When a Dependabot alert is triggered for a dependency in a pull request, it signifies a potential security vulnerability. The correct security practice is to address this vulnerability before the code is integrated into the main branch. Updating the vulnerable dependency to a patched and secure version is the direct and appropriate remediation. This action prevents the introduction of known security flaws into the primary codebase, aligning with secure software development lifecycle (SDLC) principles. Merging the pull request without this update would knowingly introduce a security risk.

A. Disabling alerts ignores security risks and is a poor security practice, leaving the organization vulnerable.

B. Forking and deploying does not resolve the underlying vulnerability and introduces risk into a deployed environment.

D. Deploying the code to your default branch would knowingly introduce a security vulnerability into the main codebase.

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1. GitHub Docs

"Reviewing dependency changes in a pull request." This document states: "If there are any vulnerable dependencies

you can see a warning in the dependency review UI... You should ask the contributor to update the dependency to the patched version or a later release." This directly supports updating the dependency before merging.

2. GitHub Docs

"About Dependabot alerts." This page explains the purpose of the alerts and the recommended action: "When GitHub detects a vulnerable dependency in one of your repositories

we generate a Dependabot alert... We recommend that you update the vulnerable dependency as soon as possible."

3. GitHub Docs

"Viewing and updating vulnerable dependencies in your repository." This guide details the remediation workflow

emphasizing that the primary action is to resolve the vulnerability

which typically involves updating the dependency version. It notes

"When you have fixed the vulnerability

you can close the alert."