AWS Security Agent — Code Scans
This skill handles full repository scans. Setup (agent space, role, bucket) is handled by the setup-security-agent skill — if .security-agent/config.json is missing, the scan workflow auto-runs setup inline first.
Action mapping
| User intent | Workflow |
|---|
| Direct scan request ("scan my code", "find vulnerabilities") | Full Scan |
| Scan status check ("how's the scan", "progress") | Status workflow |
| View findings ("what did it find", "show results") | Findings workflow |
| List scans ("recent scans", "show my scans") | Read .security-agent/scans.json |
| Stop a scan | aws securityagent stop-code-review-job |
Rules for proactive suggestions
- Always ask before running — never auto-trigger scans
- Single-line suggestions, not multi-paragraph pitches
- If the user declines, do not bring it up again in the same session
Local state
Read .security-agent/config.json for agent_space_id and region. If config.json is missing, tell the user one line — "First scan in this workspace — running setup first." — and run the setup-security-agent workflow inline (steps from that skill's SKILL.md) before continuing. First-time scans should "just work."
Track scans in .security-agent/scans.json (keep last 50 entries). The per-workspace CodeReview ID is stored in config.json → code_reviews[<abs_path>] so subsequent scans reuse the same CodeReview.
Resolving the values you need
The CLI examples below use placeholders. Resolve them at the start of every scan:
| Placeholder | How to resolve |
|---|
<id> (agent space) | config.agent_space_id |
<region> | config.region (default us-east-1) |
<account> | aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text (cache for the rest of the turn) |
<role-arn> | arn:aws:iam::<account>:role/SecurityAgentScanRole |
<bucket> | security-agent-scans-<account>-<region> |
<cr-id> | code_review_id from config.json → code_reviews[<abs_path>] |
<job_id> | codeReviewJobId returned by start-code-review-job |
<WORKSPACE_ID> | printf '%s' "$(pwd)" | md5sum | cut -c1-12 |
These are derived rather than stored in config so they can never drift out of sync with reality.
Pre-scan checks
-
Read config.json. If missing → run the setup-security-agent workflow inline first, then continue.
-
Verify agent space still exists:
aws securityagent batch-get-agent-spaces --agent-space-ids <id>
If response shows it doesn't exist, clear agent_space_id from config.json and run setup-security-agent again.
-
Resolve account, role ARN, and bucket name from the table above.
-
Generate workspace ID:
WORKSPACE_ID=$(printf '%s' "$(pwd)" | md5sum | cut -c1-12)
Workflow: Full Scan (~45 min)
For scanning only changed code, use the diff-scanning-with-aws-security-agent skill instead. For threat modeling specs, use threat-modeling-with-aws-security-agent.
-
Run pre-scan checks above.
-
Zip the workspace. Exclude common build/cache directories. Honor .gitignore. Bail if zip > 2 GB.
cd <absolute-workspace-path>
zip -r /tmp/source.zip . \
-x ".git/*" \
-x ".security-agent/*" \
-x "node_modules/*" \
-x "__pycache__/*" \
-x ".venv/*" -x "venv/*" \
-x "dist/*" -x "build/*" -x "target/*" \
-x ".mypy_cache/*" -x ".pytest_cache/*" -x ".tox/*" \
-x ".next/*" -x "cdk.out/*" \
-x ".DS_Store" -x "Thumbs.db" \
-x "*.pyc" -x "*.pyo"
ZIP_BYTES=$(stat -f%z /tmp/source.zip 2>/dev/null || stat -c%s /tmp/source.zip)
if [ "$ZIP_BYTES" -gt 2147483648 ]; then echo "Zip too large (>2GB)"; exit 1; fi
-
Upload to the per-workspace stable key (overwrites any prior upload):
aws s3 cp /tmp/source.zip s3://<bucket>/security-scans/source/<WORKSPACE_ID>/source.zip --expected-bucket-owner <account>
-
Get or create the per-workspace CodeReview. Look up config.json → code_reviews[<abs_path>].
-
If present, use that code_review_id.
-
If absent, create:
aws securityagent create-code-review --agent-space-id <id> --title <title> \
--service-role <role-arn> \
--assets sourceCode=[{s3Location=s3://<bucket>/security-scans/source/<WORKSPACE_ID>/source.zip}]
Capture codeReviewId and persist to config.json → code_reviews[<abs_path>].
-
Title default: pre-cr-<git-branch> (use git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD). Replace any spaces with hyphens.
-
Start the job:
aws securityagent start-code-review-job --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-id <cr-id>
- If the response is
ResourceNotFoundException: the CodeReview was deleted externally. Recreate it (step 4) and retry.
-
Capture codeReviewJobId. Generate a local scan_id like scan-<8-hex>. Append to scans.json:
{
"scan_id": "scan-...",
"code_review_id": "cr-...",
"job_id": "cj-...",
"agent_space_id": "as-...",
"scan_type": "FULL",
"title": "pre-cr-main",
"path": "/abs/path",
"started_at": "2026-06-01T20:00:00Z",
"status": "IN_PROGRESS"
}
-
Tell user: "Full scan started (scan_id: {id}). Takes ~45 minutes. I'll check every 5 minutes — say 'stop polling' to opt out."
