hive

Projects that follow the best practices below can voluntarily self-certify and show that they've achieved an Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) best practices badge.

There is no set of practices that can guarantee that software will never have defects or vulnerabilities; even formal methods can fail if the specifications or assumptions are wrong. Nor is there any set of practices that can guarantee that a project will sustain a healthy and well-functioning development community. However, following best practices can help improve the results of projects. For example, some practices enable multi-person review before release, which can both help find otherwise hard-to-find technical vulnerabilities and help build trust and a desire for repeated interaction among developers from different companies. To earn a badge, all MUST and MUST NOT criteria must be met, all SHOULD criteria must be met OR be unmet with justification, and all SUGGESTED criteria must be met OR unmet (we want them considered at least). If you want to enter justification text as a generic comment, instead of being a rationale that the situation is acceptable, start the text block with '//' followed by a space. Feedback is welcome via the GitHub site as issues or pull requests There is also a mailing list for general discussion.

We gladly provide the information in several locales, however, if there is any conflict or inconsistency between the translations, the English version is the authoritative version.
If this is your project, please show your badge status on your project page! The badge status looks like this: Badge level for project 14261 is passing Here is how to embed it:
You can show your badge status by embedding this in your markdown file:
[![OpenSSF Best Practices](https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/14261/badge)](https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/14261)
or by embedding this in your HTML:
<a href="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/14261"><img src="https://www.bestpractices.dev/projects/14261/badge"></a>


These are the Passing level criteria. You can also view the Silver or Gold level criteria.

Baseline Series: Baseline Level 1 Baseline Level 2 Baseline Level 3

        

 Basics 13/13 ●

  • General

    Note that other projects may use the same name.

    AI agent orchestration for open and closed source — a fully customizable fleet of AI agents covering every level of project maintenance, from brainstorming to full autonomy

    Please use SPDX license expression format; examples include "Apache-2.0", "BSD-2-Clause", "BSD-3-Clause", "GPL-2.0+", "LGPL-3.0+", "MIT", and "(BSD-2-Clause OR Ruby)". Do not include single quotes or double quotes.
    If there is more than one language, list them as comma-separated values (spaces optional) and sort them from most to least used. If there is a long list, please list at least the first three most common ones. If there is no language (e.g., this is a documentation-only or test-only project), use the single character "-". Please use a conventional capitalization for each language, e.g., "JavaScript".
    The Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) is a structured naming scheme for information technology systems, software, and packages. It is used in a number of systems and databases when reporting vulnerabilities.

  • Basic project website content


    Enough for a badge!

    The project website MUST succinctly describe what the software does (what problem does it solve?). [description_good]
    This MUST be in language that potential users can understand (e.g., it uses minimal jargon).

    The repo README and GitHub repo description both concisely state what Hive does: "AI agent orchestration for open source projects. A single Go binary enumerates GitHub issues and PRs, classifies them by complexity, and dispatches work to AI agents... on adaptive cadences governed by queue depth." See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project website MUST provide information on how to: obtain, provide feedback (as bug reports or enhancements), and contribute to the software. [interact]

    README.md documents install/quick-start ("obtain"), links CONTRIBUTING.md and SECURITY.md ("contribute" / "provide feedback"), and the repo has GitHub Issues and Discussions enabled. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The information on how to contribute MUST explain the contribution process (e.g., are pull requests used?) (URL required) [contribution]
    We presume that projects on GitHub use issues and pull requests unless otherwise noted. This information can be short, e.g., stating that the project uses pull requests, an issue tracker, or posts to a mailing list (which one?)

    CONTRIBUTING.md documents the contribution process end-to-end: repo layout, branch policy (v4 as base), local dev/build/test steps, style/DCO requirements, and links a dedicated getting-started guide for first-time contributors. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CONTRIBUTING.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The information on how to contribute SHOULD include the requirements for acceptable contributions (e.g., a reference to any required coding standard). (URL required) [contribution_requirements]

    CONTRIBUTING.md's "Style and quality" and "DCO sign-off" sections, plus .github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md, spell out acceptance requirements: gofmt, tests or an explanation when impractical, DCO sign-off, changelog entries for user-visible changes, and no committed secrets. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md


  • FLOSS license


    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST be released as FLOSS. [floss_license]
    FLOSS is software released in a way that meets the Open Source Definition or Free Software Definition. Examples of such licenses include the CC0, MIT, BSD 2-clause, BSD 3-clause revised, Apache 2.0, Lesser GNU General Public License (LGPL), and the GNU General Public License (GPL). For our purposes, this means that the license MUST be: The software MAY also be licensed other ways (e.g., "GPLv2 or proprietary" is acceptable).

    The project is licensed Apache License 2.0, an OSI-approved FLOSS license, at the repository root. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/LICENSE


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that any required license(s) for the software produced by the project be approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). [floss_license_osi]
    The OSI uses a rigorous approval process to determine which licenses are OSS.

    Apache License 2.0 is OSI-approved (https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0). GitHub's own license detector now reports apache-2.0 / spdx_id: Apache-2.0 for this repo after the license-text fix in PR #4901. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/LICENSE


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST post the license(s) of its results in a standard location in their source repository. (URL required) [license_location]
    One convention is posting the license as a top-level file named LICENSE or COPYING, which MAY be followed by an extension such as ".txt" or ".md". An alternative convention is to have a directory named LICENSES containing license file(s); these files are typically named as their SPDX license identifier followed by an appropriate file extension, as described in the REUSE Specification. Note that this criterion is only a requirement on the source repository. You do NOT need to include the license file when generating something from the source code (such as an executable, package, or container). For example, when generating an R package for the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN), follow standard CRAN practice: if the license is a standard license, use the standard short license specification (to avoid installing yet another copy of the text) and list the LICENSE file in an exclusion file such as .Rbuildignore. Similarly, when creating a Debian package, you may put a link in the copyright file to the license text in /usr/share/common-licenses, and exclude the license file from the created package (e.g., by deleting the file after calling dh_auto_install). We encourage including machine-readable license information in generated formats where practical.

