What is CI/CD Pipeline | Continuous Integration

A CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment) pipeline is a series of steps that must be performed to launch or deliver a new version of the software. The CI/CD pipeline primarily focuses on improving the software delivery process throughout the SDLC using automation. To make it more consumable, think of it as an assembly line for your code! Now, let us break CI and CD to understand it in a more structured way.

Continuous Integration

In general practice, developers frequently commit their code changes (errors, updated features, etc) to a central repository such as a shared folder in the cloud or a git repository, etc. With each commit, the CI pipeline automatically triggers a set of tools to build the code, run tests, and identify any errors or bugs in the code. This helps detect problems early in the development process and prevent them from snowballing into bigger issues later.

Continuous Deployment

Once the code passes all the tests performed in the CI stage, the pipeline automatically deploys the code or a new version of the software to a testing environment. The testing environment now allows developers and testers to thoroughly test and evaluate the code (new features or bug fixes) before making it publicly available. Organizations can also automate the final deployment to production i.e. delivery, but organizations often choose to do the code deployment manual in order to get that extra layer of control and comfort of secured deployment.

To make the whole process simpler and easier to understand; think of a CI/CD pipeline as a bakery that uses a conveyor belt to move cakes from one station to another. The developers are the bakers who add new ingredients (code) on each stage. The CI stage is the oven area where the cakes are baked (code is built and tested). The CD stage is like the frosting and decoration department (Software is deployed to a final testing environment). And finally, delicious cakes are made available to consumers (A safe and secure application for users).

What are the four stages of the CI/CD pipeline?

As far now, you may find CI/CD as a much more obvious step, but it isn’t. Without these automated CI/CD pipelines, engineers and developers would have to perform all the steps manually reducing the speed of the entire SDLC. Most software needs to undergo different stages. We have listed the four most common CI/CD pipeline stages. Let us understand them each.

One fascinating thing about these stages is that a failure in any of these stages pops up notification via email, slack, or similar communication channels for the authorized developers to take further precautions. In case of successful deployments, the entire team gets notified.

Source

The source stage focuses on code management and version control. Every time a developer commits changes to a Version Control System (VCS) like git, the CI/CD pipeline is triggered automatically.

Build

In the build stage, the pipeline takes the code from the source repository and prepares it for deployment. For programming languages that require compilation (e.g., C++, Java), the code is converted into machine code. The final output of the build stage is often a deployable package containing the compiled code, libraries, and configuration files needed to run the software.

Test

This is one of the most crucial stages that involves running automated tests on the deployable packages to identify misconfigurations in the code. Some of the common types of tests include Unit tests, Integration tests, and Functional tests. Once the pipeline executes these tests, depending upon the results it will proceed with the deployment or alert developers.

Deploy

The final stage focuses on delivering the tested and built software to its intended environment. The two main approaches are Continuous Deployment and Continuous Delivery. Regardless of the deployment strategy, the pipeline automates moving the software packages to the target environment and configuring it to run properly.

What are the advantages of using a CI/CD Pipeline?

CI/CD in combination with the four stages explained above, offers several advantages which are listed below.

Faster Release: Frequent automation allows for quicker delivery of new features and bug fixes.
Improved Quality: Early and continuous testing helps identify and fix issues early in the development lifecycle.
Reduced Errors: Automation minimizes the risk of human error during deployments.
Increased Collaboration: The pipeline fosters better collaboration between development, testing, and operations teams.
Log Generation: The pipeline generates logging data at every level of SDLC helping DevOps teams to improve observability.

How to build a good CI/CD pipeline?

We have tried to build and explain how to build a good CI/CD pipeline that you can use. We have split the plan into 6 parts as follows;

Security First

Threat Modeling: Before diving into tools, identify potential security threats throughout the system. Consider risks like unauthorized access, code injection, and vulnerabilities in your system.
Secure by Design: Integrate security best practices into your system design. Consider including aspects like least privilege access control, secrets management, and vulnerability scanning.
Define Roles and Permissions: Establish clear roles and permission levels for users interacting with the code. Meaning that only authorized users can access sensitive information and perform critical actions.

Tool Selection

Rather than searching for the cheapest, easy-to-use tools, we recommend focusing on reliability and usability.

Version Control System (VCS): Choose a reputable VCS like Git that offers strong access control features and supports branching strategies for secure development.
CI/CD Server: Select a reliable and user-friendly CI/CD server that integrates well with your chosen VCS, build tools, and deployment targets. Popular options include Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, and CircleCI.
Security Tools: Integrate security tools like Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to identify vulnerabilities in your code and dependencies early in the pipeline.

Secure Code Management

Secret Management: Implement a secure secrets management solution to store and manage sensitive information (API keys, passwords) used in the pipeline. Avoid hardcoding secrets in the code or configuration files.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use IaC tools like Terraform or Ansible to codify your infrastructure provisioning and configuration. This ensures consistent and secure deployments across environments.

