Modern apps are often powered by open-source software (OSS), which allows users to freely use, modify, and distribute it. Because OSS programs are so flexible and budget-friendly, most applications naturally contain hundreds of third-party open-source dependencies. To manage this growing complexity, organizations increasingly rely on a software bill of materials (SBOM), a structured inventory that lists all components used in an application and their relationships.
The visibility offered by an SBOM matters because OSS components can introduce security risks, including vulnerabilities that enter through transitive dependencies, where one attribute depends on another attribute, creating a path that can bring in other potentially dangerous packages. Without a clear view of these dependencies, security teams often discover OSS vulnerabilities only after they have spread throughout the software stack.
To improve visibility and locate vulnerabilities earlier, organizations can adopt continuous Software Composition Analysis (SCA) with automated SBOM generation. SCA tools help teams track OSS components and flag known vulnerabilities as they appear, while automated SBOMs provide a clear record of all software components used in an application. Together, these tools give security teams the visibility they need to identify risky dependencies and respond quickly when new OSS vulnerabilities emerge.
OSS vulnerabilities are security flaws in open-source libraries, frameworks, or packages. They can be implementation bugs or design flaws and may allow attackers to harm an app’s stakeholders, including app owners, users, and other entities that rely on it.
Examples of OSS vulnerabilities include:
OSS vulnerabilities often enter applications through two types of dependencies: direct and transitive.
Direct dependencies are modules or libraries that a project explicitly declares and uses. Developers intentionally include them in the project. By contrast, transitive dependencies are packages required by direct dependencies. Although developers do not explicitly declare them in their projects, they are automatically included in the build system because the project’s libraries rely on them.
Because transitive dependencies can introduce libraries that teams may not be aware of, they significantly increase security risk. In practice, many OSS vulnerabilities originate in these indirect components, parts of the software stack that developers never intentionally chose to include.
As more teams integrate OSS components into their tech stacks, vulnerabilities are emerging faster than they can be addressed. Several factors contribute to this growing gap between discovery and remediation.
Dependency sprawl refers to the uncontrolled spread of software dependencies within an application. It typically occurs when development teams rely on numerous external components and libraries from different sources, creating a complex and difficult-to-manage software environment.
This issue is especially common in modern development environments like:
In these environments, a single application can contain hundreds or even thousands of indirect components. Vulnerabilities may appear deep within dependency chains, making them hard for teams to find and patch quickly.
Another reason why OSS vulnerabilities are spreading quickly is the rise of software supply chain attacks. These happen when threat actors compromise trusted software components, dependencies, or updates to infiltrate downstream systems.
Common software supply chain attack methods include:
Even if developers discover vulnerabilities on time, they often struggle to patch them quickly. There are several reasons why this happens:
Transitive dependencies are one of the most overlooked sources of OSS risk. That’s because apps may only declare direct dependencies, but each component can pull in additional packages — that is, transitive dependencies — during installation. For instance, a project with 20 declared dependencies may ultimately install 500 packages. Many of these components are automatically added by package managers, so developers may not even know they exist in the application.
When dependency information is represented as flat lists instead of dependency graphs, teams can find it even harder to manage transitive dependencies. Unlike dependency graphs, flat lists don’t show how components are connected. Without that information, security teams can’t easily determine how a vulnerable library entered the application or which upstream component introduced it.
This is also why schema-valid SBOMs alone are often not enough. Even if they list components, they may not show how they relate to each other. As such, they offer limited insight for security teams. To support real vulnerability analysis, SBOMs need to map dependency chains, so teams can clearly see how components enter the application and how they connect across the software stack. Ultimately, SBOMs that follow SBOM standards and include dependency relationships and detailed metadata can help teams quickly trace vulnerabilities, understand their impact, and respond more effectively.
Because OSS vulnerabilities can be difficult to track and may spread quickly through dependency chains, it’s vital for teams to detect them as early as possible. The following approaches can help organizations identify risks before they reach production environments.
Continuous software composition analysis (SCA) tools like Kiuwan Insights automatically scan third-party components used in an application. They compare application components against the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and other vulnerability advisories to detect CVEs automatically. They also monitor component obsolescence, helping teams identify outdated libraries that may introduce security risks.
Because new CVEs are disclosed constantly, it can be difficult for security teams to stay informed. Alerts for new CVEs help address this challenge. Many SCA tools come with automated alert systems that notify teams when newly discovered vulnerabilities affect components already present in their applications, allowing them to respond more quickly.
Another way to detect OSS vulnerabilities is by adopting tools like Kiuwan that support one-click SBOM Export. With just one click, teams can generate a complete, audit-ready SBOM that adheres to standards such as CycloneDX or SPDX.
