Software Bill of Materials (SBOM): The Traceability You Need

In today’s software landscape, complexity is a strength and a vulnerability. Modern applications are built from thousands of components, including open source libraries, third-party packages, plugins, and custom code. While this speeds up development, it also creates hidden risks in the form of supply chain vulnerabilities or outdated dependencies.

This is where a software bill of materials (SBOM) comes in. An SBOM is an inventory, a detailed list of all the components that make up your software. For applications, it’s like the digital equivalent of an ingredients label. This list gives you a transparent look into what’s inside. 

In this article, we’ll explore why SBOMs are crucial for modern enterprises, how to generate them, and where they provide the most value. We’ll also discuss how EDB Postgres^® AI (EDB PG AI) helps organizations adopt SBOM practices for PostgreSQL and enterprise data stacks. 

The business case for software bills of materials

SBOMs are necessary for any organization involved in software development, deployment, or procurement. Not only do they enhance security and risk management but they also increase compliance while providing a detailed inventory. 

Supply chain transparency

Most applications use preexisting codes, frameworks, and software. Developers rely on open source software (OSS) packages, libraries, and frameworks. Without an SBOM, organizations often lack visibility into where their code comes from. An SBOM provides a full inventory of components, including version numbers and dependencies, making it possible to track each component back to its source. 

Proactive vulnerability management

When a new Common Vulnerability and Exposure (CVE) is disclosed, organizations with SBOMs can immediately check to see if the affected component exists in their system, software, or applications. Instead of scrambling or guessing, teams can quickly prioritize patches and updates. 

Compliance and regulation 

Governments are beginning to mandate software transparency. For example, Executive Order 14028 in the United States requires SBOMs for federal software suppliers. Additionally, industry frameworks, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the International Organization of Standardization (ISO), also encourage and require SBOM adoption. Having SBOMs ready positions your enterprise to meet these increasing compliance requirements. 

Investor and customer trust

Transparency drives confidence. Whether the issue is customers asking about open source use or investors concerned about risk management, SBOMs demonstrate that an organization takes security and compliance seriously. This can be a competitive advantage when bidding for contracts or engaging with security-conscious clients. 

How to generate a robust SBOM

An SBOM does more than list dependencies. It also creates actionable documentation that you can maintain and integrate into your development process. Generating a robust SBOM involves taking a systematic approach.

1. Define your needs

Before building an SBOM, you need to understand why your organization needs one. Is your goal to ensure regulatory compliance, handle vulnerabilities, manage customer expectations, or modernize security? 

After you understand your why, you need to identify your scope. Determine which components, frameworks, parties, and third-party codes must be included in the SBOM. Then you can establish policies and procedures. This structured framework allows you to generate, maintain, and update SBOMs to ensure consistency while minimizing errors. 

2. Choose a standard

Standardized formats ensure interoperability across tools and workflows. You want to avoid generic tools and choose solutions that are purpose-built tools for SBOM generation and management. You also want to use tools that support multiple languages and are machine readable. 

The two most common formats are:

• Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX): A Linux Foundation standard widely used for licensing and compliance documentation
• CycloneDX: A project for the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) designed for SBOM automation, with dedicated support for CI/CD workflows and security use cases

3. Use automation tools

Manual SBOM creation is time-consuming and impractical. Automation speeds up the process while also ensuring accuracy and repeatability. Organizations have a few options to choose from, including:

• Open source options: Syft, SPDX tools, CycloneDX CLI.
• Enterprise solutions: Grype, Anchore, JFrog Xray. These tools add features such as vulnerability scanning, compliance reporting, and integration with existing enterprise pipelines. 

This automation also allows for full visibility and accuracy. Additionally, automation verifies that your SBOM covers all the software components, development languages, and other essential dependencies. 

4. Integrate into CI/CD workflows

Embedding SBOM generation directly into your build process ensures that every product and release has a corresponding SBOM. This enhances software supply chain security by allowing you to automatically track dependencies and manage vulnerabilities. 

You can use Docker plugins and build tools such as Maven, npm, or Gradle. These tools create SBOMs automatically. You can also scan the generated SBOMs for vulnerabilities using tools such as Trivy, Grype, and Anchore’s capabilities. After the security checks, you can archive the SBOMs for future auditing purposes. 

