What problem does it solve?
It eliminates uncertainty in complex codebases by revealing control-flow paths, data-flow paths, and security-relevant taint propagation that are hard to infer from ASTs alone.
Core Features & Use Cases
- Deep code property graph analysis: Uses Joern Code Property Graph (AST+CFG+CDG+DDG+PDG) to map execution and dependency relationships across functions and modules.
- Interprocedural taint and vulnerability detection: Uses CodeQL for security-focused, cross-function taint flows and vulnerability-style query results.
- Tiered workflow to minimize cost: Scopes with Tier 1 tooling first, then escalates to Joern (Tier 2) for structural/flow queries and CodeQL (Tier 3) for security audits.
Use case example: Before a release, analyze how untrusted input travels through request handlers into authentication or database calls, then produce a targeted report of taint paths and likely vulnerability hotspots.
Quick Start
Use the cpg-analysis skill to run a CodeQL taint query for a suspected injection or unsafe redirect path in your target repository.