Merge request approval policies

DETAILS: Tier: Ultimate Offering: GitLab.com, Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

• Group-level scan result policies introduced in GitLab 15.6.
• Scan result policies feature was renamed to merge request approval policies in GitLab 16.9.

NOTE: Scan result policies feature was renamed to merge request approval policies in GitLab 16.9.

Use merge request approval policies to enforce project-level settings and approval rules based on scan results. For example, one type of scan result policy is a security approval policy that allows approval to be required based on the findings of one or more security scan jobs. Merge request approval policies are evaluated after a CI scanning job is fully executed and both vulnerability and license type policies are evaluated based on the job artifact reports that are published in the completed pipeline.

NOTE: Merge request approval policies are applicable only to protected target branches.

NOTE: When a protected branch is created or deleted, the policy approval rules synchronize, with a delay of 1 minute.

The following video gives you an overview of GitLab merge request approval policies (previously scan result policies):

Requirements and limitations

• You must add the respective security scanning tools. Otherwise, merge request approval policies cannot get evaluated and the corresonding approvals stay required.
• The maximum number of merge request approval policies is five per security policy project.
• Each policy can have a maximum of five rules.
• All configured scanners must be present in the merge request's latest pipeline. If not, approvals are required even if some vulnerability criteria have not been met.
• Merge request approval policies evaluate findings and determine approval requirements based on the job artifact reports published in a completed pipeline. However, merge request approval policies do not check the integrity or authenticity of the scan results generated in the artifact reports.

Merge request with multiple pipelines

• Introduced in GitLab 16.2 with a flag named multi_pipeline_scan_result_policies. Disabled by default.
• Generally available in GitLab 16.3. Feature flag multi_pipeline_scan_result_policies removed.
• Support for parent-child pipelines introduced in GitLab 16.11 with a flag named approval_policy_parent_child_pipeline. Disabled by default.

FLAG: On self-managed GitLab, by default support for parent-child pipelines is not available. To make it available, an administrator can enable the feature flag named approval_policy_parent_child_pipeline. On GitLab.com and GitLab Dedicated, this feature is not available.

A project can have multiple pipeline types configured. A single commit can initiate multiple pipelines, each of which may contain a security scan.

• In GitLab 16.3 and later, the results of all completed pipelines for the latest commit in the merge request's source and target branch are evaluated and used to enforce the merge request approval policy. On-demand DAST pipelines are not considered.
• In GitLab 16.2 and earlier, only the results of the latest completed pipeline were evaluated when enforcing merge request approval policies.

If a project uses merge request pipelines, you must use the latest security templates so that the security scanning jobs are present in the pipeline. For more information see Use security scanning tools with merge request pipelines.

Merge request approval policy editor

• Introduced in GitLab 14.8.
• Enabled by default in GitLab 15.6.

NOTE: Only project Owners have the permissions to select Security Policy Project.

Once your policy is complete, save it by selecting Configure with a merge request at the bottom of the editor. This redirects you to the merge request on the project's configured security policy project. If a security policy project doesn't link to your project, GitLab creates such a project for you. Existing policies can also be removed from the editor interface by selecting Delete policy at the bottom of the editor.

Most policy changes take effect as soon as the merge request is merged. Any changes that do not go through a merge request and are committed directly to the default branch may require up to 10 minutes before the policy changes take effect.

The policy editor supports YAML mode and rule mode.

NOTE: Propagating merge request approval policies created for groups with a large number of projects take a while to complete.

Merge request approval policies schema

The YAML file with merge request approval policies consists of an array of objects matching the merge request approval policy schema nested under the approval_policy key. You can configure a maximum of five policies under the approval_policy key.

NOTE: Merge request approval policies were defined under the scan_result_policy key. Until GitLab 17.0, policies can be defined under both keys. Starting from GitLab 17.0, only approval_policy key is supported.

When you save a new policy, GitLab validates its contents against this JSON schema. If you're not familiar with how to read JSON schemas, the following sections and tables provide an alternative.

Merge request approval policy schema

• The approval_settings fields were introduced in GitLab 16.4 with flags named scan_result_policies_block_unprotecting_branches, scan_result_any_merge_request, or scan_result_policies_block_force_push. See the approval_settings section below for more information.

scan_finding rule type

• The merge request approval policy field vulnerability_attributes was introduced in GitLab 16.2 with a flag named enforce_vulnerability_attributes_rules. Generally available in GitLab 16.3. Feature flag removed.
• The merge request approval policy field vulnerability_age was introduced in GitLab 16.2.
• The branch_exceptions field was introduced in GitLab 16.3 with a flag named security_policies_branch_exceptions. Generally available in GitLab 16.5. Feature flag removed.

