Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Security detects IaC misconfigurations. By default, IaC Security scans repositories with all supported rules. You can customize which rules run and on which paths, as well as their severities and categories. Configure these settings under the iac key in the Code Security configuration, either in Datadog or in a code-security.datadog.yaml file.

For information on configuration locations, precedence, and merging, see Code Security Configuration Reference.

Configuration methods

You can configure IaC Security using:

• Datadog or a code-security.datadog.yaml file for repository-wide rule, severity, category, and path settings. Use this method when you want the same configuration to apply across a repository or organization.
• Inline comments for local, file-specific exclusions that should stay with the IaC file. Use this method when an exception applies to a specific line, block, or file.

Configuration format

The following configuration format applies to all configuration locations: org-level, repository-level, and repository-level (file).

The configuration file must begin with schema-version: v1.3, followed by an iac key containing the analysis configuration.

The full structure is as follows:

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  # Do not run these rules.
  ignore-rules:
    - A
    - B
  # Run only these rules. If this field is set, all other rules are ignored.
  use-rules:
    - A
  global-config:
    # Only analyze the following paths/files.
    only-paths:
      - "path/example"
      - "**/*.file"
    # Do not analyze the following paths/files.
    ignore-paths:
      - "path/example/directory"
      - "**/config.file"
    # Do not report findings with these severities.
    ignore-severities:
      - low
      - info
    # Report only findings with these severities.
    only-severities:
      - high
      - critical
    # Do not report findings in these categories.
    ignore-categories:
      - "Best Practices"
    # Report only findings in these categories.
    only-categories:
      - "Encryption"
    # Do not run rules from these platforms.
    ignore-platforms:
      - Dockerfile
    # Only run rules from these platforms.
    only-platforms:
      - Terraform
      - Kubernetes
  # Per-rule configurations.
  rule-configs:
    terraform-aws-s3-bucket-without-encryption:
      ignore-paths:
        - "test/"
      severity: low
    kubernetes-deployment-without-resource-limits:
      only-paths:
        - "k8s/production/"

The iac key supports the following fields:

Rule configuration

To modify which rules run:

• Run only specific rules: List them under use-rules
• Disable specific rules: List them under ignore-rules

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  ignore-rules:
    - A
    - B

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  use-rules:
    - A

Replace placeholders such as A and B with Code Security rule IDs. Legacy rule IDs are also supported for backward compatibility.

Global configuration

The global-config object controls repository-wide settings:

Severities

Use ignore-severities to ignore findings based on severity level. Use only-severities to report only specific severity levels.

Possible values:

• critical
• high
• medium
• low
• info

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  global-config:
    ignore-severities:
      - info
      - low

Paths

Use ignore-paths to exclude specific files or directories from scanning. Use only-paths to scan only specific files or directories. These options support glob patterns.

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  global-config:
    ignore-paths:
      - "path/example/directory"
      - "**/config.file"

Categories

Use ignore-categories to ignore findings in specific categories. Use only-categories to report only specific categories.

Possible values:

• Access Control
• Availability
• Backup
• Best Practices
• Bill Of Materials
• Build Process
• Encryption
• Insecure Configurations
• Insecure Defaults
• Networking and Firewall
• Observability
• Resource Management
• Secret Management
• Structure and Semantics
• Supply-Chain

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  global-config:
    ignore-categories:
      - "Access Control"
      - "Best Practices"

Platforms

Use ignore-platforms to skip specific platforms. Use only-platforms to restrict scanning to specific platforms.

Possible values:

• Ansible
• CICD
• CloudFormation
• Dockerfile
• Kubernetes
• Terraform

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  global-config:
    only-platforms:
      - Terraform
      - Kubernetes

Per-rule configuration

Use rule-configs to configure individual rules.

Each key under rule-configs is a rule ID. The following properties are supported per rule:

Per-rule path scoping

Exclude a rule from certain paths, or restrict it to specific paths:

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  rule-configs:
    terraform-aws-s3-bucket-without-encryption:
      # Do not apply this rule in test directories.
      ignore-paths:
        - "test/"
        - "**/testdata/"
    kubernetes-deployment-without-resource-limits:
      # Apply this rule only in production manifests.
      only-paths:
        - "k8s/production/"

Path patterns support glob syntax (*, **, ?). Paths are relative to the repository root.

Per-rule severity override

Change the severity of findings generated by a specific rule:

schema-version: v1.3
iac:
  rule-configs:
    terraform-aws-s3-bucket-without-encryption:
      severity: low

This severity applies to all findings generated by that rule.

Legacy configuration

IaC Security previously used a different configuration file (dd-iac-scan.config) and schema. This schema is deprecated and does not receive new updates, but it is documented in the datadog-iac-scanner repository.

A code-security.datadog.yaml file with an iac section takes precedence over dd-iac-scan.config if both are present.

Configure exclusions with an inline comment

To control which parts of a file are scanned, add a comment that contains dd-iac-scan, followed by a command and any required values. Prefix dd-iac-scan with the comment syntax for the file format. Inline exclusions apply only within the file where they are used.

Supported commands

dd-iac-scan ignore

Excludes the entire file from scanning. This comment must be placed at the beginning of the file to take effect.

# dd-iac-scan ignore

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "my-tf-test-bucket"
  ...
}
...

dd-iac-scan disable=rule_id

Excludes scan results for the specified rules in this file. This comment must be placed at the beginning of the file to take effect.

# dd-iac-scan disable=A,B

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "my-tf-test-bucket"
  ...
}
...

Findings from the specified rules are ignored for this file. Legacy rule IDs are also supported for backward compatibility.

dd-iac-scan enable=rule_id

Limits scan results in this file to only the specified rules. This comment must be placed at the beginning of the file to take effect.

# dd-iac-scan enable=A

resource "aws_s3_bucket" "example" {
  bucket = "my-tf-test-bucket"
  ...
}
...

Only findings from the specified rules are included in scan results for this file. Legacy rule IDs are also supported for backward compatibility.

dd-iac-scan ignore-line

Prevents scan results from flagging the line immediately after this comment. This comment can be placed anywhere in the file.

resource "google_storage_bucket" "example" {
  # dd-iac-scan ignore-line
  name          = "image-store.com"
  location      = "EU"
  force_destroy = true
}

In the previous example, findings on the highlighted line are ignored.

dd-iac-scan ignore-block

Prevents scan results from flagging an entire resource block and all its key-value pairs. This comment can be placed anywhere in the file.

# dd-iac-scan ignore-block
resource "google_storage_bucket" "example" {
  name          = "image-store.com"
  location      = "EU"
  force_destroy = true
}

In the previous example, findings on the highlighted block are ignored.

Further reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Prevent cloud misconfigurations from reaching production with Datadog IaC SecurityBLOG IaC SecurityDOCUMENTATION Set up IaC Security for Code SecurityDOCUMENTATION IaC Security RulesDOCUMENTATION