Reliable Execution

Build Automation: Automate the development process using tools appropriate for your programming language. This ensures consistency and reduces the risk of errors during the build stage.
Automated Testing: Implement a comprehensive suite of automated tests covering unit, integration, and functional tests. This helps catch bugs early and improve code quality.
Test Coverage: Aim for high test coverage to ensure all critical functionalities are tested. Consider using code coverage tools to track progress.

Secure Deployment

Deployment Strategies: Choose a deployment strategy that minimizes risk. Blue/Green deployments or canary deployments allow for controlled rollouts and rollback options in case of issues.
Immutable Infrastructure: Treat deployments as immutable updates. Deploy new versions as entirely new environments rather than modifying existing ones. This simplifies rollback procedures and improves security.
Monitoring and Logging: Continuously monitor the deployed application for errors, security incidents, and performance issues. Implement robust logging practices to track pipeline activity and troubleshoot potential problems.

User-Friendly Interface and Access Control

Intuitive Interface: Choose a CI/CD server that offers a user-friendly interface for developers and operations teams to interact with the pipeline easily.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Enforce RBAC to restrict access to sensitive pipeline stages and configuration based on user roles and responsibilities.
Documentation and Training: Provide clear documentation on the CI/CD pipeline, including security best practices and user workflows. Train developers and operations teams on using the pipeline effectively and securely.

Top 10 CI/CD Best Practices from OWASP

Development technologies and consumer preferences are changing rapidly. This has changed the technology landscape for faster innovation, early development, and faster delivery to the market. We have listed the Top 10 OWASP CI/CD security risks for you to help you speed up your SDLC.

Top 10 OWASP CI/CD security best practices

Insufficient Flow Control Mechanism: Security measures should be in place to sanitize the code throughout the development process, preventing unauthorized modifications or malicious code injection.
Inadequate Identity and Access Management: Granting least privilege access controls throughout the pipeline to ensure only authorized users can make changes or access sensitive information.
Dependency chain abuse: Secure and regularly update third-party libraries or dependencies used in the project as they might be an easy way for attackers to get in.
Poisoned pipeline execution (PPE): Attackers try to inject malicious code into the pipeline and compromise the pipeline itself. This makes it crucial to ensure code integrity and prevent unauthorized modifications.
Insufficient Pipeline-Based Access Control (PBAC): Fine-grained access controls are necessary to restrict unauthorized access and modifications (e.g. Who can approve deployments).
Insufficient credential hygiene: Storing credentials such as API keys or passwords used in the pipeline safely and securely. Avoid hardcoding credentials in scripts or configuration files.
Insecure System Configuration: All systems involved in the CI/CD pipeline (build servers, deployment servers) should be secured with proper patching, secure configurations, and access restrictions.
Ungoverned usage of Third-Party Services: Carefully evaluate the security posture of any third-party services used within the CI/CD pipeline and ensure they are configured securely.
Improper Artifact Integrity Validation: Verification of the integrity of artifacts (build code packages) throughout the pipeline is crucial. This will help to ensure that the artifacts were not tampered with during the build process.
Insufficient Logging and Visibility: Maintain comprehensive logging throughout the CI/CD pipeline to monitor activity, identify suspicious behavior, and troubleshoot issues effectively.

What are the challenges of implementing a CI/CD pipeline?

Every new integration has some challenges. Implementing CI/CD pipelines can introduce several challenges that can affect the smooth operation of the systems. We have listed some of the key obstacles that you may want to consider before implementing your CI/CD pipeline. Let us take a look at it.

Embedding CI/CD Practices

Integrating the required CI/CD practices into existing workflows (specifically for large projects) can be difficult. Traditionally built systems require significant refactoring efforts as these systems might not be designed for frequent integrations and automated testing.

Security Concerns

Newer systems introduce newer security concerns! Some of the crucial aspects that require careful planning and implementation are ensuring proper access controls, managing secrets securely, and preventing unauthorized modifications throughout the pipeline.

Version Control Challenges

Effective CI/CD relies on a robust version control system. Choosing the right version control system, managing branching strategies, and ensuring proper code reviews become even more critical in a CI/CD environment.

Scalability Concerns

Throughout the development process when the project is developing and the codebase getting more complex, your CI/CD pipeline strategy should scale effectively. To maintain the best performance, you should try to Optimize build processes, manage distributed builds, and ensure adequate infrastructure resources.

Limited Expertise

Implementing or maintaining an efficient CI/CD pipeline might require specialized skills. Some organizations might lack the in-house expertise to effectively manage CI/CD pipelines, requiring additional training or external resources.

Operational Inefficiencies

CI/CD pipelines may not function as intended if not built thoughtfully. Overly complex pipelines, unnecessarily built functions, or poorly designed test cases can slow down the development process and also destroy resources.

We recommend you build your CI/CD pipelines with clear thought and vision, including security best practices, choosing the right tools, and ongoing monitoring and optimization of the CI/CD pipeline.

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What is CICD Pipeline?

Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment