Delegated Alert Dismissal in GitHub Code Scanning: A Smarter Way to Manage Security

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Introduction

In a digital landscape increasingly governed by automation and continuous integration, security must scale with development. GitHub has just made a major move in enhancing its security infrastructure with the general availability of delegated alert dismissal for code scanning. This update is crucial for developers, security teams, and enterprise managers who need greater flexibility and control over how security alerts are managed, dismissed, and audited. By allowing review-based dismissal processes, GitHub brings a new layer of accountability and customization to code scanning, aligning with compliance and audit requirements while improving team collaboration.

the Update

GitHub’s code scanning now offers delegated alert dismissal, meaning alerts can’t just be dismissed by anyone—they must go through a review process when required. This is a significant enhancement aimed at reducing the risk of security oversights and ensuring alerts are handled responsibly.

Key Features Introduced:

Approval/Commenting on Alert Dismissals: Reviewers can now approve or reject a dismissal request with added context through comments, creating a transparent trail.
Enterprise-Level Management: Enterprises can now manage and review dismissal requests across all organizations via the security tab in the UI. Only enterprise owners have access to this dashboard.
REST API Support: Dismissal workflows can be automated and integrated via the REST API, with endpoints for creating, retrieving, and reviewing dismissal requests.
Permission Flexibility: Organizations can now assign granular permissions for alert dismissal:

View-only access

Review permissions

Bypass (self-approval) capabilities

This model allows security teams to delegate responsibilities without compromising security, as only those with the right roles can act on alerts in repositories they’re authorized to access.

Previously, only organization owners and security managers had dismissal control. Now, with custom roles, teams can scale reviews while maintaining visibility and control, a significant step toward DevSecOps maturity.

What Undercode Say: 🔍 Analysis & Insights

Enhanced Governance in Code Security

GitHub’s delegated alert dismissal brings governance to the forefront of application security. By introducing approval workflows, organizations can ensure that alerts—especially critical ones—are not silenced without proper scrutiny. This aligns with compliance standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and HIPAA, where audit trails and access control are essential.

Streamlined Workflows with REST API Integration

The ability to integrate alert dismissal into CI/CD workflows using the REST API allows teams to automate tedious parts of the triage process while maintaining oversight. This is particularly valuable for DevOps teams using GitHub Actions, where integrating the alert management process ensures smoother and faster development pipelines.

Role-Based Access Control for Security at Scale

With the new custom roles, GitHub has embraced the principle of least privilege. Teams can now assign very specific permissions, such as:

Allowing developers to see alerts but not act on them,

Granting security leads the power to approve dismissals,

Permitting certain trusted contributors to bypass review under strict conditions.

This modular approach helps minimize human error and insider threats—both leading causes of data breaches.

Cross-Organization Visibility for Enterprises

Enterprises often operate multiple GitHub organizations. This update empowers enterprise-level owners to view and manage dismissal activity across their ecosystem, providing a centralized view of potential security gaps, ideal for compliance teams and auditors.

Developer Enablement Without Sacrificing Security

By combining API automation, role delegation, and review flows, GitHub is supporting a shift-left security approach—allowing developers to take responsibility for security while still having oversight from reviewers. This aligns with agile workflows and reduces security bottlenecks.

✅ Fact Checker Results

GitHub did release delegated alert dismissal for code scanning as GA.
REST API access is available, but not at the enterprise level.
Custom roles now support specific alert dismissal permissions at the organization level only.

🔮 Prediction

GitHub’s delegated alert dismissal will likely become a best practice for DevSecOps teams in 2025 and beyond. As compliance and security scrutiny grows, especially in regulated industries, this feature will be a key enabler of scalable, auditable code security workflows. Expect further enhancements like graphical dashboards, GitHub Copilot integration for triage, and AI-assisted dismissal suggestions in the near future.

References:

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