Managing False Positives
Learn how to identify, manage, and reduce false positive security findings to improve scan accuracy and team productivity.
15 minutes to read
All users
Goal: Reducing false positives improves scan quality and developer experience. Properly managed suppressions help focus on real security issues.
Common Types of False Positives
Understanding why false positives occur helps in managing them effectively
Framework-Specific
Common
Security patterns that are safe within specific frameworks
Common Examples:
- React dangerouslySetInnerHTML with sanitized input
- Django template auto-escaping
- Express.js built-in CSRF protection
Context-Dependent
Medium
Code that appears vulnerable but is protected by context
Common Examples:
- SQL queries in admin-only functions
- File operations in sandboxed environments
- Network calls in internal services
Legacy Code
Low
Older code patterns that were once vulnerable but now protected
Common Examples:
- Patched library vulnerabilities
- Fixed language constructs
- Updated security implementations
Development Environment
Common
Test code or development utilities flagged as production issues
Common Examples:
- Debug logging statements
- Test credentials
- Development-only endpoints
How to Handle False Positives
Step-by-step approaches for different false positive scenarios
Managing Individual False Positives
Mark as False Positive
Flag findings that are not actual security issues
- 1Review the finding context
- 2Verify it's truly safe
- 3Mark with justification
- 4Add to suppression list
Add Suppression Rule
Create rules to automatically suppress similar findings
- 1Identify the pattern
- 2Create suppression rule
- 3Test on similar code
- 4Deploy to team
Tracking False Positive Metrics
5%
Target False Positive Rate
24h
Average Resolution Time
95%
Accuracy After Tuning
Key Metrics to Monitor
- • False positive rate by rule type
- • Time to resolve false positives
- • Developer feedback sentiment
- • Suppression rule effectiveness
- • True positive confirmation rate
- • Overall scan accuracy improvement
Prevention Strategies
Proactive approaches to minimize false positives
Best Practices
- Use framework-specific rule sets
- Configure context-aware scanning
- Maintain accurate project metadata
- Regular rule tuning and updates
Configuration Tips
- Set appropriate severity thresholds
- Exclude test and build directories
- Use environment-specific configurations
- Enable incremental scan improvements
Next Steps
Continue improving your security scanning workflow