Where coding agents touch the SDLC: the six control points

Why map control points at all?

When a person writes code, most AppSec controls wait for the commit. When an agent writes code, a lot happens before the commit: the agent reads files, installs packages, runs commands and calls tools. Mapping the points where a control can act shows which risks your current tools cannot see.

The six points

1. Agent. Controls that act on the coding agent itself: which agents and MCP servers are allowed, what commands they may run, what they may install. Legit Security's VibeGuard 2.0 works here, on the developer endpoint. Semgrep Guardian works inside individual agents through hooks that fire on every file write.
2. IDE. Checks in the editor or before commit. Cycode's AI Guardrails, launched on 17 February 2026, intercept secrets in prompts, file reads and MCP tool calls before they leave the IDE.
3. Pull request. Scanning and review of the change itself. This is where most SAST, SCA and secrets scanning already runs, for agent-written and human-written code alike.
4. Pipeline. Policy across CI/CD, source control and the software supply chain. GitHub, for example, added a ruleset rule in public preview on 9 September 2026 that blocks a pull request from merging while secret scanning alerts remain open.
5. Triage. Deciding which findings matter. Endor Labs, for instance, builds triage on reachability across dependencies, containers and first-party code.
6. Fix. An agent or AI feature that writes the change. Aikido Security's AutoFix opens pull requests, and its free plan includes 10 AI AutoFixes a month.

What does each point catch?

• The agent point catches actions: a risky command, an unapproved MCP server, a package install, a secret pasted into a prompt.
• The IDE point catches problems while the developer is still watching.
• The pull request point catches what reached the repository, regardless of who wrote it.
• The pipeline point catches posture: unprotected branches, unreviewed workflow changes, secrets outside code.
• Triage decides the order of work. Fix decides how much of that work a person has to do.

How to use the map

Draw the six points for your own organization and mark the tools you already run at each one. Most teams find the pull request point well covered and the agent point empty. On this site every platform profile has a pipeline strip with the same six points, built from the vendor's own pages. A filled node means the vendor describes a control there; it does not measure how well the control works.

The next lesson looks at the first three points in detail and how to choose where to enforce agent policy.