Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) transforms how teams provision infrastructure through code — but that automation can introduce security vulnerabilities into your environment if left unchecked.
What is IaC security scanning?
IaC Security Scanning analyzes your Infrastructure as Code templates — such as Terraform, AWS CloudFormation or Ansible scripts — to detect security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations before they are applied to your cloud environment.
Unlike tools that simply help create or manage IaC, Rainforest scans these templates with a security-first approach, ensuring your infrastructure is resilient against potential threats right from the start.
Catch cloud risk before it's provisioned
IaC Security Scanning thoroughly inspects your templates to identify issues that could compromise your cloud infrastructure.
- 1
Template Parsing
The tool parses your IaC files to understand the structure and configuration of the resources being defined — networks, storage, compute and more.
- 2
Security Rules
It applies predefined security rules and policies, looking for common misconfigurations: insecure defaults, improper network configurations, overly permissive access controls and outdated components.
- 3
Contextual Analysis
It analyzes how different parts of the infrastructure interact, identifying more complex issues that arise from interdependencies.
- 4
Reporting Findings
It generates a detailed report outlining the vulnerabilities found, categorized by severity, with actionable recommendations for remediation.
- 5
Continuous Integration
Integrated into your CI/CD pipeline, it runs continuous security checks so every infrastructure change is scanned before it's deployed.
Security baked into infrastructure from the ground up
IaC Security Scanning is crucial for organizations that manage infrastructure through code and need cloud environments that are secure from the outset. A common use case is during development, where templates are scanned before being applied to production — preventing breaches caused by misconfigurations or vulnerabilities. It's essential for teams adopting DevSecOps, enabling continuous security assessment as part of the automated deployment process.
Frequently asked questions
What is IaC security scanning?
It analyzes Infrastructure as Code templates — Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible and more — to detect security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations before they are applied to your cloud.
Which template formats are supported?
IaC templates such as Terraform, AWS CloudFormation and Ansible scripts.
What issues does it catch?
Insecure default settings, improper network configurations, overly permissive access controls, outdated or vulnerable components and complex issues arising from resource interdependencies.
Can it block risky infrastructure before deploy?
Yes. Integrated into your CI/CD pipeline, it scans every change before deployment so misconfigurations are caught pre-provisioning.
Is it suited to DevSecOps?
Yes. It enables continuous security assessment as part of the automated deployment process, baking security into infrastructure from the ground up.
Catch cloud risk before it's provisioned
Scan every template for misconfigurations before your infrastructure ever goes live.