The Role of SBOM in Software Supply Chain Security

As software systems become more intricate and the use of third-party components increases, the security risks within the software supply chain also escalate. To combat these risks, organizations are turning to the Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) as a valuable tool. 

This blog will guide you through the concept of SBOM and its impact on software supply chain security. In addition, we'll explore its benefits and understand how you can implement or create a software bill of materials to safeguard your software ecosystem.

However, before we delve deeper into the significance of SBOM for software supply chain security, let's first understand the fundamental concept of SBOM.

Overview of software supply chain security

A software supply chain encompasses all components involved in software development throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC). Software supply chain security is the act of securing or safeguarding all those components, practices, and activities involved in the SDLC, such as:

• Third-Party Proprietary Code
• Infrastructure
• Deployment Methods
• Development Tools
• Developer Practices
• Interfaces and Protocols 

Organizations developing software solutions are responsible for ensuring software supply chain security and presenting proof of the same to their consumers.

Now that you know what software supply chain security is, let's learn how to achieve it.  

Importance of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

A practical method of ensuring software supply chain security is by creating the Software Bill of Materials (SBOM). 

An SBOM is a collection of all the components (open source and third-party) included in a software codebase. In addition, an SBOM consists of the version, patch status, and the licenses governing the components. All this information helps security teams or developers to identify potential vulnerabilities and mitigate the risk.

The concept of SBOM comes from the manufacturing industry, wherein a Bill of Materials includes all the items used in a complete product. 

Take the automotive industry, for example. A BOM lists parts supplied by third-party vendors and the manufacturer. If something goes wrong in one of the parts, officials can refer to the BOM, track the source of that part, and take the necessary action.

In a similar fashion, in the software industry, the SBOM lists the components included in the software, such as frameworks, libraries, licenses, etc. This SBOM allows easy scrutiny of the components, ensuring high-quality, secure, and compliant code.

What does an SBOM include?

Here's what a typical SBOM includes:

• Open-source components

  
  Open-source components are the ones that are licensed to be used, distributed, and used in other applications, regardless of who developed them. Examples of open-source components include open-source libraries and frameworks.
  
  

• Vulnerabilities

  
  An SBOM also includes potential vulnerabilities in the open-source components, making it easy to assess and analyze the risk. 
  
  

• Version information

  
  An SBOM offers you information about the versions of the components used in your software. Using this info, you can detect and replace outdated components, minimizing the risk.   
  
  

• Licenses

  
  SBOM lists licenses that govern your software's open-source components.  
  
  

• Dependencies

  
  A comprehensive list of dependencies attached to the components also comes with an SBOM 

Benefits of SBOM in software supply chain security

Here are the benefits the SBOM supply chain brings:

Software supply chain risk management

Every software includes one or more pre-built components such as libraries, frameworks, open-source packages, or other third-party resources to speed up the development process. 

However, unverified developers often create these components that contain malicious files. And as a result, there's a chance of malicious components entering your source code.

With a Software Bill of Materials, you can determine where each component came from, its version, license, and more. This way, security officials can always monitor the components a software includes, leading to effective supply chain risk management.

Risk mitigation becomes easy

According to the OSSRA report, out of 2400 audited code bases, 81% had at least one vulnerability. While these vulnerabilities are less likely to be exploited, the news gets public quickly if such an incident happens. 

Take the example of Equifax in 2017. During such a time, every second matters.

However, with an SBOM in place, it becomes way easier to identify and thus mitigate the issue. This enables you to take quick action before things get out of hand.

Increases consumer confidence

Buyers are very well aware of the security risks associated with software that uses open-source components. Therefore, it becomes imperative for software development companies to ensure complete safety and win consumer trust. Otherwise, you might end up losing business.

An SBOM acts as a list of ingredients in any packaged food product. Your potential buyers can go through the list of components and be confident of what they're buying, giving you a competitive advantage. Moreover, an SBOM makes the auditing process easier if your company indulges in a merger.

