Is Sourcegraph Cody Safe?
Last updated: January 12, 2026
An honest security analysis of Sourcegraph Cody for developers considering it for their projects.
Quick Answer
Safe - self-hosted option for maximum controlSourcegraph Cody is enterprise-focused with self-hosted options for maximum security. Unlike Copilot, Cody understands your entire codebase context through Sourcegraph's code intelligence. This requires code indexing, but self-hosting keeps everything on-premises.
Understanding Sourcegraph Cody Security
When evaluating whether Sourcegraph Cody is safe for your project, it's important to understand the distinction between platform security and application security. Sourcegraph Cody as a platform implements industry-standard security practices for its infrastructure, including encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.
However, the security of applications built with Sourcegraph Cody depends significantly on how developers use the platform. AI-generated code and rapid development workflows can introduce vulnerabilities that exist independently of the platform's underlying security. Research from Stanford University found that AI coding assistants produce vulnerable code approximately 40% of the time when working on security-sensitive tasks.
The most common security issues in Sourcegraph Cody applications stem from misconfigurations, exposed credentials, and missing security controls—problems that developers must address regardless of which platform they use. Understanding these patterns helps you make informed decisions about using Sourcegraph Cody for your specific use case.
Platform Security
Platform security refers to the security measures Sourcegraph Cody implements at the infrastructure level: how they protect their servers, encrypt data in transit and at rest, manage access to their systems, and respond to security incidents. These are controls the platform provider manages on your behalf.
Application Security
Application security is your responsibility as a developer. This includes properly configuring authentication, implementing authorization controls, protecting sensitive data, securing API endpoints, and avoiding common vulnerabilities like exposed credentials or SQL injection. These risks exist regardless of which platform you use.
Common Security Mistakes in Sourcegraph Cody Apps
Based on security scans of thousands of Sourcegraph Cody applications, these are the most frequently encountered vulnerabilities. Understanding these patterns helps you proactively secure your applications.
Exposed API Keys & Secrets
AI coding tools frequently embed API keys, database credentials, and other secrets directly in JavaScript bundles. These credentials become visible to anyone who inspects your application's source code in their browser.
Prevention: Use environment variables and server-side API routes to keep credentials secure.
Missing Database Security
Applications using Supabase or Firebase often launch without proper Row Level Security (RLS) policies or Security Rules. This allows unauthorized users to read, modify, or delete data they shouldn't have access to.
Prevention: Always enable and test RLS policies before deploying to production.
Insufficient Input Validation
AI-generated code often assumes valid input without implementing proper validation. This opens applications to injection attacks, XSS vulnerabilities, and data corruption.
Prevention: Validate all user input on both client and server side.
Missing Security Headers
HTTP security headers like Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security are frequently missing from AI-generated applications, leaving them vulnerable to various attacks.
Prevention: Configure security headers in your hosting platform or application middleware.
Security Assessment
Security Strengths
- Self-hosted deployment: keep all code and AI on your own infrastructure
- Sourcegraph's code graph provides context without sending raw code to LLMs
- Enterprise SSO with SAML/SCIM and role-based access controls
- Audit logs for all Cody interactions on enterprise tier
- Choose your own LLM provider (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, or local models)
Security Concerns
- Cloud tier sends code context to Sourcegraph's servers for AI processing
- Deep codebase indexing means Sourcegraph needs broad repository access
- AI suggestions are only as secure as the underlying LLM you choose
- Context window may include sensitive code patterns inadvertently
- Generated code needs security review like any AI tool
Security Checklist for Sourcegraph Cody
- 1For proprietary code: deploy Sourcegraph self-hosted with on-premises LLM
- 2Configure repository permissions - Cody respects Sourcegraph access controls
- 3Use 'cody.contextFilters' to exclude sensitive directories from context
- 4Enable audit logging on Enterprise to track AI interactions
- 5Choose LLM provider based on your data sensitivity (self-hosted > cloud)
- 6Review generated code especially for authentication/authorization logic
The Verdict
Cody's killer feature is the self-hosted option - you can run Sourcegraph and even the AI on your own infrastructure for complete control. This makes it the most security-flexible AI coding assistant for enterprises with strict data requirements. The trade-off is complexity vs. simpler cloud solutions.
Security Research & Industry Data
Understanding Sourcegraph Cody security in the context of broader industry trends and research.
of Lovable applications (170 out of 1,645) had exposed user data in the CVE-2025-48757 incident
Source: CVE-2025-48757 security advisory
average cost of a data breach in 2023
Source: IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023
developers using vibe coding platforms like Lovable, Bolt, and Replit
Source: Combined platform statistics 2024-2025
What Security Experts Say
“There's a new kind of coding I call 'vibe coding', where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists.”
“It's not really coding - I just see stuff, say stuff, run stuff, and copy paste stuff, and it mostly works.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Cody be fully self-hosted?
Yes. Sourcegraph offers self-hosted deployment where both the code intelligence platform and AI processing can run on your infrastructure. You can even use local LLMs for complete data isolation. This is the most secure configuration for sensitive codebases.
Does Cody need access to my entire codebase?
Cody uses Sourcegraph's code intelligence to understand your codebase, which requires indexing. You control which repositories are indexed and can exclude sensitive paths using contextFilters. Self-hosted keeps all indexing on-premises.
How is Cody different from GitHub Copilot?
Cody is codebase-aware through Sourcegraph's code graph, understanding your entire repo context. Copilot primarily uses the current file. Cody offers self-hosted deployment; Copilot is cloud-only. Cody lets you choose LLM providers; Copilot uses OpenAI.
What LLMs can Cody use?
Cody supports Claude (Anthropic), GPT-4 (OpenAI), Gemini (Google), and local models through Ollama. On self-hosted enterprise, you can run entirely local LLMs for zero cloud exposure. This flexibility lets you balance capability vs. security requirements.
Verify Your Sourcegraph Cody App Security
Don't guess - scan your app and know for certain. VAS checks for all the common security issues in Sourcegraph Cody applications.