    LICENSE is at the repository root in the standard location and is now byte-identical (aside from the copyright line) to the canonical Apache-2.0 text, per PR #4901. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/LICENSE


  • Documentation


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide basic documentation for the software produced by the project. [documentation_basics]
    This documentation must be in some media (such as text or video) that includes: how to install it, how to start it, how to use it (possibly with a tutorial using examples), and how to use it securely (e.g., what to do and what not to do) if that is an appropriate topic for the software. The security documentation need not be long. The project MAY use hypertext links to non-project material as documentation. If the project does not produce software, choose "not applicable" (N/A).

    README.md provides install, quick-start (Docker Compose and Podman paths), and configuration instructions; src/docs/ contains 107+ further docs including operator-reference.md and development.md covering day-to-day use. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide reference documentation that describes the external interface (both input and output) of the software produced by the project. [documentation_interface]
    The documentation of an external interface explains to an end-user or developer how to use it. This would include its application program interface (API) if the software has one. If it is a library, document the major classes/types and methods/functions that can be called. If it is a web application, define its URL interface (often its REST interface). If it is a command-line interface, document the parameters and options it supports. In many cases it's best if most of this documentation is automatically generated, so that this documentation stays synchronized with the software as it changes, but this isn't required. The project MAY use hypertext links to non-project material as documentation. Documentation MAY be automatically generated (where practical this is often the best way to do so). Documentation of a REST interface may be generated using Swagger/OpenAPI. Code interface documentation MAY be generated using tools such as JSDoc (JavaScript), ESDoc (JavaScript), pydoc (Python), devtools (R), pkgdown (R), and Doxygen (many). Merely having comments in implementation code is not sufficient to satisfy this criterion; there needs to be an easy way to see the information without reading through all the source code. If the project does not produce software, choose "not applicable" (N/A).

    src/docs/api-reference.md is a hand-maintained REST API reference (method, path, auth level, purpose, source location) for every dashboard/hub endpoint, kept current in the same change that adds or renames a route. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/docs/api-reference.md


  • Other


    Enough for a badge!

    The project sites (website, repository, and download URLs) MUST support HTTPS using TLS. [sites_https]
    This requires that the project home page URL and the version control repository URL begin with "https:", not "http:". You can get free certificates from Let's Encrypt. Projects MAY implement this criterion using (for example) GitHub pages, GitLab pages, or SourceForge project pages. If you support HTTP, we urge you to redirect the HTTP traffic to HTTPS.

    The project site (https://hive.kubestellar.io) and the repository (https://github.com/kubestellar/hive) are both served exclusively over HTTPS. See https://hive.kubestellar.io


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have one or more mechanisms for discussion (including proposed changes and issues) that are searchable, allow messages and topics to be addressed by URL, enable new people to participate in some of the discussions, and do not require client-side installation of proprietary software. [discussion]
    Examples of acceptable mechanisms include archived mailing list(s), GitHub issue and pull request discussions, Bugzilla, Mantis, and Trac. Asynchronous discussion mechanisms (like IRC) are acceptable if they meet these criteria; make sure there is a URL-addressable archiving mechanism. Proprietary JavaScript, while discouraged, is permitted.

    GitHub Issues and GitHub Discussions are both enabled on the repository (has_issues: true, has_discussions: true via the GitHub API) and are publicly searchable. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD provide documentation in English and be able to accept bug reports and comments about code in English. [english]
    English is currently the lingua franca of computer technology; supporting English increases the number of different potential developers and reviewers worldwide. A project can meet this criterion even if its core developers' primary language is not English.

    All documentation (README, CONTRIBUTING, docs/, src/docs/) is written in English, and issues/PRs are accepted and answered in English. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST be maintained. [maintained]
    As a minimum, the project should attempt to respond to significant problem and vulnerability reports. A project that is actively pursuing a badge is probably maintained. All projects and people have limited resources, and typical projects must reject some proposed changes, so limited resources and proposal rejections do not by themselves indicate an unmaintained project.

    When a project knows that it will no longer be maintained, it should set this criterion to "Unmet" and use the appropriate mechanism(s) to indicate to others that it is not being maintained. For example, use “DEPRECATED” as the first heading of its README, add “DEPRECATED” near the beginning of its home page, add “DEPRECATED” to the beginning of its code repository project description, add a no-maintenance-intended badge in its README and/or home page, mark it as deprecated in any package repositories (e.g., npm deprecate), and/or use the code repository's marking system to archive it (e.g., GitHub's "archive" setting, GitLab’s "archived" marking, Gerrit's "readonly" status, or SourceForge’s "abandoned" project status). Additional discussion can be found here.

    The v4 branch has commits within the last hour of this writing (e.g. commit 29f16db5, merged 2026-08-27), with dozens of issues and PRs opened/closed the same day — this is an actively maintained project, not dormant. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/commits/v4


 Change Control 9/9 ●

  • Public version-controlled source repository


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a version-controlled source repository that is publicly readable and has a URL. [repo_public]
    The URL MAY be the same as the project URL. The project MAY use private (non-public) branches in specific cases while the change is not publicly released (e.g., for fixing a vulnerability before it is revealed to the public).

    The source repository is hosted publicly on GitHub at github.com/kubestellar/hive with no access restriction. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive


    Enough for a badge!

    The project's source repository MUST track what changes were made, who made the changes, and when the changes were made. [repo_track]

    Git tracks every change, author, and timestamp; GitHub additionally records PR review history and requires DCO sign-off (enforced by .github/workflows/copilot-dco.yml and PR template checklist) attributing each change to a real identity. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/commits/v4


    Enough for a badge!

    To enable collaborative review, the project's source repository MUST include interim versions for review between releases; it MUST NOT include only final releases. [repo_interim]
    Projects MAY choose to omit specific interim versions from their public source repositories (e.g., ones that fix specific non-public security vulnerabilities, may never be publicly released, or include material that cannot be legally posted and are not in the final release).

    The repository has continuous commit history between the single tagged release (v4.0.0) and the current HEAD — every merged PR is visible and reviewable, not just tagged releases. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/commits/v4


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that common distributed version control software be used (e.g., git) for the project's source repository. [repo_distributed]
    Git is not specifically required and projects can use centralized version control software (such as subversion) with justification.

    The project uses Git, a common distributed version control system, hosted on GitHub. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive


  • Unique version numbering


    Enough for a badge!

    The project results MUST have a unique version identifier for each release intended to be used by users. [version_unique]
    This MAY be met in a variety of ways including a commit IDs (such as git commit id or mercurial changeset id) or a version number (including version numbers that use semantic versioning or date-based schemes like YYYYMMDD).

    Releases get a unique, immutable semver tag; v4.0.0 was tagged 2026-08-27, and CI (.github/workflows/release.yml) automatically derives and cuts the next unique vX.Y.Z tag from CHANGELOG.md's ## Unreleased section on every qualifying merge. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/releases/tag/v4.0.0


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that the Semantic Versioning (SemVer) or Calendar Versioning (CalVer) version numbering format be used for releases. It is SUGGESTED that those who use CalVer include a micro level value. [version_semver]
    Projects should generally prefer whatever format is expected by their users, e.g., because it is the normal format used by their ecosystem. Many ecosystems prefer SemVer, and SemVer is generally preferred for application programmer interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs). CalVer tends to be used by projects that are large, have an unusually large number of independently-developed dependencies, have a constantly-changing scope, or are time-sensitive. It is SUGGESTED that those who use CalVer include a micro level value, because including a micro level supports simultaneously-maintained branches whenever that becomes necessary. Other version numbering formats may be used as version numbers, including git commit IDs or mercurial changeset IDs, as long as they uniquely identify versions. However, some alternatives (such as git commit IDs) can cause problems as release identifiers, because users may not be able to easily determine if they are up-to-date. The version ID format may be unimportant for identifying software releases if all recipients only run the latest version (e.g., it is the code for a single website or internet service that is constantly updated via continuous delivery).

    Releases follow Semantic Versioning (vX.Y.Z); src/scripts/derive-release-version.sh infers major/minor/patch bumps from CHANGELOG.md section headers (### Security→major, ### Added→minor, else patch), documented in src/docs/releases.md. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/docs/releases.md


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that projects identify each release within their version control system. For example, it is SUGGESTED that those using git identify each release using git tags. [version_tags]

    Each release is identified with an immutable git tag (e.g. v4.0.0) created automatically by .github/workflows/release.yml, plus a corresponding GitHub Release. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/releases/tag/v4.0.0


  • Release notes


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide, in each release, release notes that are a human-readable summary of major changes in that release to help users determine if they should upgrade and what the upgrade impact will be. The release notes MUST NOT be the raw output of a version control log (e.g., the "git log" command results are not release notes). Projects whose results are not intended for reuse in multiple locations (such as the software for a single website or service) AND employ continuous delivery MAY select "N/A". (URL required) [release_notes]
    The release notes MAY be implemented in a variety of ways. Many projects provide them in a file named "NEWS", "CHANGELOG", or "ChangeLog", optionally with extensions such as ".txt", ".md", or ".html". Historically the term "change log" meant a log of every change, but to meet these criteria what is needed is a human-readable summary. The release notes MAY instead be provided by version control system mechanisms such as the GitHub Releases workflow.

    CHANGELOG.md provides human-readable release notes maintained per-PR under ## Unreleased, moved into dated/versioned sections at release time; v4.0.0's GitHub Release page carries generated notes plus attached SBOMs. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/releases/tag/v4.0.0


    Enough for a badge!

    The release notes MUST identify every publicly known run-time vulnerability fixed in this release that already had a CVE assignment or similar when the release was created. This criterion may be marked as not applicable (N/A) if users typically cannot practically update the software themselves (e.g., as is often true for kernel updates). This criterion applies only to the project results, not to its dependencies. If there are no release notes or there have been no publicly known vulnerabilities, choose N/A. [release_notes_vulns]
    This criterion helps users determine if a given update will fix a vulnerability that is publicly known, to help users make an informed decision about updating. If users typically cannot practically update the software themselves on their computers, but must instead depend on one or more intermediaries to perform the update (as is often the case for a kernel and low-level software that is intertwined with a kernel), the project may choose "not applicable" (N/A) instead, since this additional information will not be helpful to those users. Similarly, a project may choose N/A if all recipients only run the latest version (e.g., it is the code for a single website or internet service that is constantly updated via continuous delivery). This criterion only applies to the project results, not its dependencies. Listing the vulnerabilities of all transitive dependencies of a project becomes unwieldy as dependencies increase and vary, and is unnecessary since tools that examine and track dependencies can do this in a more scalable way.

    No publicly known runtime vulnerability has yet been fixed in a hive release to disclose; the CHANGELOG.md convention already includes a ### Security subsection that maintainers use for security-relevant changes, so the mechanism exists but has not yet been exercised against an actual disclosed vulnerability. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CHANGELOG.md


 Reporting 8/8 ●

  • Bug-reporting process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST provide a process for users to submit bug reports (e.g., using an issue tracker or a mailing list). (URL required) [report_process]

    GitHub Issues (with templates for bug reports, feature requests, and guide gaps) is the documented bug-reporting process, linked from README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD use an issue tracker for tracking individual issues. [report_tracker]

    The project uses GitHub Issues as its issue tracker for individual bug reports and feature requests. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST acknowledge a majority of bug reports submitted in the last 2-12 months (inclusive); the response need not include a fix. [report_responses]

    The project responds to bug reports and enhancement requests within 5 business days. Issue history shows the substantial majority answered same-day. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD respond to a majority (>50%) of enhancement requests in the last 2-12 months (inclusive). [enhancement_responses]
    The response MAY be 'no' or a discussion about its merits. The goal is simply that there be some response to some requests, which indicates that the project is still alive. For purposes of this criterion, projects need not count fake requests (e.g., from spammers or automated systems). If a project is no longer making enhancements, please select "unmet" and include the URL that makes this situation clear to users. If a project tends to be overwhelmed by the number of enhancement requests, please select "unmet" and explain.

    The project responds to bug reports and enhancement requests within 5 business days. Issue history shows the substantial majority answered same-day. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a publicly available archive for reports and responses for later searching. (URL required) [report_archive]

    GitHub Issues provides a publicly available, permanent, searchable archive of all bug reports and their responses. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/issues?q=is%3Aissue


  • Vulnerability report process


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST publish the process for reporting vulnerabilities on the project site. (URL required) [vulnerability_report_process]
    Projects hosted on GitHub SHOULD consider enabling privately reporting a security vulnerability. Projects on GitLab SHOULD consider using its ability for privately reporting a vulnerability. Projects MAY identify a mailing address on https://PROJECTSITE/security, often in the form security@example.org. This vulnerability reporting process MAY be the same as its bug reporting process. Vulnerability reports MAY always be public, but many projects have a private vulnerability reporting mechanism.

    SECURITY.md at the repo root documents the vulnerability-reporting process (GitHub private security advisories via the Security tab's "Report a vulnerability" flow) and what to include in a report. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/SECURITY.md


    Enough for a badge!

    If private vulnerability reports are supported, the project MUST include how to send the information in a way that is kept private. (URL required) [vulnerability_report_private]
    Examples include a private defect report submitted on the web using HTTPS (TLS) or an email encrypted using OpenPGP. If vulnerability reports are always public (so there are never private vulnerability reports), choose "not applicable" (N/A).

    SECURITY.md explicitly documents private reporting via GitHub's "Report a vulnerability" private security-advisory flow, with a fallback of contacting a maintainer directly if that is unavailable. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/SECURITY.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The project's initial response time for any vulnerability report received in the last 6 months MUST be less than or equal to 14 days. [vulnerability_report_response]
    If there have been no vulnerabilities reported in the last 6 months, choose "not applicable" (N/A).

    SECURITY.md commits to acknowledging a report within 5 business days, well inside the 14-day requirement, and the maintainer confirms this is an honored commitment. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/SECURITY.md


 Quality 13/13 ●

  • Working build system


    Enough for a badge!

    If the software produced by the project requires building for use, the project MUST provide a working build system that can automatically rebuild the software from source code. [build]
    A build system determines what actions need to occur to rebuild the software (and in what order), and then performs those steps. For example, it can invoke a compiler to compile the source code. If an executable is created from source code, it must be possible to modify the project's source code and then generate an updated executable with those modifications. If the software produced by the project depends on external libraries, the build system does not need to build those external libraries. If there is no need to build anything to use the software after its source code is modified, select "not applicable" (N/A).

    The project provides a working Go build system (cd src && go build ./...), documented in README.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, and docs/development.md, and exercised by CI in .github/workflows/v2-ci.yml. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that common tools be used for building the software. [build_common_tools]
    For example, Maven, Ant, cmake, the autotools, make, rake (Ruby), or devtools (R).

    The project builds with the standard Go toolchain (go build), a common FLOSS build tool for Go projects, with the exact version pinned in src/go.mod. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/go.mod


    Enough for a badge!

    The project SHOULD be buildable using only FLOSS tools. [build_floss_tools]

    The entire build (Go toolchain, gofmt, go vet, go test, Docker/Podman for containerization) uses only FLOSS tooling; no proprietary compiler or build tool is required. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


  • Automated test suite


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use at least one automated test suite that is publicly released as FLOSS (this test suite may be maintained as a separate FLOSS project). The project MUST clearly show or document how to run the test suite(s) (e.g., via a continuous integration (CI) script or via documentation in files such as BUILD.md, README.md, or CONTRIBUTING.md). [test]
    The project MAY use multiple automated test suites (e.g., one that runs quickly, vs. another that is more thorough but requires special equipment). There are many test frameworks and test support systems available, including Selenium (web browser automation), Junit (JVM, Java), RUnit (R), testthat (R).

    The project has 1,280 _test.go files under src/, released as FLOSS under the same Apache-2.0 license as the rest of the codebase, run via go test ./.... See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-tests.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    A test suite SHOULD be invocable in a standard way for that language. [test_invocation]
    For example, "make check", "mvn test", or "rake test" (Ruby).

    The test suite is invocable the standard way for Go (go test ./... from src/), documented in docs/development.md and CONTRIBUTING.md. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/docs/development.md


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that the test suite cover most (or ideally all) the code branches, input fields, and functionality. [test_most]

    CI enforces coverage floors via .github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml and shards the suite (v2-tests.yml) across pkg/hub, pkg/agent, and the rest of the module with -race -short -count=1, indicating broad, continuously measured coverage rather than a token test. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that the project implement continuous integration (where new or changed code is frequently integrated into a central code repository and automated tests are run on the result). [test_continuous_integration]

    The project runs continuous integration on every push and PR to v4 via .github/workflows/v2-ci.yml and .github/workflows/v2-tests.yml, plus an hourly scheduled coverage/regression run. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


  • New functionality testing


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have a general policy (formal or not) that as major new functionality is added to the software produced by the project, tests of that functionality should be added to an automated test suite. [test_policy]
    As long as a policy is in place, even by word of mouth, that says developers should add tests to the automated test suite for major new functionality, select "Met."

    CONTRIBUTING.md states an explicit test policy: a change to behavior must come with a test that would fail without it, bug fixes add a reproducing test, and security changes must assert the invariant rather than merely call the guard. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CONTRIBUTING.md#test-policy


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have evidence that the test_policy for adding tests has been adhered to in the most recent major changes to the software produced by the project. [tests_are_added]
    Major functionality would typically be mentioned in the release notes. Perfection is not required, merely evidence that tests are typically being added in practice to the automated test suite when new major functionality is added to the software produced by the project.

    Recent merged PRs demonstrate the practice in the wild, e.g. commit 1bbfd559 "add unit tests for bd decompose CLI (0% -> 85% file coverage)" merged 2026-08-27, and the coverage-hourly workflow's floor-ratchet mechanism catches regressions in test coverage on new code. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that this policy on adding tests (see test_policy) be documented in the instructions for change proposals. [tests_documented_added]
    However, even an informal rule is acceptable as long as the tests are being added in practice.

    The documented test policy in CONTRIBUTING.md requires tests for new or changed behavior and explains what is expected when a test is genuinely impractical. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CONTRIBUTING.md#test-policy


  • Warning flags


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST enable one or more compiler warning flags, a "safe" language mode, or use a separate "linter" tool to look for code quality errors or common simple mistakes, if there is at least one FLOSS tool that can implement this criterion in the selected language. [warnings]
    Examples of compiler warning flags include gcc/clang "-Wall". Examples of a "safe" language mode include JavaScript "use strict" and perl5's "use warnings". A separate "linter" tool is simply a tool that examines the source code to look for code quality errors or common simple mistakes. These are typically enabled within the source code or build instructions.

    go vet ./... (a FLOSS static-analysis/warning tool bundled with the Go toolchain) runs in CI on every push/PR to v4. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST address warnings. [warnings_fixed]
    These are the warnings identified by the implementation of the warnings criterion. The project should fix warnings or mark them in the source code as false positives. Ideally there would be no warnings, but a project MAY accept some warnings (typically less than 1 warning per 100 lines or less than 10 warnings).

    go vet ./... is a required CI step (.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml) that fails the build on any vet warning, so warnings cannot merge unaddressed. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that projects be maximally strict with warnings in the software produced by the project, where practical. [warnings_strict]
    Some warnings cannot be effectively enabled on some projects. What is needed is evidence that the project is striving to enable warning flags where it can, so that errors are detected early.

    go vet plus golangci-lint (govet, misspell enforcing) run on every PR and fail the build on findings. Additional linters are enabled progressively as their backlogs are cleared, tracked in issue #4903. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/.golangci.yml


 Security 16/16 ●

  • Secure development knowledge


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST have at least one primary developer who knows how to design secure software. (See ‘details’ for the exact requirements.) [know_secure_design]
    This requires understanding the following design principles, including the 8 principles from Saltzer and Schroeder:
    • economy of mechanism (keep the design as simple and small as practical, e.g., by adopting sweeping simplifications)
    • fail-safe defaults (access decisions should deny by default, and projects' installation should be secure by default)
    • complete mediation (every access that might be limited must be checked for authority and be non-bypassable)
    • open design (security mechanisms should not depend on attacker ignorance of its design, but instead on more easily protected and changed information like keys and passwords)
    • separation of privilege (ideally, access to important objects should depend on more than one condition, so that defeating one protection system won't enable complete access. E.G., multi-factor authentication, such as requiring both a password and a hardware token, is stronger than single-factor authentication)
    • least privilege (processes should operate with the least privilege necessary)
    • least common mechanism (the design should minimize the mechanisms common to more than one user and depended on by all users, e.g., directories for temporary files)
    • psychological acceptability (the human interface must be designed for ease of use - designing for "least astonishment" can help)
    • limited attack surface (the attack surface - the set of the different points where an attacker can try to enter or extract data - should be limited)
    • input validation with allowlists (inputs should typically be checked to determine if they are valid before they are accepted; this validation should use allowlists (which only accept known-good values), not denylists (which attempt to list known-bad values)).
    A "primary developer" in a project is anyone who is familiar with the project's code base, is comfortable making changes to it, and is acknowledged as such by most other participants in the project. A primary developer would typically make a number of contributions over the past year (via code, documentation, or answering questions). Developers would typically be considered primary developers if they initiated the project (and have not left the project more than three years ago), have the option of receiving information on a private vulnerability reporting channel (if there is one), can accept commits on behalf of the project, or perform final releases of the project software. If there is only one developer, that individual is the primary developer. Many books and courses are available to help you understand how to develop more secure software and discuss design. For example, the Secure Software Development Fundamentals course is a free set of three courses that explain how to develop more secure software (it's free if you audit it; for an extra fee you can earn a certificate to prove you learned the material).

    The codebase shows deliberate secure-design practices throughout — e.g. the MITM proxy's operation-level allow/deny gating with fail-closed defaults (src/pkg/proxy), setuid-bit stripping in the container build, and least-privilege GitHub Actions permissions blocks across all 27 workflows — evidence that the primary developer designs with security in mind. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CHANGELOG.md


    Enough for a badge!

    At least one of the project's primary developers MUST know of common kinds of errors that lead to vulnerabilities in this kind of software, as well as at least one method to counter or mitigate each of them. [know_common_errors]
    Examples (depending on the type of software) include SQL injection, OS injection, classic buffer overflow, cross-site scripting, missing authentication, and missing authorization. See the CWE/SANS top 25 or OWASP Top 10 for commonly used lists. Many books and courses are available to help you understand how to develop more secure software and discuss common implementation errors that lead to vulnerabilities. For example, the Secure Software Development Fundamentals course is a free set of three courses that explain how to develop more secure software (it's free if you audit it; for an extra fee you can earn a certificate to prove you learned the material).

    CHANGELOG.md documents multiple proactive security fixes addressing common vulnerability classes: pinning a mutable Action tag to an immutable SHA to prevent supply-chain compromise (#4642), stripping setuid/setgid binaries to prevent privilege escalation (#3866), and gating outbound agent traffic to prevent data exfiltration (#4492) — showing working knowledge of common vulnerability classes (supply chain, privilege escalation, exfiltration/SSRF-adjacent). See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/CHANGELOG.md


  • Use basic good cryptographic practices

    Note that some software does not need to use cryptographic mechanisms. If your project produces software that (1) includes, activates, or enables encryption functionality, and (2) might be released from the United States (US) to outside the US or to a non-US-citizen, you may be legally required to take a few extra steps. Typically this just involves sending an email. For more information, see the encryption section of Understanding Open Source Technology & US Export Controls.

    Enough for a badge!

    The software produced by the project MUST use, by default, only cryptographic protocols and algorithms that are publicly published and reviewed by experts (if cryptographic protocols and algorithms are used). [crypto_published]
    These cryptographic criteria do not always apply because some software has no need to directly use cryptographic capabilities.

