Software program groups worldwide now depend on AI coding brokers to spice up productiveness and streamline code creation. However safety hasn’t stored up. AI-generated code usually lacks fundamental protections: insecure defaults, lacking enter validation, hardcoded secrets and techniques, outdated cryptographic algorithms, and reliance on end-of-life dependencies are frequent. These gaps create vulnerabilities that may simply be launched and sometimes go unchecked.
The business wants a unified, open, and model-agnostic method to safe AI coding.
In the present day, Cisco is open-sourcing its framework for securing AI-generated code, internally known as Mission CodeGuard.
Mission CodeGuard is a safety framework that builds secure-by-default guidelines into AI coding workflows. Mission CodeGuard presents a community-driven ruleset, translators for standard AI coding brokers, and validators to assist groups implement safety mechanically. Our purpose: make safe AI coding the default, with out slowing builders down.
Mission CodeGuard is designed to combine seamlessly throughout your complete AI coding lifecycle. Earlier than code era, rules can be used for the design of a product and for spec-driven development. You can use the principles within the “planning section” of an AI coding agent to steer fashions towards safe patterns from the beginning. Throughout code era, guidelines can help AI brokers to forestall safety points as code is being written. After code era, AI brokers like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Codex, Windsurf, and Claude Code can use the guidelines for code evaluation.
These guidelines can be utilized earlier than, throughout and after code era. They can be utilized on the AI agent planning section or for preliminary specification-driven engineering duties. Mission CodeGuard guidelines may also be used to forestall vulnerabilities from being launched throughout code era. They may also be utilized by automated code-review AI brokers.
For instance, a rule targeted on enter validation may work at a number of levels: it’d recommend safe enter dealing with patterns throughout code era, flag probably unsafe person or AI agent enter processing in real-time after which validate that correct sanitization and validation logic is current within the remaining code. One other rule focusing on secret administration may forestall hardcoded credentials from being generated, alert builders when delicate information patterns are detected, and confirm that secrets and techniques are correctly externalized utilizing safe configuration administration.
This multi-stage methodology ensures that safety concerns are woven all through the event course of somewhat than being an afterthought, creating a number of layers of safety whereas sustaining the pace and productiveness that make AI coding instruments so helpful.
Word: These guidelines steer AI coding brokers towards safer patterns and away from frequent vulnerabilities by default. They don’t assure that any given output is safe. We must always at all times proceed to use customary safe engineering practices, together with peer evaluation and different frequent safety finest practices. Deal with Mission CodeGuard as a defense-in-depth layer; not a alternative for engineering judgment or compliance obligations.
What we’re releasing in v1.0.0
We’re releasing:
- Core safety guidelines based mostly on established safety finest practices and steering (e.g., OWASP, CWE, and so forth.)
- Automated scripts that act as rule translators for frequent AI coding brokers (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot).
- Documentation to assist contributors and adopters get began rapidly
Roadmap and Find out how to Get Concerned
That is just the start. Our roadmap consists of increasing rule protection throughout programming languages, integrating extra AI coding platforms, and constructing automated rule validation. Future enhancements will embrace extra automated translation of guidelines to new AI coding platforms as they emerge, and clever rule recommendations based mostly on mission context and expertise stack. The automation can even assist keep consistency throughout totally different coding brokers, cut back handbook configuration overhead, and supply actionable suggestions loops that repeatedly enhance rule effectiveness based mostly on neighborhood utilization patterns.
Mission CodeGuard thrives on neighborhood collaboration. Whether or not you’re a safety engineer, software program engineering knowledgeable, or AI researcher, there are a number of methods to contribute:
- Submit new guidelines: Assist increase protection for particular languages, frameworks, or vulnerability courses
- Construct translators: Create integrations on your favourite AI coding instruments
- Share suggestions: Report points, recommend enhancements, or suggest new options
Able to get began? Go to our GitHub repository and be a part of the dialog. Collectively, we are able to make AI-assisted coding safe by default.