Supports regulatory compliance

As the instances of data breaches increase, the government is becoming more vigilant and strict. For example, the Biden administration in the US has issued an order wherein any software sold to the Federal government should mandatorily include a Software Bill of Materials.

So, having an SBOM can help you comply with government regulations and avoid legal repercussions.

Now that you know how beneficial an SBOM can be, let's learn how to create one for your software solution.

Using SBOMs to govern application risk at scale

As enterprise applications grow more complex, security risk no longer comes only from proprietary code. It increasingly comes from what your software depends on—open-source libraries, transitive dependencies, and third-party components embedded deeply within applications.

This is where a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) becomes essential.

An SBOM provides a structured inventory of all components used in an application, allowing security, engineering, and compliance teams to understand what is running in production, why it matters, and where risk accumulates over time.

Generate a software bill of materials to track dependencies

Generating an SBOM creates a definitive record of all software components, including direct and transitive dependencies.

For enterprise teams, this visibility is critical for tracking what enters the application stack and avoiding blind spots introduced by third-party code.

An accurate SBOM enables teams to answer a foundational security question:
“Do we know exactly what our application is built on?”

View SBOM details for license and vulnerability compliance

Beyond inventory, SBOMs provide detailed metadata about component versions, licenses, and known vulnerabilities. This information allows teams to assess compliance posture and identify components that introduce legal or security risk.

For regulated industries, SBOM visibility supports faster reviews, clearer audit responses, and fewer last-minute compliance escalations.

Check open source licenses to meet regulatory requirements

Open-source licenses come with obligations that vary by license type and jurisdiction. Without visibility into these licenses, organizations risk non-compliance, often unintentionally.

By reviewing license data within an SBOM, teams can:

• Identify restrictive or incompatible licenses

• Align usage with internal policies

• Reduce legal exposure before release

This proactive approach is far more effective than retroactive audits.

Identify outdated dependencies before production release

Outdated dependencies are one of the most common sources of avoidable risk. Many vulnerabilities exploited in the wild affect components that are several versions behind.

SBOMs make it easier to spot:

• Deprecated libraries

• Unmaintained packages

• Components with known security issues

Catching these issues before production helps teams reduce risk without disrupting release timelines.

Prioritize vulnerabilities identified in SBOMs to reduce risk

Not every vulnerability identified through an SBOM requires immediate action. Effective risk reduction depends on prioritization.

Enterprise teams typically prioritize SBOM-based findings using factors such as:

• Exploitability

• Exposure in the application

• Business impact

• Availability of fixes

This allows remediation efforts to focus on vulnerabilities that meaningfully reduce attack surface rather than chasing volume.

Generate SBOMs optimized for mobile app dependencies

Mobile applications introduce unique dependency challenges. SDKs, bundled libraries, and platform-specific components often differ significantly from traditional server-side applications.

Generating SBOMs optimized for mobile apps helps teams:

• Track dependencies embedded in Android and iOS builds

• Understand transitive risks introduced by SDKs

• Maintain visibility as mobile apps evolve rapidly

This mobile-aware approach is essential for enterprises with large mobile user bases.

Use SBOM data for strategic risk reduction

At scale, SBOMs are not just compliance artefacts; they are strategic inputs.

When used effectively, SBOM data helps organizations:

• Reduce long-term dependency risk

• Inform architectural decisions

• Improve security posture across releases

• Support faster incident response when new vulnerabilities emerge

In mature security programs, SBOMs become part of how risk is continuously understood and managed,  not just documented.

SBOM vs. traditional dependency tracking

Why this matters for enterprises

Traditional dependency tracking answers “what did we install?”
An SBOM answers “what are we running, why does it matter, and where is the risk?”

For enterprises managing large application portfolios, that difference determines whether dependency risk is merely observed—or actively reduced.

How to create an SBOM?

A traditional way of creating an SBOM involves manually entering all the details about the software on paper or a spreadsheet. However, this method is not effective.

For instance, entering and updating data can be cumbersome if the software is large and as more components are added. And this makes the method non-scalable. Plus, manual efforts are always prone to errors, which can attract legal repercussions.

