Add Vulnerability Advisory Source

This guide walks through the process of adding a new vulnerability advisory source to Trivy.

!!! info For an overview of how Trivy's vulnerability database works, see the Overview page.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

1. Identified the upstream advisory source and its API/format
2. Checked that the data source doesn't already exist in Trivy
3. Created a GitHub discussion or issue to discuss the addition

Required Changes

To add a new vulnerability advisory source, you'll need to make changes across three repositories. Below we'll use the Echo OS support as an example.

Step 1: Add Fetcher Script (vuln-list-update)

!!! note Skip this step if your advisory source is already managed in a Git repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab).

Create a fetcher script in vuln-list-update to collect advisories from the upstream source.

Key tasks:

• Fetch advisories from the upstream API or source
• Validate the advisory format and data
• Save advisories as JSON files in the vuln-list directory structure
• Store original data as-is where possible: Avoid preprocessing or modifying advisory fields. Save the raw data exactly as provided by the upstream source (format conversion like YAML to JSON is acceptable for consistency)
• Include all necessary metadata (CVE ID, affected versions, severity, etc.)

Example PR:

• feat(echo): Add Echo Support (vuln-list-update#350)

Step 2: Add Parser (trivy-db)

Create a parser in trivy-db to transform raw advisories into Trivy's database format.

Key tasks:

• Create a new vulnerability source in pkg/vulnsrc/
• Implement the advisory parsing logic
• Map advisory fields to Trivy's vulnerability schema
• Handle version ranges and affected packages correctly
• Store CVE mappings if available
• Add unit tests for the parser

Example PR:

• feat(echo): Add Echo Support (trivy-db#528)

Step 3: Add OS/Ecosystem Support (Trivy)

Update trivy to support the new operating system or package ecosystem.

Key tasks:

• Add OS analyzer in pkg/fanal/analyzer/os/ to detect the OS
• Implement vulnerability detection logic if special handling is needed
• Add integration tests with test data
• Update documentation to include the new data source

Example PR:

• feat(echo): Add Echo Support (trivy#8833)

Complete Example: Echo OS Support

The Echo OS support was added through three coordinated PRs:

1. vuln-list-update: Fetches Echo advisories from https://advisory.echohq.com/data.json
   • PR: https://github.com/aquasecurity/vuln-list-update/pull/350
2. trivy-db: Parses Echo advisories and stores them in the database
   • PR: https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy-db/pull/528
3. Trivy: Detects Echo OS and scans for vulnerabilities
   • PR: https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/pull/8833

Testing Your Changes

Test vuln-list-update

First, fetch all existing advisories (required for building the database):

cd vuln-list-update
go run main.go -vuln-list-dir /path/to/vuln-list

Then, test your new data source by fetching only your target:

go run main.go -target your-source -vuln-list-dir /path/to/vuln-list

Verify that advisories are correctly saved in the vuln-list directory.

Test trivy-db

cd trivy-db
make db-build CACHE_DIR=/path/to/cache

Check that the database is built without errors and contains your advisories.

!!! note The CACHE_DIR should point to the parent directory of your vuln-list directory. For example, if your vuln-list is at /tmp/test/vuln-list, set CACHE_DIR=/tmp/test.

You can inspect the built database using BoltDB viewer tools like boltwiz:

# Open the database
boltwiz out/trivy.db

This allows you to verify that your vulnerabilities are correctly stored in the database.

Test Trivy

# Build Trivy with your changes
mage build

# Use your local database
./trivy image --skip-db-update --cache-dir /path/to/cache your-test-image

Verify that vulnerabilities from your new data source are detected correctly.

Getting Help

If you have questions or need help:

1. Check existing data sources for reference implementations
2. Start a discussion in the Trivy repository