Brakeman Integration Guide

Integrate Brakeman with Vulnetix. Scan Rails applications for security vulnerabilities with native SARIF output.

Install & scan

$ gem install brakeman
$ brakeman -f sarif -o brakeman.sarif

Run Brakeman in CI

Scan on every push and upload the report as a workflow artifact:

- name: Install Brakeman
  run: gem install brakeman
- name: Run Brakeman
  run: brakeman -f sarif -o brakeman.sarif
- name: Upload report
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v6
  with:
    name: brakeman
    path: brakeman.sarif
    if-no-files-found: warn

Then one publish job hands every artifact in the run to Vulnetix, recorded under Brakeman's own name and version. Written once per workflow, however many scanners you run:

publish:
  name: Publish to Vulnetix
  runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  needs: [scan]        # every scanner job, or its report is never published
  if: always()         # or one failing scanner suppresses all the others
  permissions:
    contents: read
    actions: read      # required to list the run's artifacts
  env:
    VULNETIX_ORG_ID: ${{ secrets.VULNETIX_ORG_ID }}
    VULNETIX_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.VULNETIX_API_KEY }}
  steps:
    - uses: actions/checkout@v5
    - name: Install Vulnetix CLI
      run: |
        curl -fsSL https://cli.vulnetix.com/install.sh | sh -s -- --install-dir "$HOME/.local/bin"
        echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> "$GITHUB_PATH"
    - name: Publish scanner reports
      env:
        GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ github.token }}
      run: vulnetix gha upload --org-id "$VULNETIX_ORG_ID" --json

After the run, vulnetix gha status reports what was actually recorded.

How Vulnetix compares: better together

Vulnetix does not replace Brakeman. Keep running it. Vulnetix sits on top of Brakeman (and every other scanner you already own) turning disconnected tool outputs into one prioritised, fixable queue.

Brakeman is strongest at its core category and also carries features in Secret Scanning, just as Vulnetix spans categories.

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What Brakeman does well

• Rails-native static analysis: understands Rails conventions (model associations, controller filters, routes, ERB templates) for higher-precision detection than generic SAST
• Zero-config out of the box, a single `brakeman` command scans a Rails app with no build or running instance required
• Broad Rails vulnerability coverage: SQL injection, XSS, command injection, mass assignment, unsafe redirects, dozens of check classes
• Emits SARIF 2.1.0 and JSON, so results drop straight into GitHub Code Scanning and CI pipelines

Where Vulnetix adds to it: Brakeman is the better tool for finding Rails-specific code flaws; Vulnetix ingests its SARIF output and folds those findings into a single cross-scanner queue, then adds exploit-intel prioritisation (EPSS/KEV), reachability, versioned VEX and Safe Harbour autofix that Brakeman itself does not provide. Better together: Vulnetix orchestrates and prioritises Brakeman results, it does not replace Brakeman's Rails analysis.

No migration, no rip-and-replace. Brakeman keeps doing what it does best; Vulnetix adds the orchestration, exploit-intelligence prioritisation and remediation layer built for the way AppSec works today.

Centralise Brakeman results in Vulnetix

Upload Brakeman SARIF output to the Vulnetix platform to deduplicate findings, prioritise them with EPSS, CISA KEV and Coalition ESS exploit intelligence, and track remediation across every scanner in a single queue.

Brakeman documentation ↗  ·  Source repository ↗

Wire Brakeman into your CI/CD pipeline →