Paul Krill
Editor at Large

GitHub rolls out AI-powered fixes for code vulnerabilities

news
Aug 15, 20242 mins

Copilot Autofix, a new addition to the GitHub Advanced Security service, analyzes vulnerabilities in code and offers code suggestions to help developers fix them.

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Credit: SkillUp / Shutterstock

GitHub has unveiled Copilot Autofix, an AI-powered software vulnerability remediation service as part of its GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) service.

GitHub introduced Copilot Autofix in production on August 14. “Copilot Autofix analyzes vulnerabilities in code, explains why they matter, and offers code suggestions that help developers fix vulnerabilities as fast as they are found,” GitHub said in the announcement. GHAS customers on GitHub Enterprise Cloud already have Copilot Autofix included in their subscription. GitHub has enabled Copilot Autofix by default for these customers in their GHAS code scanning settings. Beginning in September, Copilot Autofix will be offered for free in pull requests to open source projects.

During the public beta, which began in March, GitHub found that developers using Copilot Autofix were fixing code vulnerabilities more than three times faster than those doing it manually, demonstrating how AI agents such as Copilot Autofix can radically simplify and accelerate software development. Copilot Autofix can be generated for dozens of classes of vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, which developers can dismiss, edit, or commit in their pull request, the company said.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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