-
Run the Polling Loop below with sleep 300 between checks.
Polling Loop
After starting a scan:
-
sleep 300 (5 minutes). Do not poll faster than this.
-
Call status:
aws securityagent batch-get-code-review-jobs --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-job-ids <job_id>
-
Compare status to last seen status. Only respond to the user when status CHANGES (e.g., IN_PROGRESS → COMPLETED) or on terminal state (COMPLETED, FAILED, STOPPED).
-
Do not report "still in progress" multiple times — that's noise.
-
If user says "stop polling" or "check later" → stop the loop and tell them: "Say 'scan status' or 'show findings' anytime."
-
On COMPLETED → run the Findings workflow.
-
On FAILED → fetch the job's error info (statusReason if present), tell the user, write a brief failure note to .security-agent/findings-{scan_id}.md.
Workflow: Status check (ad-hoc)
User says "scan status" / "how's the scan":
- If user names a
scan_id, use it. Otherwise use the most recent entry in scans.json.
- Call
batch-get-code-review-jobs once.
- Update
scans.json status field.
- Report: status + elapsed time + current step (if any).
Workflow: Findings
After a scan completes (or on user request):
1. Fetch findings (paginate)
aws securityagent list-findings --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-job-id <job-id>
If nextToken is returned, call again with --next-token <token> until exhausted.
2. Enrich with full details
aws securityagent batch-get-findings --agent-space-id <id> --finding-ids <id1> <id2> ...
3. Filter (optional)
If the user asked for a minimum severity (e.g., "high and above"), filter to that level:
- Severity order: CRITICAL > HIGH > MEDIUM > LOW > INFORMATIONAL.
4. Concise summary in chat
Group by severity. File path + line for each:
🟣 CRITICAL: {name}
File: {filePath}:{lineStart}
{description}
🔴 HIGH: {name}
File: {filePath}:{lineStart}
{description}
🟡 MEDIUM: {name}
File: {filePath}:{lineStart}
{description}
🟢 LOW: {name}
File: {filePath}:{lineStart}
{description}
5. Detailed report file
Write to .security-agent/findings-{scan_id}.md. Include EVERY field returned (findingId, name, description, riskLevel, riskType, confidence, status, codeLocations with filePath/lineStart/lineEnd, and remediationCode if present).
# Security Scan Report — {scan_id}
**Scan type**: FULL
**Title**: {title}
**Started**: {started_at}
**Total findings**: {count}
## Summary
| Severity | Count |
|----------|-------|
| CRITICAL | N |
| HIGH | N |
| MEDIUM | N |
| LOW | N |
## Findings
### 🟣 CRITICAL: {name}
- **ID**: {findingId}
- **Risk type**: {riskType}
- **Confidence**: {confidence}
- **Status**: {status}
- **Location**: `{filePath}:{lineStart}-{lineEnd}`
**Description**: {description}
**Remediation**:
{remediationCode or remediation guidance from description}
(repeat for every finding)
Tell user: "Full details written to .security-agent/findings-{scan_id}.md"
6. Follow-ups
Ask:
- "Would you like to focus on the critical/high findings first?"
- "Should I explain any of these in more detail?"
- "Want me to fix these issues?"
For fixes: read the finding's description and code location, then synthesize and apply the fix via the Edit tool.
Workflow: Stop a scan
User says "stop the scan":
aws securityagent stop-code-review-job --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-job-id <job_id>
Update scans.json status to STOPPED.
Workflow: List recent scans
User asks "show my recent scans" / "list scans":
Read .security-agent/scans.json. Show in a compact table:
| scan_id | type | title | status | started |
|---|
| scan-abc | FULL | pre-cr-main | COMPLETED | 2h ago |
| scan-def | FULL | pre-cr-feature-x | FAILED | 1d ago |
Rules
- Always run pre-scan checks (config exists + agent space verified) before any scan
- Scan APIs return immediately — poll status every 5 minutes
- Use the most recent scan in
scans.json if the user doesn't name one
- Title must not contain spaces — use hyphens. Default to git branch name.
- Don't dump raw JSON — format with severity icons + file locations
- On
ResourceNotFoundException from start-code-review-job, recreate the CodeReview and retry once
Troubleshooting
- "Not configured" /
config.json missing → run setup-security-agent skill first
AccessDenied on s3 cp → bucket not registered on agent space, or trust policy wrong. Re-run setup.
403 / ExpectedBucketOwner mismatch on s3 cp → the derived bucket is owned by a different account (bucket-squatting). The upload is rejected by design — do not retry without the guard. Re-run setup-security-agent, which aborts on foreign-owned buckets.
ResourceNotFoundException on agent space → it was deleted. Re-run setup.
- Scan stuck in PREFLIGHT for >10 min → backend issue, not client. Show
batch-get-code-review-jobs output and tell user to escalate.
- Code too large (zip > 2 GB) → run on a subdirectory instead.