---
title: Security
description: Security vulnerability reporting procedures and Microsoft's coordinated disclosure policy
author: Microsoft Security Response Center
ms.date: 2026-03-01
ms.topic: reference
keywords:
  - security
  - vulnerability reporting
  - MSRC
  - responsible disclosure
  - coordinated disclosure
  - SBOM
  - software bill of materials
  - SPDX
  - attestation
  - provenance
  - sigstore
  - in-toto
estimated_reading_time: 5
---

<!-- BEGIN MICROSOFT SECURITY.MD V0.0.9 BLOCK -->

Microsoft takes the security of our software products and services seriously, which includes all source code repositories managed through our GitHub organizations, which include [Microsoft](https://github.com/Microsoft), [Azure](https://github.com/Azure), [DotNet](https://github.com/dotnet), [AspNet](https://github.com/aspnet) and [Xamarin](https://github.com/xamarin).

If you believe you have found a security vulnerability in any Microsoft-owned repository that meets [Microsoft's definition of a security vulnerability](https://aka.ms/security.md/definition), please report it to us as described below.

## Reporting Security Issues

**Please do not report security vulnerabilities through public GitHub issues.**

Instead, please report them to the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) at [https://msrc.microsoft.com/create-report](https://aka.ms/security.md/msrc/create-report).

If you prefer to submit without logging in, send email to [secure@microsoft.com](mailto:secure@microsoft.com).  If possible, encrypt your message with our PGP key; please download it from the [Microsoft Security Response Center PGP Key page](https://aka.ms/security.md/msrc/pgp).

You should receive a response within 24 hours. If for some reason you do not, please follow up via email to ensure we received your original message. Additional information can be found at [microsoft.com/msrc](https://www.microsoft.com/msrc).

Please include the requested information listed below (as much as you can provide) to help us better understand the nature and scope of the possible issue:

* Type of issue (e.g. buffer overflow, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, etc.)
* Full paths of source file(s) related to the manifestation of the issue
* The location of the affected source code (tag/branch/commit or direct URL)
* Any special configuration required to reproduce the issue
* Step-by-step instructions to reproduce the issue
* Proof-of-concept or exploit code (if possible)
* Impact of the issue, including how an attacker might exploit the issue

This information will help us triage your report more quickly.

If you are reporting for a bug bounty, more complete reports can contribute to a higher bounty award. Please visit our [Microsoft Bug Bounty Program](https://aka.ms/security.md/msrc/bounty) page for more details about our active programs.

## Preferred Languages

We prefer all communications to be in English.

## Policy

Microsoft follows the principle of [Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure](https://aka.ms/security.md/cvd).

<!-- END MICROSOFT SECURITY.MD BLOCK -->

## Security Documentation

For comprehensive security documentation including security models and security controls, see [Security Documentation](docs/security/README.md).

## Verifying Release Integrity

HVE Core releases are cryptographically signed using GitHub Artifact Attestations. This establishes provenance and allows you to verify that release artifacts were built from this repository's official CI/CD pipeline.

### Verification Steps

1. Install the GitHub CLI if not already available:

   ```bash
   # Windows (winget)
   winget install GitHub.cli

   # macOS (Homebrew)
   brew install gh
   ```

2. Download the release artifact (replace `<version>` with the release tag, e.g., `v1.2.0`):

   ```bash
   gh release download <version> -R microsoft/hve-core -p '*.vsix'
   ```

3. Verify the attestation:

   ```bash
   # VSIX extension package
   gh attestation verify hve-core-<version>.vsix -R microsoft/hve-core

   # Plugin ZIP package (replace <plugin-id> with the collection id)
   gh attestation verify <plugin-id>.zip -R microsoft/hve-core
   ```

A successful verification confirms:

* The artifact was built from the microsoft/hve-core repository
* The build occurred in GitHub Actions
* The artifact has not been modified since signing

### Verifying the SBOM

Each release includes a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) in SPDX 2.3 JSON format, cryptographically attested using Sigstore. For verification steps, download instructions, inspection commands, and SPDX field reference, see the [SBOM Verification Guide](docs/security/sbom-verification.md).

### Release Artifact Formats

Each attested artifact produces a set of companion files uploaded alongside the primary asset:

| Suffix           | Format                 | Purpose                                        |
|------------------|------------------------|------------------------------------------------|
| `.spdx.json`     | SPDX 2.3 JSON          | Software Bill of Materials                     |
| `.sigstore.json` | Sigstore bundle (JSON) | Cryptographic attestation envelope             |
| `.intoto.jsonl`  | in-toto DSSE envelope  | Provenance statement extracted from the bundle |

The `.sigstore.json` bundle contains the full Sigstore verification material. The `.intoto.jsonl` file is the DSSE envelope extracted from the bundle for tools that consume in-toto provenance directly.

### What Gets Signed

| Artifact               | Channel         | Signed                |
|------------------------|-----------------|-----------------------|
| VSIX extension package | GitHub Releases | Yes                   |
| Plugin ZIP package     | GitHub Releases | Yes                   |
| Per-extension SBOM     | GitHub Releases | Yes                   |
| Per-plugin SBOM        | GitHub Releases | Yes                   |
| Dependency SBOM        | GitHub Releases | Yes                   |
| Dependency diff        | GitHub Releases | No                    |
| VS Code Marketplace    | Stable          | Marketplace signature |
| VS Code Marketplace    | Pre-Release     | Marketplace signature |

---

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