There are several benefits to one-click SBOM export, including:
To build a strong OSS vulnerability management workflow in DevSecOps, teams must shift security checks “left” or earlier in the pipeline and automate them across development and deployment stages. Here’s what a typical workflow looks like:
To shift left and prevent vulnerable artifacts from reaching production, teams can use Git repositories, CI/CD platforms like Jenkins or Azure DevOps, and integrated development environment (IDE) plugins.
Organizations often struggle with OSS security because they rely on incomplete processes or outdated assumptions. Common mistakes include:
Modern regulatory frameworks increasingly emphasize transparency into software components and supply chain risk. Many of these initiatives encourage or require organizations to use SBOMs to help track dependencies and respond to vulnerabilities.
Key initiatives include:
To manage open-source risk effectively, security teams need more than the occasional vulnerability scan. Above all, they need consistent visibility into the components used in their applications, as well as tools that help them identify vulnerabilities early and respond quickly when new risks emerge. Without this visibility, hidden dependencies and outdated libraries can remain in production long after vulnerabilities are disclosed.
Fortunately, Kiuwan Insights, a Software Composition Analysis (SCA) program, can help address these issues through the following features.
Kiuwan Insights automatically detects all open-source components in an application, including direct and transitive dependencies. That way, security teams can more easily identify libraries that may otherwise remain hidden within complex dependency chains.
Kiuwan also generates accurate SBOMs that document an application’s components and their relationships. Team members can export these SBOMs in widely used formats such as CycloneDX and SPDX, making them compatible with common security and compliance workflows. Each SBOM includes detailed metadata such as license information and known vulnerabilities, helping organizations maintain a clear and usable inventory of their software components.
In addition to identifying components at a single point in time, Kiuwan continuously monitors vulnerability databases to detect new risks affecting existing dependencies. Whenever new CVEs are disclosed, the platform alerts teams in real-time when vulnerable components are found in their applications. Kiuwan also tracks component obsolescence by helping teams identify outdated libraries that may no longer receive security updates and should be replaced with supported alternatives.
To help teams detect vulnerabilities earlier in the software development lifecycle, Kiuwan integrates directly with development environments and supports both hybrid cloud and on-premises deployments. With Kiuwan, developers can scan code in their IDEs before committing changes, while CI/CD security gates automatically evaluate builds as part of the pipeline. Together, these controls support shift-left security, preventing vulnerable components from progressing through the pipeline and reaching production systems.
Vulnerability scanning and SBOM generation work best together because they address different parts of the open-source security challenge. Without vulnerability correlation, an SBOM by itself just lists components without showing which ones introduce active risk. Conversely, vulnerability scanning without an SBOM lacks traceability, making it challenging to determine how a vulnerable library entered an application or where it appears across the software portfolio.
When used together, these capabilities give organizations stronger visibility into their software supply chains. Security teams can use them to quickly identify affected components, trace vulnerabilities through dependency chains, and understand their impact across multiple systems. Ultimately, this combined approach leads to faster breach response, stronger portfolio-level governance, and clearer executive reporting on open-source risk.
Open-source software may be unavoidable in modern development, but its risks can be managed with the right visibility and automation. By integrating vulnerability scanning, SBOM generation, and DevSecOps workflows, organizations can detect risks earlier without disrupting development speed.
See how Kiuwan Insights identifies OSS vulnerabilities and integrates security into your SDLC by downloading a free demo today. You’ll see how easily Kiuwan integrates with your DevOps environment and CI/CD pipeline, learn how Kiuwan helps you meet industry security standards, experience how Kiuwan enables you to scan your code for vulnerabilities, and see how the platform supports over 30 programming languages.
OSS vulnerabilities are often found and fixed more quickly because they are publicly available. As such, community members can quickly find and solve problems as they appear. In contrast, proprietary software vulnerabilities are usually less visible to the public, which could slow the identification and resolution of security holes. Proprietary software may also patch only on company schedules, exposing users to risks for longer periods.
OSS components should be scanned in real time during code pushes, by modern Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tools to detect vulnerabilities as they arise.
SBOMs do not prevent OSS vulnerabilities, but they can help organizations spot and manage them more effectively. When paired with tools like SCA, SBOMs can help organizations identify affected components and respond to security risks more quickly.
Yes, modern SCA tools can help detect malicious or suspicious packages. They do this by analyzing package metadata, known vulnerability databases, and behavioral patterns associated with supply chain attacks.
Security teams can prioritize OSS vulnerabilities based on factors such as severity scores (e.g., CVSS ratings) and whether the vulnerable component is actively used in production. The vulnerability’s location in the dependency chain also matters. Issues in widely used or externally exposed components tend to be addressed first.
In vulnerability management, SBOMs provide visibility into the components used in an application. When a new vulnerability is disclosed, security teams can use the SBOM to quickly determine whether the affected library exists in their software and where it appears in the dependency chain. This visibility allows organizations to assess risk more quickly and prioritize remediation efforts more effectively.