    Hive uses only Go's standard-library cryptography (crypto/tls, crypto/rand, crypto/sha256, crypto/ecdsa, crypto/rsa) for TLS and OIDC/OAuth flows; it implements no bespoke or non-public cryptographic protocol, so this and the following crypto criteria are addressed by inheriting Go stdlib's publicly-published, standard algorithms. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/auth/oidc_provider.go


    Enough for a badge!

    If the software produced by the project is an application or library, and its primary purpose is not to implement cryptography, then it SHOULD only call on software specifically designed to implement cryptographic functions; it SHOULD NOT re-implement its own. [crypto_call]

    All cryptographic operations (TLS, OIDC/OAuth, key handling) call directly into Go's standard crypto/* packages rather than a bespoke implementation; there is no separate crypto library choice to evaluate beyond the stdlib itself. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/claude/oauth.go


    Enough for a badge!

    All functionality in the software produced by the project that depends on cryptography MUST be implementable using FLOSS. [crypto_floss]
    See the Open Standards Requirement for Software by the Open Source Initiative.

    Go's standard crypto/* packages are themselves FLOSS (BSD-style Go license) and are what Hive exclusively depends on for all cryptographic functionality. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/config/appkey.go


    Enough for a badge!

    The security mechanisms within the software produced by the project MUST use default keylengths that at least meet the NIST minimum requirements through the year 2030 (as stated in 2012). It MUST be possible to configure the software so that smaller keylengths are completely disabled. [crypto_keylength]
    These minimum bitlengths are: symmetric key 112, factoring modulus 2048, discrete logarithm key 224, discrete logarithmic group 2048, elliptic curve 224, and hash 224 (password hashing is not covered by this bitlength, more information on password hashing can be found in the crypto_password_storage criterion). See https://www.keylength.com for a comparison of keylength recommendations from various organizations. The software MAY allow smaller keylengths in some configurations (ideally it would not, since this allows downgrade attacks, but shorter keylengths are sometimes necessary for interoperability).

    Hive does not set custom/reduced key lengths; it uses Go stdlib defaults (crypto/tls, crypto/ecdsa, crypto/rsa) which meet or exceed current NIST minimums out of the box, so there is no project-specific keylength configuration to assess. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/auth/oidc_provider.go


    Enough for a badge!

    The default security mechanisms within the software produced by the project MUST NOT depend on broken cryptographic algorithms (e.g., MD4, MD5, single DES, RC4, Dual_EC_DRBG), or use cipher modes that are inappropriate to the context, unless they are necessary to implement an interoperable protocol (where the protocol implemented is the most recent version of that standard broadly supported by the network ecosystem, that ecosystem requires the use of such an algorithm or mode, and that ecosystem does not offer any more secure alternative). The documentation MUST describe any relevant security risks and any known mitigations if these broken algorithms or modes are necessary for an interoperable protocol. [crypto_working]
    ECB mode is almost never appropriate because it reveals identical blocks within the ciphertext as demonstrated by the ECB penguin, and CTR mode is often inappropriate because it does not perform authentication and causes duplicates if the input state is repeated. In many cases it's best to choose a block cipher algorithm mode designed to combine secrecy and authentication, e.g., Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) and EAX. Projects MAY allow users to enable broken mechanisms (e.g., during configuration) where necessary for compatibility, but then users know they're doing it.

    No broken cryptographic algorithm (e.g. MD5/SHA-1 for security purposes, DES) is used as a default anywhere Hive implements security mechanisms; SHA-256 and stdlib TLS defaults are used. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/config/appkey.go


    Enough for a badge!

    The default security mechanisms within the software produced by the project SHOULD NOT depend on cryptographic algorithms or modes with known serious weaknesses (e.g., the SHA-1 cryptographic hash algorithm or the CBC mode in SSH). [crypto_weaknesses]
    Concerns about CBC mode in SSH are discussed in CERT: SSH CBC vulnerability.

    No algorithm with known serious weaknesses is used by default; Hive relies on Go's stdlib TLS/crypto defaults, which are actively maintained and do not default to weak algorithms. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/auth/oidc_provider.go


    Enough for a badge!

    The security mechanisms within the software produced by the project SHOULD implement perfect forward secrecy for key agreement protocols so a session key derived from a set of long-term keys cannot be compromised if one of the long-term keys is compromised in the future. [crypto_pfs]

    TLS key agreement is handled entirely by Go's stdlib crypto/tls, which negotiates modern cipher suites supporting perfect forward secrecy (ECDHE) by default; Hive does not implement or configure a custom key-agreement protocol. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/auth/oidc_provider.go


    Enough for a badge!

    If the software produced by the project causes the storing of passwords for authentication of external users, the passwords MUST be stored as iterated hashes with a per-user salt by using a key stretching (iterated) algorithm (e.g., Argon2id, Bcrypt, Scrypt, or PBKDF2). See also OWASP Password Storage Cheat Sheet. [crypto_password_storage]
    This criterion applies only when the software is enforcing authentication of users using passwords for external users (aka inbound authentication), such as server-side web applications. It does not apply in cases where the software stores passwords for authenticating into other systems (aka outbound authentication, e.g., the software implements a client for some other system), since at least parts of that software must have often access to the unhashed password.

    Hive does not store user passwords — authentication is via GitHub/Google OAuth and dashboard bearer tokens (HIVE_DASHBOARD_TOKEN), not a locally-stored password credential requiring iterated hashing. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    The security mechanisms within the software produced by the project MUST generate all cryptographic keys and nonces using a cryptographically secure random number generator, and MUST NOT do so using generators that are cryptographically insecure. [crypto_random]
    A cryptographically secure random number generator may be a hardware random number generator, or it may be a cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generator (CSPRNG) using an algorithm such as Hash_DRBG, HMAC_DRBG, CTR_DRBG, Yarrow, or Fortuna. Examples of calls to secure random number generators include Java's java.security.SecureRandom and JavaScript's window.crypto.getRandomValues. Examples of calls to insecure random number generators include Java's java.util.Random and JavaScript's Math.random.

    Hive generates keys/tokens/nonces via Go's crypto/rand (cryptographically secure PRNG), e.g. openssl rand -hex 32 is used for HIVE_DASHBOARD_TOKEN generation and crypto/rand is used in src/pkg/config/appkey.go for key material — not math/rand. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/pkg/config/appkey.go


  • Secured delivery against man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks


    Enough for a badge!

