↓ Skip to main content
DevOps Engineer
  1. Posts/

Understanding SBOM - Definition, Relationships, Differences, Best Practices, and Generation Tools

·1254 words·6 mins· ·
SBOM SLSA
Xianpeng Shen
Author
Xianpeng Shen
Table of Contents

What is SBOM
#

SBOM stands for Software Bill of Materials. It is a detailed inventory of all components, libraries, and dependencies used in the software building process.

An SBOM is similar to a product’s ingredient list. It lists the various elements that make up a software application, including open-source software components, third-party libraries, frameworks, and tools. Each element in the SBOM will have detailed information such as name, version number, license information, and dependencies.

The purpose of SBOM is to increase the visibility and transparency of the software supply chain and provide better risk management and security. It helps software developers, vendors, and users understand the components and dependencies used in their software, allowing for better management of potential vulnerabilities, security risks, and compliance issues. Through SBOM, users can identify and track any potential vulnerabilities or known security issues in the software and take appropriate remedial measures in a timely manner.

SBOM can also be used for software audits, compliance requirements, and regulatory compliance. Some industry standards and regulations (such as the Software Supply Chain Security Framework (SSCF) and the EU Network and Information Security Directive (NIS Directive)) already require software vendors to provide SBOMs to improve the security and trustworthiness of the software supply chain.

In short, an SBOM is a record of all components and dependencies used in the software building process. It provides visibility into the software supply chain, helps manage risks, improves security, and meets compliance requirements.

Relationship and Differences Between SBOM and SLSA
#

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) and SLSA (Supply Chain Levels for Software Artifacts) are two different but related concepts.

  • SBOM is a software bill of materials that provides visibility into the software supply chain, including component versions, license information, vulnerabilities, etc. SBOM aims to help organizations better manage and control the software supply chain, identifying and addressing potential vulnerabilities, compliance issues, and security risks.
  • SLSA is a supply chain security framework that defines different levels of security requirements and practices to ensure the security of the software supply chain. SLSA aims to strengthen the credibility and security of software and prevent the spread of malicious code, supply chain attacks, and vulnerabilities. SLSA focuses on the security of the entire software supply chain, including the origin, verification, build process, and release mechanism of components.

Regarding the differences:

  1. Different Perspectives: SBOM focuses on the inventory and visibility of software building materials, providing details on components and dependencies. SLSA focuses on supply chain security, defining security levels and practices, emphasizing ensuring the credibility and security of the software supply chain.
  2. Different Uses: SBOM is used to identify and manage components, vulnerabilities, and compliance issues in software builds. It provides a tool for managing software supply chain risks. SLSA provides a security framework that helps organizations ensure the security of their software supply chain by defining security levels and requirements.
  3. Correlation: SLSA can utilize SBOM as part of its implementation. SBOM provides the details of components and dependencies required by SLSA, which helps to verify and audit the security of the supply chain. SLSA practices may include requiring the generation and verification of SBOMs to ensure the visibility and integrity of the software supply chain.

SBOM and SLSA are both key concepts in software supply chain security. They can be used in conjunction with each other and complement each other to strengthen software supply chain security and management.

Differences Between SBOM and Black Duck
#

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) and Synopsys Black Duck are two related but distinct concepts. Here’s a comparison:

SBOM:

  1. Definition: An SBOM is a document or inventory that records all components and dependencies used in the software building process. It provides visibility and transparency into the software supply chain.
  2. Content: An SBOM lists details for each component, including name, version number, author, license information, etc. It helps track and manage software components, dependencies, vulnerabilities, and license compliance.
  3. Uses: SBOM is used for software supply chain management, security audits, compliance verification, and risk management. It helps organizations understand the components used in software builds, identify potential vulnerabilities and risks, and ensure compliance.

Synopsys Black Duck:

  1. Functionality: Synopsys Black Duck is a supply chain risk management tool. It can scan software projects, identify the open-source components and third-party libraries used, and analyze their license compliance, security vulnerabilities, and other potential risks.
  2. Features: Black Duck has an extensive vulnerability database and license knowledge base, integrates with development processes and CI/CD tools, and provides vulnerability alerts, license compliance reports, and risk analysis.
  3. Purpose: Black Duck helps organizations manage and control software supply chain risks, providing real-time security and compliance information on open-source components and third-party libraries to support decision-making and appropriate actions.