This rule enforces the defined actions based on security scan findings.

license_finding rule type

• Introduced in GitLab 15.9 with a flag named license_scanning_policies.
• Generally available in GitLab 15.11. Feature flag license_scanning_policies removed.
• The branch_exceptions field was introduced in GitLab 16.3 with a flag named security_policies_branch_exceptions. Enabled by default. Generally available in GitLab 16.5. Feature flag removed.

This rule enforces the defined actions based on license findings.

any_merge_request rule type

• The branch_exceptions field was introduced in GitLab 16.3 with a flag named security_policies_branch_exceptions. Enabled by default. Generally available in GitLab 16.5. Feature flag removed.
• The any_merge_request rule type was introduced in GitLab 16.4. Enabled by default. Generally available in GitLab 16.6. Feature flag removed.

This rule enforces the defined actions for any merge request based on the commits signature.

require_approval action type

This action sets an approval rule to be required when conditions are met for at least one rule in the defined policy.

send_bot_message action type

• The send_bot_message action type was introduced in GitLab 16.11 with a flag named approval_policy_disable_bot_comment. Disabled by default.

FLAG: On self-managed GitLab, by default this feature is not available. To make it available, an administrator can enable the feature flag named approval_policy_disable_bot_comment. On GitLab.com and GitLab Dedicated, this feature is not available.

This action enables configuration of the bot message in merge requests when policy violations are detected. If the action is not specified, the bot message is enabled by default. If there are multiple policies defined, the bot message is sent as long as at least one of those policies has the send_bot_message action is enabled.

approval_settings

• The block_group_branch_modification field was introduced in GitLab 16.8 with flag named scan_result_policy_block_group_branch_modification. Disabled by default.
• The block_unprotecting_branches field was introduced in GitLab 16.4 with flag named scan_result_policy_settings. Disabled by default.
• The scan_result_policy_settings feature flag was replaced by the scan_result_policies_block_unprotecting_branches feature flag in 16.4.
• The block_unprotecting_branches field was replaced by block_branch_modification field in GitLab 16.7.
• The above field was enabled on GitLab.com in GitLab 16.7.
• The above field was enabled on self-managed in GitLab 16.7.
• The prevent_approval_by_author, prevent_approval_by_commit_author, remove_approvals_with_new_commit, and require_password_to_approve fields were introduced in GitLab 16.4 with flag named scan_result_any_merge_request. Disabled by default.
• The above fields were enabled on GitLab.com in GitLab 16.6.
• The above fields were enabled on self-managed in GitLab 16.7.
• Feature flag scan_result_any_merge_request was removed in GitLab 16.8.
• The prevent_pushing_and_force_pushing field was introduced in GitLab 16.4 with flag named scan_result_policies_block_force_push. Disabled by default.
• The above field was enabled on GitLab.com in GitLab 16.6.
• The above field was enabled on self-managed in GitLab 16.7.
• Feature flag scan_result_policies_block_force_push was removed in GitLab 16.8.

FLAG: On self-managed GitLab, by default the block_branch_modification field is available. To hide the feature, an administrator can disable the feature flag named scan_result_policies_block_unprotecting_branches. On GitLab.com and GitLab Dedicated, this feature is available.

The settings set in the policy overwrite settings in the project.

Example security merge request approval policies project

You can use this example in a .gitlab/security-policies/policy.yml file stored in a security policy project:

---
approval_policy:
- name: critical vulnerability CS approvals
  description: critical severity level only for container scanning
  enabled: true
  rules:
  - type: scan_finding
    branches:
    - main
    scanners:
    - container_scanning
    vulnerabilities_allowed: 0
    severity_levels:
    - critical
    vulnerability_states:
    - newly_detected
    vulnerability_attributes:
      false_positive: true
      fix_available: true
  actions:
  - type: require_approval
    approvals_required: 1
    user_approvers:
    - adalberto.dare
- name: secondary CS approvals
  description: secondary only for container scanning
  enabled: true
  rules:
  - type: scan_finding
    branches:
    - main
    scanners:
    - container_scanning
    vulnerabilities_allowed: 1
    severity_levels:
    - low
    - unknown
    vulnerability_states:
    - detected
    vulnerability_age:
      operator: greater_than
      value: 30
      interval: day
  actions:
  - type: require_approval
    approvals_required: 1
    role_approvers:
    - owner

In this example:

• Every MR that contains new critical vulnerabilities identified by container scanning requires one approval from alberto.dare.
• Every MR that contains more than one preexisting low or unknown vulnerability older than 30 days identified by container scanning requires one approval from a project member with the Owner role.

