How to Analyze the OWASP Dependency-Check?
While the big benefit of open source is the large developer community around it, that can also be its flaw. Open source projects have vulnerabilities that plague projects that are not well-maintained. If left unchecked, these vulnerabilities can compromise entire systems that rely on these open source tools. In the following, we will talk about securing the application stack against such vulnerabilities and how to use OWASP Dependency-Check.
Understanding OWASP Dependency-Check
OWASP Dependency-Check is a Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tool that actively scans through a project’s dependencies, detects and reports publicly disclosed vulnerabilities, ensuring application security. Unfortunately, the number of published open source software vulnerabilities shot up by over 50% in 2020, as per a report by White Source. This is alarming, considering over 95% of developers lean on open-source components for their projects.
OWASP Dependency-Check: Advantages
OWASP Dependency-Check enables developers to track and eliminate any known vulnerabilities onboarded from an open source.
It ensures application security by safeguarding the software supply chain. Therefore, Dependency-Check has become a go-to tool for developers because of the following advantages:
1. Free tool
As OWASP Foundation is a non-profit organization, the Dependency-Check tool is free. The development team does not have to go through an approval cycle or face budget constraints. They can download the tool from the internet and start using it without hassle to counter external threats when building applications.
2. Ease of use
Since there is no Proof of Concept (POC) process involved, getting started with the Dependency-Check tool is a three-step process – download, install, and execute. Developers don’t have to go through any documentation to deploy it. As long as you have a good internet connection, it’ll take around ten minutes to get it running.
However, developers will have to download a periodic JSON file to update the local copy of the data if the Dependency-Check tool is used weekly. Meanwhile, the tool will update the NVD feed every time the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the information.
3. Lightweight
Although the Dependency-Check tool brings a massive support ecosystem for developers to manage their open source security, it is very lightweight. It is relatively smaller in size with a simple process to scan the code. Like mentioned earlier, a regular update of local copy is all the maintenance time it demands of the developers.
4. Reporting
Dependency-Check offers multiple reporting options for developers to check and rectify any open source vulnerabilities effectively. The tool’s export features allow teams to focus on key metrics and review their vulnerability management plan. Instead of collecting every metric available, the development teams can pick the solid vulnerability metrics to mitigate security threats.
The Dependency-Check tool constantly updates the database information to ensure no vulnerability goes unreported.
5. Compatibility
Compatibility of the tool with various languages, technologies, and platforms ensures seamless software security management. It also offers complete support for Java and .NET-based products, experimental support for Node.js, Ruby, and Python projects, and is partially compatible with C and C++ languages. It can be integrated with Maven, Jenkins, and Gradle via plugins and also run through the CLI as an Ant task. Other OWASP tools or third-party solutions can complement the Dependency-Check to make a holistic security management offering. Developers can also have an automation add-on as the tool runs manually.
Summary
OWASP Dependency-Check is a crucial tool for developers to manage application security. It is considered as a minimal or first-level checkpoint against software supply chain threats. This tool can be integrated with other paid tools that provide additional security against vulnerabilities and release a secure product.