However, there's an effective method for creating an SBOM that you can rely on. And that is Appknox's SBOM solution.

Appknox's SBOM solution lists everything from third-party components, such as libraries and frameworks. It helps you track and identify vulnerabilities in your software and get answers to the following:

• What components are used?
• Are the components vulnerable?
• Are new versions of the components available?

Just upload the binary of your app, and start the analysis. Once done, you can review and analyze the results and potential vulnerabilities. After that, you can conveniently download the OWASP CycloneDX-compliant SBOM report and share it with the engineering team for remediation.

Book a free demo to learn more about Appknox's software bill of materials.

FAQs

What Should Be Done To Improve the Security of the Supply Chain?

Using a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is a valuable approach to enhance the security of your software supply chain. Essential factors to consider include promoting transparency, conducting risk assessments, fostering collaboration with suppliers, implementing secure development practices, managing vulnerabilities effectively, and staying informed about emerging threats. SBOM is a critical component in addressing these considerations and strengthening overall supply chain security. 

What Is the Purpose of SBOM?

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) provides a comprehensive and detailed inventory of all the components and dependencies used in a software application or system. It aids in:

• Security and Vulnerability Management
• License Compliance
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation
• Supply Chain Security
• Software Development and Maintenance
• Regulatory Compliance
  
  

What Is Software Supply Chain Risk Management?

Software supply chain risk management is identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks associated with third-party components used in the software. It involves proactive measures taken by organizations to safeguard their software supply chain from potential threats that could compromise the integrity, security, or reliability of the software.

What Is Included in SBOM?

An SBOM includes details about all the components used in the software development lifecycle, such as open-source libraries and frameworks. The typical components included in an SBOM are:

• Direct Dependencies
• Indirect Dependencies
• Open-Source Software
• Commercial Components
• Version Information
• License Information
• Dependencies of Dependencies
• Build Tools
• Development Environment Information
• Checksums or Hashes
• Additional Metadata
  
  

Who Creates an SBOM?

Software vendors or organizations that create or develop software solutions must create SBOM to ensure software supply chain security.

How do you ensure an SBOM meets compliance requirements?

Ensuring an SBOM meets compliance requirements goes beyond generating a one-time inventory. SBOMs need to be accurate, standards-based, and continuously updated across builds and releases to reflect the true software composition at any point in time.

Appknox’s SBOM automatically generates SBOMs from application artifacts. It supports formats like SPDX and CycloneDX and maintains traceability between components and identified risks. With this, you reduce the manual effort during audits and demonstrate ongoing compliance rather than point-in-time checks.

How can teams audit SBOM reports for GDPR and HIPAA compliance?

Review whether listed components introduce privacy or data-handling risks, especially in libraries that access storage, analytics, logging, or network communications.

Your security and compliance teams should assess:

• Whether dependencies collect, process, or transmit sensitive data
• If encryption and data protection controls are supported by included components
• Whether third-party libraries align with data minimization and access control requirements

SBOMs act as a foundation for identifying where personal or regulated data may be exposed through third-party code, enabling targeted compliance reviews rather than broad, manual audits.

How do you fix incorrect or outdated dependencies listed in an SBOM?

Incorrect or outdated dependencies in an SBOM stem from legacy builds, unused libraries, or transitive dependencies. Regenerate SBOMs directly from application binaries or build artifacts to ensure accuracy.

Once identified, unused or incorrect components should be removed from the codebase, dependency trees should be cleaned up, and SBOMs should be refreshed automatically as part of the build process. 

Maintain SBOM accuracy. Because outdated inventories can lead to false risk assessments and missed vulnerabilities.

How should organizations address vulnerabilities found through SBOM analysis?

Vulnerabilities identified through SBOM analysis should be prioritized based on context, not just CVE severity. This includes whether the dependency is actively used, reachable at runtime, or exposed to sensitive data.

You can either do it manually or use an SBOM platform by Appknox to eliminate the grunt work. Appknox enables teams to correlate dependencies with vulnerability intelligence and track remediation across builds.