President Donald Trump was at the White House when the incident occurred just before midnight, CNN reports.
The cable channel cited a Secret Service source to have said that the intruder might have entered the White House grounds on the east side before making his way near the residence's south portico entrance.
The White House was placed under security condition "orange," one of the highest levels of security for the Secret Service, the report said.
The suspect is said to be in the custody of the Secret Service.
An administration official was quoted to have said that President Trump was spending the weekend in Washington and was alerted of the incident late Friday night.