GitHub repositories.
• Support for Self-Hosted Runners: Apply security controls and monitoring to self-hosted GitHub Actions runners.
• Determine Minimum GITHUB_TOKEN Permissions: Monitor outbound HTTPS requests to GitHub APIs to recommend the least-privilege permissions needed for your workflows, enhancing security by reducing unnecessary access.
• View the Name and Path of Every File Written During the Build Process: Gain visibility into every file written to the build environment, including the ability to correlate file writes with processes, ensuring complete transparency.
• View Process Names and Arguments: Monitor every process executed during the build process, along with its arguments, and navigate the process tree to detect suspicious activities.
• View Outbound HTTPS Traffic at the Job Level: Monitor HTTPS requests made during your workflows in real time without using a proxy. Identify anomalous requests, including cross-organization API calls, with alerts and detailed logs.

For a detailed comparison and more information, please visit our Pricing Page.

Explore the full feature set in the Features Documentation.

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Trusted By and Case Studies

Harden-Runner is trusted by over 4000 leading open-source projects and enterprises, including Microsoft, Google, Kubernetes, and more.

Trusted by

CISA Explore	Microsoft Explore	Google Explore	DataDog Explore	Intel Explore	Kubernetes Explore	Node.js Explore	AWS Explore

Case Studies

• Harden-Runner Detects CI/CD Supply Chain Attack in Google’s Open-Source Project Flank
• Kapiche secures their GitHub Actions software supply chain with Harden-Runner
• Arcjet Enhances CI/CD Security with Harden-Runner
• How Coveo Strengthened GitHub Actions Security with StepSecurity
• StepSecurity Detects CI/CD Supply Chain Attack in Microsoft’s Open-Source Project Azure Karpenter Provider in Real-Time

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How It Works

Want to know the technical details? Dive into the architecture of Harden-Runner and its integrations for GitHub-hosted and self-hosted runners in our How It Works Documentation.

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Limitations

While Harden-Runner offers powerful features, there are certain limitations based on the environment, such as OS support. See the complete list in Known Limitations.

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Discussions

Join the conversation! For questions, ideas, or feedback, visit our Discussions Page.

For enterprise support, email support@stepsecurity.io. Interested in using Harden-Runner in other CI/CD platforms? Reach out to interest@stepsecurity.io.

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License

Harden-Runner is open source. See the LICENSE file for details.