Example for Merge Request Approval Policy editor

You can use this example in the YAML mode of the Merge Request Approval Policy editor. It corresponds to a single object from the previous example:

type: approval_policy
name: critical vulnerability CS approvals
description: critical severity level only for container scanning
enabled: true
rules:
- type: scan_finding
  branches:
  - main
  scanners:
  - container_scanning
  vulnerabilities_allowed: 1
  severity_levels:
  - critical
  vulnerability_states:
  - newly_detected
actions:
- type: require_approval
  approvals_required: 1
  user_approvers:
  - adalberto.dare

Understanding merge request approval policy approvals

• The branch comparison logic for scan_finding was changed in GitLab 16.8 with a flag named scan_result_policy_merge_base_pipeline. Disabled by default.
• Generally available in GitLab 16.9. Feature flag scan_result_policy_merge_base_pipeline removed.

Scope of merge request approval policy comparison

• To determine when approval is required on a merge request, we compare completed pipelines for each supported pipeline source for the source and target branch (for example, feature/main). This ensures the most comprehensive evaluation of scan results.
• For the source branch, the comparison pipelines are all completed pipelines for each supported pipeline source for the latest commit in the source branch.
• For the target branch, we compare to all common ancestor's completed pipelines for each supported pipeline source.
• Merge request approval policies considers all supported pipeline sources (based on the CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE variable) when comparing results from both the source and target branches when determining if a merge request requires approval. Pipelines with source webide are not supported.
• In GitLab 16.11 and later, the child pipelines of each of the selected pipelines are also considered for comparison. This is available with a flag named approval_policy_parent_child_pipeline.

Accepting risk and ignoring vulnerabilities in future merge requests

For merge request approval policies that are scoped to newly_detected findings, it's important to understand the implications of this vulnerability state. A finding is considered newly_detected if it exists on the merge request's branch but not on the default branch. When a merge request whose branch contains newly_detected findings is approved and merged, approvers are "accepting the risk" of those vulnerabilities. If one or more of the same vulnerabilities were detected after this time, their status would be previously_detected and so not be out of scope of a policy aimed at newly_detected findings. For example:

• A merge request approval policy is created to block critical SAST findings. If a SAST finding for CVE-1234 is approved, future merge requests with the same violation will not require approval in the project.

When using license approval policies, the combination of project, component (dependency), and license are considered in the evaluation. If a license is approved as an exception, future merge requests don't require approval for the same combination of project, component (dependency), and license. The component's version is not be considered in this case. If a previously approved package is updated to a new version, approvers will not need to re-approve. For example:

• A license approval policy is created to block merge requests with newly detected licenses matching AGPL-1.0. A change is made in project demo for component osframework that violates the policy. If approved and merged, future merge requests to osframework in project demo with the license AGPL-1.0 don't require approval.

Multiple approvals

There are several situations where the merge request approval policy requires an additional approval step. For example:

• The number of security jobs is reduced in the working branch and no longer matches the number of security jobs in the target branch. Users can't skip the Scanning Result Policies by removing scanning jobs from the CI/CD configuration. Only the security scans that are configured in the merge request approval policy rules are checked for removal.

  For example, consider a situation where the default branch pipeline has four security scans: sast, secret_detection, container_scanning, and dependency_scanning. A merge request approval policy enforces two scanners: container_scanning and dependency_scanning. If an MR removes a scan that is configured in merge request approval policy, container_scanning for example, an additional approval is required.

• Someone stops a pipeline security job, and users can't skip the security scan.

• A job in a merge request fails and is configured with allow_failure: false. As a result, the pipeline is in a blocked state.

• A pipeline has a manual job that must run successfully for the entire pipeline to pass.

Managing scan findings used to evaluate approval requirements

Merge request approval policies evaluate the artifact reports generated by scanners in your pipelines after the pipeline has completed. Merge request approval policies focus on evaluating the results and determining approvals based on the scan result findings to identify potential risks, block merge requests, and require approval.

Merge request approval policies do not extend beyond that scope to reach into artifact files or scanners. Instead, we trust the results from artifact reports. This gives teams flexibility in managing their scan execution and supply chain, and customizing scan results generated in artifact reports (for example, to filter out false positives) if needed.

Lock file tampering, for example, is outside of the scope of security policy management, but may be mitigated through use of Code owners or external status checks. For more information, see issue 433029.

Known issues

We have identified in epic 11020 common areas of confusion in scan result findings that need to be addressed. Below are a few of the known issues:

• When using newly_detected, some findings may require approval when they are not introduced by the merge request (such as a new CVE on a related dependency)
• Findings or errors that cause approval to be required on a merge request approval policy may not be evident in the Security MR widget. With merge base introduced in issue 428518 some cases were addressed. Support for displaying more granular details about what caused security policy violations is proposed in epic 11185.
• Security policy violations are distinct compared to findings displayed in the MR widgets. Some violations may not be present in the MR widget. We are working to harmonize our features in epic 11020 and to display policy violations explicitly in merge requests in epic 11185.
• When merged results pipelines are enabled for the project, along with branch pipelines for created MRs, the comparison between source and target branches depends on the order in which the source branch's pipeline finishes. This can create race conditions, a resolution of which is proposed in issue 384927. The approvals may behave differently, depending on which target branch pipeline is selected.