In summary, SBOM records the components and dependencies used in software builds, providing visibility and management of the software supply chain. Black Duck is a supply chain risk management tool that provides license compliance, security vulnerability, and risk analysis by scanning and analyzing open-source components and third-party libraries in software projects. Black Duck can be used to generate SBOMs and provide more comprehensive risk and compliance analysis. Therefore, Black Duck is a specific tool, while SBOM is a concept for recording and managing software supply chain information.

SBOM Best Practices
#

  1. Automated Generation: Use automated tools to generate SBOMs, avoiding manual creation and maintenance to ensure accuracy and consistency.
  2. Include Detailed Information: Include as much detail as possible in the SBOM, such as component name, version number, author, license information, dependencies, and vulnerability information.
  3. Regular Updates: Regularly update the SBOM to reflect the latest build materials, ensuring its accuracy and completeness.
  4. Version Control: Establish and manage corresponding SBOM versions for each software version to track software versions and their corresponding build materials.
  5. Integration into the Software Lifecycle: Integrate SBOM into the entire software lifecycle, including development, build, test, deployment, and maintenance phases.
  6. Vulnerability Management and Risk Assessment: Utilize vulnerability information in the SBOM, integrate with vulnerability databases, and perform vulnerability management and risk assessments.
  7. Vendor Collaboration: Share and obtain SBOM information with vendors and partners, ensuring they also provide accurate SBOMs and continuously monitor their vulnerability management and compliance measures.

SBOM Generation Tools
#

  1. CycloneDX: CycloneDX is an open software component description standard used to generate and share SBOMs. It supports multiple languages and build tools and has a broad ecosystem and tool integrations.
  2. SPDX: SPDX (Software Package Data Exchange) is an open standard for describing software components and related license information. It provides a unified way to generate and exchange SBOMs.
  3. OWASP Dependency-Track: Dependency-Track is an open-source supply chain security platform that can generate and analyze SBOMs, providing vulnerability management, license compliance, and supply chain visualization.
  4. WhiteSource: WhiteSource is a supply chain management tool that provides automated open-source component identification, license management, and vulnerability analysis, generating SBOMs and performing risk assessments.
  5. JFrog Xray: JFrog Xray is a software supply chain analysis tool that can scan and analyze bills of materials, providing vulnerability alerts, license compliance, and security analysis.
  6. Microsoft sbom-tool: A highly scalable, enterprise-ready tool for creating SPDX 2.2-compliant SBOMs for various artifacts.
  7. trivy: Supports finding vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, secrets in containers, Kubernetes, code repositories, Cloud, etc., and generating SBOMs.

In addition to these, several other tools provide SBOM generation, management, and analysis capabilities. You can choose the appropriate tool based on your specific needs to implement SBOM best practices.

Summary
#

This article aims to help you understand the concept of SBOM, its relationship and differences with SLSA and Black Duck, best practices, and available generation tools to better manage software supply chain security.

Related

The SLSA Framework and Software Supply Chain Security Protection
·1334 words·3 mins
SLSA
This article introduces the concept, purpose, and levels of the SLSA framework, and how to apply SLSA in the software supply chain to improve security. It helps readers understand the importance of SLSA in software development and deployment.
Programmer's Self-Cultivation — Git Commit Message and Branch Creation Conventions (Tools)
·1039 words·3 mins
Git
This article introduces how to use the Commit Check tool to verify whether Git commit messages, branch names, committer usernames, and committer email addresses conform to specifications.
Why is my Jenkins Controller getting slower—Possible mistakes you might be making...
·1714 words·9 mins
Jenkins
This article introduces some best practices for Jenkins pipelines, aiming to help developers and operations personnel optimize Jenkins’ performance and maintainability.
Docker, containerd, CRI, CRI-O, OCI, runc Explained and How They Work Together
·1235 words·6 mins
Docker Containerd CRI CRI-O Runc
This article introduces the key components and standards in the container ecosystem, such as Docker, containerd, CRI, CRI-O, OCI, and runc, explaining their relationships and how they work together.
What is Vagrant? Differences Between Vagrant and VirtualBox
·650 words·4 mins
VirtualBox Vagrant
This article introduces the concept and history of Vagrant, and how to use Vagrant to create and manage virtual machines, emphasizing the advantages of Vagrant over traditional virtual machines.
2021-22 World Quality Report (WQR)
·1692 words·4 mins
Report Quality
This article presents the key findings and trends from the 2021-22 World Quality Report (WQR), highlighting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on software quality and testing, and the crucial role of QA in Agile and DevOps.