    The project MUST use a delivery mechanism that counters MITM attacks. Using https or ssh+scp is acceptable. [delivery_mitm]
    An even stronger mechanism is releasing the software with digitally signed packages, since that mitigates attacks on the distribution system, but this only works if the users can be confident that the public keys for signatures are correct and if the users will actually check the signature.

    The project is delivered via HTTPS-cloned Git from GitHub and multi-arch container images from GHCR pulled over HTTPS/TLS, both of which counter MITM attacks by default; no unencrypted delivery channel is offered. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/README.md


    Enough for a badge!

    A cryptographic hash (e.g., a sha1sum) MUST NOT be retrieved over http and used without checking for a cryptographic signature. [delivery_unsigned]
    These hashes can be modified in transit.

    No cryptographic hash is distributed over plain HTTP without a signature; container images are pulled by digest over HTTPS from GHCR, and release artifacts (including SBOMs) are attached to GitHub Releases served over HTTPS. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/src/docs/releases.md


  • Publicly known vulnerabilities fixed


    Enough for a badge!

    There MUST be no unpatched vulnerabilities of medium or higher severity that have been publicly known for more than 60 days. [vulnerabilities_fixed_60_days]
    The vulnerability must be patched and released by the project itself (patches may be developed elsewhere). A vulnerability becomes publicly known (for this purpose) once it has a CVE with publicly released non-paywalled information (reported, for example, in the National Vulnerability Database) or when the project has been informed and the information has been released to the public (possibly by the project). A vulnerability is considered medium or higher severity if its Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base qualitative score is medium or higher. In CVSS versions 2.0 through 3.1, this is equivalent to a CVSS score of 4.0 or higher. Projects may use the CVSS score as published in a widely-used vulnerability database (such as the National Vulnerability Database) using the most-recent version of CVSS reported in that database. Projects may instead calculate the severity themselves using the latest version of CVSS at the time of the vulnerability disclosure, if the calculation inputs are publicly revealed once the vulnerability is publicly known. Note: this means that users might be left vulnerable to all attackers worldwide for up to 60 days. This criterion is often much easier to meet than what Google recommends in Rebooting responsible disclosure, because Google recommends that the 60-day period start when the project is notified even if the report is not public. Also note that this badge criterion, like other criteria, applies to the individual project. Some projects are part of larger umbrella organizations or larger projects, possibly in multiple layers, and many projects feed their results to other organizations and projects as part of a potentially-complex supply chain. An individual project often cannot control the rest, but an individual project can work to release a vulnerability patch in a timely way. Therefore, we focus solely on the individual project's response time. Once a patch is available from the individual project, others can determine how to deal with the patch (e.g., they can update to the newer version or they can apply just the patch as a cherry-picked solution).

    The project commits to fixing publicly-known vulnerabilities within 60 days of disclosure. govulncheck runs in CI on every PR and weekly, and currently reports no reachable known-vulnerable symbol. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/go-security-analysis.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    Projects SHOULD fix all critical vulnerabilities rapidly after they are reported. [vulnerabilities_critical_fixed]

    There are no known unpatched critical vulnerabilities. govulncheck gates every PR and runs weekly to catch advisories published against unchanged code. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/go-security-analysis.yml


  • Other security issues


    Enough for a badge!

    The public repositories MUST NOT leak a valid private credential (e.g., a working password or private key) that is intended to limit public access. [no_leaked_credentials]
    A project MAY leak "sample" credentials for testing and unimportant databases, as long as they are not intended to limit public access.

    .gitignore excludes .env, *.env, and all secret/key file patterns at the root and in nested config dirs; I found no credential material committed to the v4 tree in this investigation, and the project actively hardens against credential exposure (e.g. MITM proxy CA key permission hardening in CHANGELOG's #3866 entry). See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.gitignore


 Analysis 8/8 ●

  • Static code analysis


    Enough for a badge!

    At least one static code analysis tool (beyond compiler warnings and "safe" language modes) MUST be applied to any proposed major production release of the software before its release, if there is at least one FLOSS tool that implements this criterion in the selected language. [static_analysis]
    A static code analysis tool examines the software code (as source code, intermediate code, or executable) without executing it with specific inputs. For purposes of this criterion, compiler warnings and "safe" language modes do not count as static code analysis tools (these typically avoid deep analysis because speed is vital). Some static analysis tools focus on detecting generic defects, others focus on finding specific kinds of defects (such as vulnerabilities), and some do a combination. Examples of such static code analysis tools include cppcheck (C, C++), clang static analyzer (C, C++), SpotBugs (Java), FindBugs (Java) (including FindSecurityBugs), PMD (Java), Brakeman (Ruby on Rails), lintr (R), goodpractice (R), Coverity Quality Analyzer, SonarQube, Codacy, and HP Enterprise Fortify Static Code Analyzer. Larger lists of tools can be found in places such as the Wikipedia list of tools for static code analysis, OWASP information on static code analysis, NIST list of source code security analyzers, and Wheeler's list of static analysis tools. If there are no FLOSS static analysis tools available for the implementation language(s) used, you may select 'N/A'.

    golangci-lint and gosec run on every PR and push, alongside go vet, via the Go Security Analysis workflow. golangci-lint is enforcing; gosec currently reports findings without blocking while a pre-existing backlog is drained (tracked in issue #4903). See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/go-security-analysis.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that at least one of the static analysis tools used for the static_analysis criterion include rules or approaches to look for common vulnerabilities in the analyzed language or environment. [static_analysis_common_vulnerabilities]
    Static analysis tools that are specifically designed to look for common vulnerabilities are more likely to find them. That said, using any static tools will typically help find some problems, so we are suggesting but not requiring this for the 'passing' level badge.

    gosec scans for common Go vulnerability classes (command injection, weak randomness, integer overflow, unsafe permissions) on every PR. It reports rather than blocks today; the ratchet to blocking is tracked in issue #4903. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/go-security-analysis.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    All medium and higher severity exploitable vulnerabilities discovered with static code analysis MUST be fixed in a timely way after they are confirmed. [static_analysis_fixed]
    A vulnerability is considered medium or higher severity if its Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base qualitative score is medium or higher. In CVSS versions 2.0 through 3.1, this is equivalent to a CVSS score of 4.0 or higher. Projects may use the CVSS score as published in a widely-used vulnerability database (such as the National Vulnerability Database) using the most-recent version of CVSS reported in that database. Projects may instead calculate the severity themselves using the latest version of CVSS at the time of the vulnerability disclosure, if the calculation inputs are publicly revealed once the vulnerability is publicly known. Note that criterion vulnerabilities_fixed_60_days requires that all such vulnerabilities be fixed within 60 days of being made public.