Experimental features

DETAILS: Status: Experiment

Security policy scopes

Prerequisites:

• To enable these experimental features, a group owner or administrator must enable the experimental features:

  1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your group.

  2. Select Settings > General.

  3. Expand Permissions and group features.

  4. Select the Security Policy Scopes checkbox.

  5. Optional. Select Enforce for all subgroups.

     If the setting is not enforced for all subgroups, subgroup owners can manage the setting per subgroup.

Have feedback on our experimental features? We'd love to hear it! Please share your thoughts in our feedback issue.

Security policy enforcement depends first on establishing a link between the group, subgroup, or project on which you want to enforce policies, and the security policy project that contains the policies. For example, if you are linking policies to a group, a group owner must create the link to the security policy project. Then, all policies in the security policy project are inherited by all projects in the group.

You can refine a security policy's scope to:

• Include only projects containing a compliance framework label.
• Include or exclude selected projects from enforcement.

Policy scope schema

policy_scope scope type

Example policy.yml with security policy scopes

---
approval_policy:
- name: critical vulnerability CS approvals
  description: critical severity level only for container scanning
  enabled: true
  rules:
  - type: scan_finding
    branches:
    - main
    scanners:
    - container_scanning
    vulnerabilities_allowed: 1
    severity_levels:
    - critical
    vulnerability_states:
    - newly_detected
  actions:
  - type: require_approval
    approvals_required: 1
    user_approvers:
    - adalberto.dare
  policy_scope:
    compliance_frameworks:
      - id: 2
      - id: 11
    projects:
      including:
        - id: 24
        - id: 27

Troubleshooting

Merge request rules widget shows a merge request approval policy is invalid or duplicated

DETAILS: Tier: Ultimate Offering: Self-managed, GitLab Dedicated

On GitLab self-managed from 15.0 to 16.4, the most likely cause is that the project was exported from a group and imported into another, and had merge request approval policy rules. These rules are stored in a separate project to the one that was exported. As a result, the project contains policy rules that reference entities that don't exist in the imported project's group. The result is policy rules that are invalid, duplicated, or both.

To remove all invalid merge request approval policy rules from a GitLab instance, an administrator can run the following script in the Rails console.

Project.joins(:approval_rules).where(approval_rules: { report_type: %i[scan_finding license_scanning] }).where.not(approval_rules: { security_orchestration_policy_configuration_id: nil }).find_in_batches.flat_map do |batch|
  batch.map do |project|
    # Get projects and their configuration_ids for applicable project rules
    [project, project.approval_rules.where(report_type: %i[scan_finding license_scanning]).pluck(:security_orchestration_policy_configuration_id).uniq]
  end.uniq.map do |project, configuration_ids| # We take only unique combinations of project + configuration_ids
    # If we find more configurations than what is available for the project, we take records with the extra configurations
    [project, configuration_ids - project.all_security_orchestration_policy_configurations.pluck(:id)]
  end.select { |_project, configuration_ids| configuration_ids.any? }
end.each do |project, configuration_ids|
  # For each found pair project + ghost configuration, we remove these rules for a given project
  Security::OrchestrationPolicyConfiguration.where(id: configuration_ids).each do |configuration|
    configuration.delete_scan_finding_rules_for_project(project.id)
  end
  # Ensure we sync any potential rules from new group's policy
  Security::ScanResultPolicies::SyncProjectWorker.perform_async(project.id)
end

Debugging security approval policy approvals

GitLab SaaS users may submit a support ticket titled "Merge request approval policy debugging". Provide the following details:

• Group path, project path and optionally merge request ID
• Severity
• Current behavior
• Expected behavior

Support teams will investigate logs (pubsub-sidekiq-inf-gprd*) to identify the failure reason. Below is an example response snippet from logs. You can use this query to find logs related to approvals: json.event.keyword: "update_approvals" and json.project_path: "group-path/project-path". Optionally, you can further filter by the merge request identifier using json.merge_request_iid:

"json": {
  "project_path": "group-path/project-path",
  "merge_request_iid": 2,
  "missing_scans": [
    "api_fuzzing"
  ],
  "reason": "Scanner removed by MR",
  "event": "update_approvals",
}

Common failure reasons:

• Scanner removed by MR: Merge request approval policy expects that the scanners defined in the policy are present and that they successfully produce an artifact for comparison.