GitLab Advanced SAST troubleshooting

Tier: Ultimate
Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

When working with GitLab Advanced SAST, you might encounter the following issues.

Advanced SAST scan running longer than expected

If you’ve followed the optimization steps and your Advanced SAST scan is still running longer than expected, reach out to GitLab Support for further assistance with the following information:

GitLab Advanced SAST analyzer version
Programming language used in your repository
Debug logs
Performance debugging artifact

Identify the GitLab Advanced SAST analyzer version

To identify the GitLab Advanced SAST analyzer version:

In the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
Select Build > Jobs.
Locate the gitlab-advanced-sast job.
In the output of the job, search for the string GitLab GitLab Advanced SAST analyzer.

You should find the version at the end of line with that string. For example:

[INFO] [GitLab Advanced SAST] [2025-01-24T15:51:03Z] ▶ GitLab GitLab Advanced SAST analyzer v1.1.1

In this example, the version is 1.1.1.

Generate a performance debugging artifact

To generate the trace.ctf artifact (in non-C/C++ projects), add the following to your .gitlab-ci.yml.

Set RUNNER_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT to at least 10 minutes shorter than timeout to ensure the artifact has time to upload.

include:
  - template: Jobs/SAST.gitlab-ci.yml

variables:
  GITLAB_ADVANCED_SAST_ENABLED: 'true'
  MEMTRACE: 'trace.ctf'
  DISABLE_MULTI_CORE: true # Disable multi core when collecting memtrace

gitlab-advanced-sast:
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - '**/trace.ctf'  # Collects all trace.ctf files generated by this job
    expire_in: 1 week   # Sets retention for artifacts
    when: always        # Ensures artifact export even if the job fails
  variables:
    RUNNER_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT: 50m
  timeout: 1h