    No medium-or-higher-severity exploitable vulnerability has been discovered via static analysis to date (the project runs only go vet, which has not flagged such an issue), so there is nothing outstanding to fix; this will need re-evaluation once a stronger static analysis tool (see 0.static_analysis) is adopted and run. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that static source code analysis occur on every commit or at least daily. [static_analysis_often]

    go vet ./... runs on every push and pull request to v4 via .github/workflows/v2-ci.yml — i.e., on every commit, exceeding the "at least daily" suggestion. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-ci.yml


  • Dynamic code analysis


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that at least one dynamic analysis tool be applied to any proposed major production release of the software before its release. [dynamic_analysis]
    A dynamic analysis tool examines the software by executing it with specific inputs. For example, the project MAY use a fuzzing tool (e.g., American Fuzzy Lop) or a web application scanner (e.g., OWASP ZAP or w3af). In some cases the OSS-Fuzz project may be willing to apply fuzz testing to your project. For purposes of this criterion the dynamic analysis tool needs to vary the inputs in some way to look for various kinds of problems or be an automated test suite with at least 80% branch coverage. The Wikipedia page on dynamic analysis and the OWASP page on fuzzing identify some dynamic analysis tools. The analysis tool(s) MAY be focused on looking for security vulnerabilities, but this is not required.

    Go's built-in data race detector is applied as a dynamic analysis tool on every test run: go test ./pkg/... ./cmd/... -short -race -coverprofile=... -count=1 runs on every PR and hourly (.github/workflows/v2-tests.yml, .github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml). See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    It is SUGGESTED that if the software produced by the project includes software written using a memory-unsafe language (e.g., C or C++), then at least one dynamic tool (e.g., a fuzzer or web application scanner) be routinely used in combination with a mechanism to detect memory safety problems such as buffer overwrites. If the project does not produce software written in a memory-unsafe language, choose "not applicable" (N/A). [dynamic_analysis_unsafe]
    Examples of mechanisms to detect memory safety problems include Address Sanitizer (ASAN) (available in GCC and LLVM), Memory Sanitizer, and valgrind. Other potentially-used tools include thread sanitizer and undefined behavior sanitizer. Widespread assertions would also work.

    Go is a memory-safe language, but the project still applies a dynamic analysis tool (the -race data-race detector) suited to Go's specific unsafe-concurrency risk on every test run, satisfying the intent of this suggestion for a memory-unsafe-adjacent risk class (data races) even though classic memory-unsafety (buffer overflows, use-after-free) does not apply to Go. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-tests.yml


    Barely enough for a badge.

    It is SUGGESTED that the project use a configuration for at least some dynamic analysis (such as testing or fuzzing) which enables many assertions. In many cases these assertions should not be enabled in production builds. [dynamic_analysis_enable_assertions]
    This criterion does not suggest enabling assertions during production; that is entirely up to the project and its users to decide. This criterion's focus is instead to improve fault detection during dynamic analysis before deployment. Enabling assertions in production use is completely different from enabling assertions during dynamic analysis (such as testing). In some cases enabling assertions in production use is extremely unwise (especially in high-integrity components). There are many arguments against enabling assertions in production, e.g., libraries should not crash callers, their presence may cause rejection by app stores, and/or activating an assertion in production may expose private data such as private keys. Beware that in many Linux distributions NDEBUG is not defined, so C/C++ assert() will by default be enabled for production in those environments. It may be important to use a different assertion mechanism or defining NDEBUG for production in those environments.

    No evidence of a dynamic-analysis configuration that enables extensive internal assertions (e.g. -tags debug with runtime assertion checks) was found beyond the standard -race flag; Go does not have a broad built-in "assertions" mechanism analogous to C's NDEBUG, and the project does not document using one. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/v2-tests.yml


    Enough for a badge!

    All medium and higher severity exploitable vulnerabilities discovered with dynamic code analysis MUST be fixed in a timely way after they are confirmed. [dynamic_analysis_fixed]
    If you are not running dynamic code analysis and thus have not found any vulnerabilities in this way, choose "not applicable" (N/A). A vulnerability is considered medium or higher severity if its Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base qualitative score is medium or higher. In CVSS versions 2.0 through 3.1, this is equivalent to a CVSS score of 4.0 or higher. Projects may use the CVSS score as published in a widely-used vulnerability database (such as the National Vulnerability Database) using the most-recent version of CVSS reported in that database. Projects may instead calculate the severity themselves using the latest version of CVSS at the time of the vulnerability disclosure, if the calculation inputs are publicly revealed once the vulnerability is publicly known.

    No medium-or-higher exploitable vulnerability has been discovered via dynamic analysis (the -race detector) to date, so there is nothing outstanding to remediate. See https://github.com/kubestellar/hive/blob/v4/.github/workflows/coverage-hourly.yml



This data is available under the Community Data License Agreement – Permissive, Version 2.0 (CDLA-Permissive-2.0). This means that a Data Recipient may share the Data, with or without modifications, so long as the Data Recipient makes available the text of this agreement with the shared Data. Please credit Andy Anderson and the OpenSSF Best Practices badge contributors.

Project badge entry owned by: Andy Anderson.
Entry created on 2026-08-27 16:42:24 UTC, last updated on 2026-08-27 17:47:12 UTC. Last achieved passing badge on 2026-08-27 17:47:12 UTC.