GhostFree — Dependency Vulnerability Scanner
Every software team could use some help ridding their codebase of the ghosts haunting their dependencies.
This extension registers GhostFree as an MCP server in VS Code, making it available to GitHub Copilot and other AI assistants automatically — no manual JSON configuration required.
GhostFree scans your repository's dependencies for known vulnerabilities based on issued CVEs using OSV.dev, helps you triage and fix findings with NVD and CISA KEV enrichment, and lets you manage accepted risks — all directly from your AI coding assistant.
Quick Start
- Install this extension
- Open the Command Palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P) and run MCP: List Servers
- Select GhostFree from the list, then choose Start Server and confirm trust when prompted
- Open a workspace with dependencies
- In Copilot Chat, type
/ghostfree.scan
No signup, no API key, no configuration needed.
How It Works
Type /ghostfree.scan in GitHub Copilot Chat to kick off the full workflow:
- Discover — finds all manifest files (
requirements.txt, package.json, go.mod, Cargo.toml, pom.xml, *.csproj, etc.)
- Threshold — asks for a minimum severity level (
CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW)
- Scan — queries OSV.dev for CVEs across all discovered packages
- Triage — presents numbered results, 10 at a time
- Enrich — fetches CVSS vectors, CWE classification, and CISA KEV "actively exploited" status
- Remediate — recommends upgrades, code changes, or risk acceptance
Example Session
User: /ghostfree.scan
GhostFree: Discovering dependencies...
Found 84 packages across 2 ecosystems (npm, PyPI).
What minimum severity should I surface? (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW)
User: HIGH
GhostFree: Scanning against OSV.dev...
[1] CVE-2021-44228 CRITICAL (10.0) — org.apache.logging.log4j:log4j-core@2.14.1
Log4Shell: Remote code execution via JNDI lookup
Fix: upgrade to 2.17.1
[2] CVE-2022-25881 HIGH (7.5) — http-cache-semantics@4.1.0
ReDoS in http-cache-semantics
Fix: upgrade to 4.1.1
Showing 1-2 of 2. Which would you like to investigate? (e.g., 1, 2, or 'all')
| Tool |
Read-only |
Description |
discover_dependencies |
✅ |
Scan repo manifests, return all pinned packages by ecosystem |
check_cves |
✅ |
Query OSV.dev for CVEs, filter by severity, apply accepted risks |
enrich_cve |
✅ |
Fetch CVSS, CWE, references from NVD + KEV exploitation status |
list_accepted_risks |
✅ |
List all accepted risks with expiry status and severity snapshot |
accept_risk |
❌ |
Record an accepted risk with reason, expiry date, and severity snapshot |
remove_accepted_risk |
❌ |
Remove an accepted risk by UUID |
All read-only tools are safe to auto-approve. Write tools (accept_risk, remove_accepted_risk) will prompt for confirmation.
Accepted Risk Management
When you accept a risk, GhostFree writes it to .ghostfree/accepted.yml in your repo. Commit this file to share accepted decisions with your team.
expires_on is required — no open-ended acceptances- Expiry beyond 1 year requires
confirm_extended_expiry=true
- Expired acceptances resurface as warnings on every scan — never silently dropped
Supported Ecosystems
| Ecosystem |
Manifest Files |
| Python |
requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, Pipfile.lock, setup.cfg |
| Node.js |
package.json, package-lock.json |
| Go |
go.mod, go.sum |
| Rust |
Cargo.toml, Cargo.lock |
| Java |
pom.xml, build.gradle, build.gradle.kts |
| .NET |
*.csproj, packages.config |
Lock files (package-lock.json, Cargo.lock, go.sum, Pipfile.lock) are used when present, giving full transitive dependency coverage.
Environment Variables
Set these in your shell or in the VS Code MCP server env config:
| Variable |
Description |
GHOSTFREE_MIN_SEVERITY |
Default severity threshold: CRITICAL, HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW |
GHOSTFREE_ACCEPTED_PATH |
Custom path for accepted.yml |
NVD_API_KEY |
Optional — raises NVD rate limit from 5 to 50 req/30s |
Privacy
Only package names and versions are sent to OSV.dev. CVE IDs are sent to NVD and CISA KEV for enrichment. No source code, file contents, or user identifiers ever leave your machine.
FAQ
Q: Does GhostFree upload my code?
No. Only package names, versions, and CVE IDs are sent to external APIs.
Q: Do I need an API key?
No. Everything works without keys. An NVD_API_KEY is optional for higher rate limits.
Q: Does it scan transitive dependencies?
Yes, when a lock file is present. Without a lock file, only directly declared dependencies are scanned.
Q: Why not just use my AI's built-in knowledge?
Your AI's vulnerability knowledge is frozen at its training cutoff. GhostFree queries live databases on every scan, so it reflects the current threat landscape regardless of model age.
Links
