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The hidden dangers of open source software: Is your code already at risk?
In the current software development environment, open source software (OSS) has become the first choice for many companies and developers. However, did you know that using open source software also brings potential risks? Software composition analysis (SCA) is a method that helps developers review the open source components embedded in their code to check whether they are up to date, have security vulnerabilities, or comply with licensing requirements.
Open source software is widely favored because of its flexibility and reduced development costs, but the risks behind it are often overlooked.
Background of Risk
This approach to developing software from different components has become increasingly common since the late 1990s, with the rise of open source software. This approach divides the complexity of a large code base into smaller parts to increase flexibility and speed up the development process. However, the risks posed by open source software clearly grow as more components are used, and these risks can be categorized into five main categories:
- Version Control: Risks of New Versions
- Security: Vulnerability risks in components - Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
- Licensing: Risks of legal requirements for intellectual property
- Development: Compatibility risks between existing code base and open source software
- Support: Risk of incomplete documentation and outdated components
Automated analysis and risk management is becoming a necessity for organizations that make extensive use of open source components.
How SCA works
SCA products typically work like this: First, the scanning engine examines the software source code and the related artifacts used to compile it, identifying the open source components used and their versions. This information is then stored in a database, forming a catalog of open source components used. This catalog is then compared against a database of known security vulnerabilities, licensing requirements, and historical versions.
For example, when performing security vulnerability detection, this comparison is often against known security vulnerabilities tracked in the National Vulnerability Database (NVD). Some products may use additional proprietary vulnerability databases for their checks. For intellectual property and legal compliance, SCA products extract and evaluate the types of licenses used by open source components. These results are usually provided to users in different digital formats and will include risk assessments and legal requirements recommendations based on the needs of different products, especially requirements for strong or weak sharing licenses.
The results may also include a Service Component Manifest (SBOM), which details the open source components used in the software application and their properties.
Use of SCA
As SCA impacts different organizational functions, different teams leverage this data, often depending on the size and structure of the organization. IT departments use SCA to implement and operate technology, and key stakeholders include the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Chief Enterprise Architect (EA). Security and authorization data is often used by the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to manage security risks, while the Chief IP/Compliance Officer focuses on intellectual property risks. Depending on the capabilities of the SCA product, these tools can be used directly in the developer's integrated development environment (IDE) or can be used as a necessary step in the software quality control process.
Advantages and disadvantages of SCAIn some countries, such as the United States, the need for SBOM generation is made mandatory to ensure the security of software delivered by vendors to government agencies.
Automation is the main advantage of SCA products. When developers use and integrate open source components, there is no need to do additional manual work. This also includes automated handling of indirect references to other open source components. However, current SCA products also have some key weaknesses, such as: the deployment process is complex and time-consuming, which may take months to be fully operational; each product uses its own proprietary OSS component library, the size and coverage of these libraries are limited; The rates can vary widely; and vulnerability data is often limited to reporting only those vulnerabilities that have been formally reported in the NVD.
In addition, SCA products often lack automated guidance, inadequate recommendations for actions to take on data in reports, and little guidance on legal requirements for detected OSS licenses.
Against this backdrop, are you also thinking about how to more effectively manage the potential risks of open source software and protect your code from threats?
