🛡️🔍 SecureLens

SecureLens is a VS Code security assistant that goes beyond a plain scanner.

It combines the power of local Semgrep analysis with focused built-in regex checks, human-friendly explanations, actionable remediations, and practical quick fixes.
The result: developers get not only what failed, but also why it matters and what to do next.

Why SecureLens

SecureLens is designed to help teams ship safer code faster, especially when code changes are moving quickly.

Key differentiators:

• Hybrid detection engine: Semgrep + built-in regex + user-defined custom regex rules
• Humanized security guidance: each finding includes clear explanation and detailed next steps
• Action-oriented UX: quick fixes, focused suggestions, and clickable findings
• Local-first workflow: scans run locally with Semgrep CLI (no backend required)
• Configurable behavior: control auto-rescan on fixes and define your own regex security checks

Features

• Scan commands:
  • SecureLens: Scan Current File
  • SecureLens: Scan Workspace
• Findings surfaced in:
  • editor squiggles and Problems panel (via VS Code diagnostics)
  • SecureLens output channel for scan logs/debug info
  • Activity Bar views:
    • Actions
    • Findings
    • Suggestions
• Click a finding to open the file at the exact range
• Dismiss individual findings during the session
• Starter quick fixes:
  • hardcoded secret -> process.env.* (+ .env and .gitignore support)
  • innerHTML -> textContent
  • eval guidance action
• Optional automatic rescan after quick fix
• User-defined custom regex rules from settings

Prerequisites

1. Node.js 18+
2. VS Code 1.90+
3. Python 3.10+ (for Semgrep CLI)
4. Semgrep installed and available on PATH

Example install:

pip install semgrep
semgrep --version

SecureLens checks Semgrep availability before each scan and shows a friendly error when missing.

Install and run (development)

From the project root:

npm install
npm run compile

Then launch Extension Development Host:

1. Open the project in VS Code
2. Press F5 (or Run > Start Debugging)
3. In the new VS Code window, open a file/workspace and run SecureLens commands

Commands

• SecureLens: Scan Current File
  • scans the active file
  • refreshes findings for that file
• SecureLens: Scan Workspace
  • scans open workspace folder(s)
  • refreshes all findings
• SecureLens: Open Finding
  • navigates to the finding location
• SecureLens: Dismiss Finding
  • removes the finding from current session views/diagnostics

Supported issue categories

SecureLens currently includes detection and guidance for common categories, including:

• hardcoded-secret
• sql-injection
• xss-innerhtml
• command-injection
• insecure-eval
• secret-exposure
• generic-security-warning fallback

Settings

SecureLens contributes these settings:

securelens.rerunScanOnQuickFix

• Type: boolean
• Default: true
• Description: rerun SecureLens scan automatically after applying a SecureLens quick fix.

Behavior:

• true: quick fix applies, then SecureLens triggers Scan Current File
• false: quick fix applies without automatic rescan

securelens.customRegexRules

• Type: array
• Default: []
• Purpose: add your own regex-based security checks alongside built-in checks

Each rule object supports:

• id (string, required)
• name (string, required)
• pattern (string, required, regex without /.../)
• message (string, required)
• flags (string, optional, example i, im)
• severity (ERROR | WARNING | INFO, optional)
• category (string, optional)
• explanation (string, optional)
• detailedSolution (string, optional)
• fileExtensions (string[], optional; example [".js", ".ts"])
• source (string, optional; default custom-regex)

Notes:

• Invalid regex patterns are skipped safely.
• Malformed custom rules do not crash the extension.
• Global matching is enforced automatically so all matches are collected.
• Custom findings flow through the same findings/diagnostics/remediation pipeline.

Custom rule examples

Add this to your VS Code settings.json:

{
  "securelens.customRegexRules": [
    {
      "id": "custom.no-console-auth",
      "name": "Auth header logged",
      "pattern": "console\\.log\\([^\\n]*authorization",
      "flags": "i",
      "severity": "WARNING",
      "category": "secret-exposure",
      "message": "Authorization-related value may be logged",
      "explanation": "Logging authorization data can leak credentials into logs.",
      "detailedSolution": "Remove or mask sensitive values before logging.",
      "fileExtensions": [".js", ".ts", ".tsx", ".jsx"]
    },
    {
      "id": "custom.sql-select-concat",
      "name": "Raw SELECT concatenation",
      "pattern": "SELECT[\\s\\S]*\\+\\s*[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*",
      "flags": "i",
      "severity": "WARNING",
      "category": "sql-injection",
      "message": "SQL query appears to be concatenated with dynamic input",
      "explanation": "Concatenating dynamic values into SQL can enable injection attacks.",
      "detailedSolution": "Use parameterized queries or prepared statements."
    }
  ]
}

Quick fix behavior for hardcoded secrets

When SecureLens applies the hardcoded secret quick fix:

• code is updated to process.env.<NAME>
• .env is created if needed
• missing variable entries are appended safely
• existing variable names are reused only when values match
• collisions get deterministic suffixes (for example _1, _2)
• .gitignore is updated to include .env when needed

Privacy and execution model

SecureLens is local-first:

• scans are executed locally for safety and speed
• Semgrep CLI runs on your machine
• no backend or cloud service is required for scanning/remediation, keeping your code private

Troubleshooting

• Semgrep not found
  • install Semgrep and ensure semgrep --version works in terminal used by VS Code
• No findings after scan
  • confirm file type is supported and code contains a matching pattern
  • check SecureLens output channel for logs
• Custom rules not triggering
  • verify regex pattern syntax
  • ensure fileExtensions includes the file extension (for example .ts)
  • remove escaping mistakes and test with simpler patterns first

Developer

Created and maintained by Danton Soares.