DAST

Raising and managing GitHub issues

• Last updated: November 5, 2026

• Read time: 6 Minutes

Raise or link a GitHub issue for a Burp Suite DAST issue, so that you can track the fix in GitHub.

Raising a GitHub issue from a Burp Suite DAST issue

Before you start, an administrator must add a connection and set up an action on it. The action sets the repository and fields of the GitHub issue.

To raise a GitHub issue:

1. Go to the All issues tab on the Home page, or the Issues tab on a site or folder.
2. Click a Burp Suite DAST issue to open it.
3. Click Raise ticket, then select Raise in GitHub (<connection name>) for the connection that you want to use.
4. Leave the option to create a new GitHub issue selected.
5. Select an Action.
6. Confirm the dialog.

You can also raise a GitHub issue from the issues table. In the Actions column of an issue row, open the menu and select Raise in GitHub (<connection name>).

You can't raise a GitHub issue from the page for an issue in a scan. Click View issue record to open the issue record, then raise the GitHub issue from there.

If you don't select an action, Burp Suite DAST shows an Action must be selected error. If the connection has no action, ask an administrator to add one.

What the GitHub issue contains

• Title is the title of the Burp Suite DAST issue.
• Body is the description of the Burp Suite DAST issue, in Markdown. A manual GitHub issue starts with Generated by Burp Scanner (Scan Ref #N) for site <site name>. An automatic GitHub issue starts with Automatically generated by Burp Scanner (Scan Ref #N) for site <site name>. The body ends with a View in Burp Suite link to the Burp Suite DAST issue.
• Labels hold the severity and confidence of the Burp Suite DAST issue, and the labels of the action.
• Assignee is the assignee of the action, or the default assignee of the connection.
• The milestone, project, type and issue fields come from the action.
• The author is the account that owns the token of the connection, rather than the person who raised the GitHub issue.

The body ends with a hidden HTML comment named burp-suite-correlation-id. You see it only when you edit the body. Don't remove it.

Mentions don't notify anyone. Burp Suite DAST copies text such as @octo-org/security into the GitHub issue as plain text. GitHub doesn't notify that user or team. Text that looks like the start of an HTML comment also stays as plain text, so it doesn't hide the rest of the body. Burp Suite DAST leaves code blocks unchanged.

Handling duplicate warnings and creation failures

If the action already raised a GitHub issue for the Burp Suite DAST issue, then a new one may be a duplicate. Burp Suite DAST warns you. The warning links to the existing GitHub issue. Check it before you decide whether to create another one. The warning covers GitHub issues that Burp Suite DAST raised on the same connection and repository, including automatic ones. It doesn't cover GitHub issues that you linked.

If Burp Suite DAST can't create the GitHub issue, it shows the reason:

• If creation fails, fix the cause if you can, then click Try again.
• If GitHub doesn't respond, or Burp Suite DAST hasn't finished creating the GitHub issue, wait a few minutes. Then click Check again.

Try again and Check again reuse the same request, so they never create a duplicate GitHub issue.

Linking an existing GitHub issue

To link a Burp Suite DAST issue to a GitHub issue that already exists:

1. Open the Burp Suite DAST issue.
2. Click Raise ticket, then select Raise in GitHub (<connection name>).
3. Select Link to existing ticket.
4. Enter the GitHub issue as owner/repository#number, such as mydomain/website#42. The owner can be a managed user login, such as octocat_mydomain.
5. (Optional) In Comment, enter up to 1000 characters. Burp Suite DAST adds your comment to the GitHub issue. Before you do this, read Comments that Burp Suite DAST adds to GitHub issues.
6. Click Link.

You can link any GitHub issue in a repository that the token of the connection can read. You can also link a GitHub issue that is already linked to a different Burp Suite DAST issue.

If the link fails, Burp Suite DAST creates no link and shows an error:

• If Burp Suite DAST shows a The ticket was not found error, check the reference. You can't link a pull request. You also can't link a GitHub issue in an archived repository, or in a repository with issues turned off.
• If Burp Suite DAST shows a The issue integration link already exists error, then you already linked the GitHub issue to this Burp Suite DAST issue.

Comments that Burp Suite DAST adds to GitHub issues

When you link a GitHub issue, Burp Suite DAST adds this comment to it: Linked to Burp Suite issue \"<issue title>\" (<issue URL>) by <your name> on yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm UTC. Your own comment follows on a new line, exactly as you wrote it. If Burp Suite DAST can't add the comment, the link remains and Burp Suite DAST explains the problem.

In a public repository, Burp Suite DAST adds no comment, including the comment that you enter. Linking and unlinking leave nothing on the GitHub issue.

Viewing linked GitHub issues

To view the GitHub issues for a Burp Suite DAST issue, open the Burp Suite DAST issue and go to the Linked tickets tab. The tab shows the state of each GitHub issue in GitHub. The timeline of the Burp Suite DAST issue records who created, linked or unlinked each GitHub issue.

When you open a Burp Suite DAST issue, Burp Suite DAST refreshes its GitHub issues. It skips any that it checked in the last five minutes. If GitHub fails or responds too slowly, then Burp Suite DAST shows the last known values. It skips GitHub for one minute. A refresh only reads GitHub. It never changes the triage state of a Burp Suite DAST issue.

If GitHub no longer has a GitHub issue, then the GitHub issue stays linked with the status Deleted. Burp Suite DAST keeps its last known title, reference and link. A successful refresh, or linking the GitHub issue again, clears the status.

If an automatic GitHub issue is pending, the tab shows the reason. If the reason reports a failure or a connection problem, see When Burp Suite DAST can't raise a GitHub issue.

Transferred GitHub issues

If someone transfers a GitHub issue to another repository, Burp Suite DAST keeps the last state that it read. To follow the GitHub issue in its new repository, unlink it. Then link it again by its reference in that repository.

Seeing GitHub issues in the issues table

In the issues table, hover over a badge in the Linked tickets column to see the linked GitHub issues. Click an entry to open the GitHub issue in GitHub. To open the Burp Suite DAST issue on its Linked tickets tab, click the badge.

Unlinking a GitHub issue

To unlink a GitHub issue from a Burp Suite DAST issue:

1. Open the Burp Suite DAST issue and go to the Linked tickets tab.
2. For the GitHub issue, click Unlink.
3. Click OK.

Burp Suite DAST doesn't change or delete the GitHub issue in GitHub. It only adds this comment: Unlinked from Burp Suite issue \"<issue title>\" (<issue URL>) by <your name> on yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm UTC. Everyone who can read the repository can see the comment. In a public repository, Burp Suite DAST adds no comment. If Burp Suite DAST can't add the comment, the unlink remains and Burp Suite DAST explains the problem.

Deleting scans with linked GitHub issues

If you delete a scan whose issues have linked GitHub issues, Burp Suite DAST shows a This scan has issues linked to external apps warning. To delete the scan, click Confirm.

If you delete several scans at once, Burp Suite DAST skips the scans that have linked GitHub issues. To delete them too, select Delete scans with issues linked to external apps.