5. Maintain and update

After they are archived, SBOMs should be reviewed and updated regularly. The best practices for maintaining and updating SBOMs include:

• Regenerating an SBOM after each build or when dependencies change
• Storing SBOMs in version control alongside the source code to ensure that everything stays up to date
• Ensuring that updates are traceable across versions for auditing 

Other best practices

Following these steps ensures that your SBOM reflects the latest software components, is accurate, and can be used for effective vulnerability management and compliance. However, there are other steps you can take, including:

• Collaborating and communicating: Communicating with third-party vendors and developers ensures that the information contained in your SBOM is accurate, up to date, and complete. You also want to document the generation process for auditing purposes and train development teams for effective implementation.
• Supplement with context: You want to document how your organization remediates vulnerabilities within your SBOM. This documentation increases stakeholder and customer trust. 

Where enterprises use SBOMs to reduce risk

Organizations across industries use SBOMs to reduce risk. These practical applications extend beyond compliance, making it easy for enterprises to mitigate risks associated with their software supply chains. They have become an indispensable tool, enabling better security, transparency, and risk management throughout the development lifecycle. These use cases include:

• Incident response: When a new vulnerability emerges, security teams use SBOMs to pinpoint affected systems quickly.
• Third-party software management: Vendors and partners can supply SBOMs to demonstrate transparency, reducing the complexity of proprietary tools.
• Mergers and acquisitions: Before buying or selling a product, organizations can do their due diligence. SBOMs offer transparency, empowering organizations to make informed decisions regarding software procurement and vendor selection. SBOMs can also uncover hidden risks in these assets, such as outdated libraries or licensing conflicts.
• Regulatory readiness: SBOMs make it easier to produce documentation for audits and certifications. They make it easy to ensure adherence to government and industry-specific regulations, licensing agreements, and other compliance standards. 

Managing SBOMs in your PostgreSQL stack

Databases often get overlooked when discussing SBOMs. However, they are just as critical as the application’s code. PostgreSQL and EnterpriseDB (EDB) derivatives, such as EDB PG AI Database, have multiple layers, including core binaries, extensions and modules, plugins, and supporting tooling. Each of these layers introduces dependencies and integrations that may have security vulnerabilities or licensing implications. 

Databases power mission-critical applications, which makes such vulnerabilities particularly risky. An SBOM offers transparency into which components are being used. This clarity ensures that CVEs, patches, and licensing requirements aren’t forgotten about. 

EDB PG AI’s commitment to transparency

EDB PG AI supports open source PostgreSQL as well as enterprise-grade extensions. To ensure that our platform is transparent, we:

• Publish patches and updates with clear component visibility.
• Provide dashboards and documentation for supported extensions.
• Help organizations integrate SBOM monitoring into managed PostgreSQL environments.

Generating SBOMs for PostgreSQL

Creating SBOMs for self-hosted databases is a straightforward process. It starts with scanning the binaries, extensions, and supporting tools you install. However, for managed databases, much of whose environment is maintained by a third-party vendor such as EDB PG AI, the process requires a different approach. 

This process usually involves:

• Requesting vendor transparency: A reliable vendor should publish available SBOMs for the database engine, extensions, and major dependencies they maintain.
• Scanning container images or packages: Many managed services distribute databases as container images or through controlled package repositories. Tools such as Syft or CycloneDX CLI can scan these to produce SBOMs that map out the included libraries and binaries.
• Capturing extensions and plugins: Managed instances often allow extensions to be installed. These should be included in your SBOM. Tracking both core and optional components helps ensure that potential vulnerabilities are fully covered.
• Integrating SBOMs into compliance workflow: Once generated, SBOMs should be stored and versioned alongside application SBOMs. This unified view provides auditors and security teams with a complete software supply chain record.
• Continuous monitoring: Managed service providers release patches and upgrades regularly. Therefore, your SBOMs must reflect these changes. Regenerating or refreshing them after each update cycle ensures that your inventory matches the current environment. 

With EDB-managed Postgres environments, your enterprise can combine our transparency with your own automated scans. Additionally, with our security pack and integration services, you can gain visibility into every component of your database stack. This dual approach strengthens compliance and helps with incident response while ensuring that every component level is completely visible. 

SBOM do’s and don’ts for a secure software lifecycle

As in any cybersecurity practice, SBOM adoption is most effective when done strategically. Following these do’s and don’ts helps keep your software secure throughout its entire lifecycle, from development and deployment to decommissioning. 

Do:

• Integrate SBOM generation into the software development lifecycle (SDLC) early instead of retrofitting it, which can cause errors and delays.
• Use standardized formats, sticking to SPDX or CycloneDX for interoperability and easy integration with existing systems.
• Automate, track, and store your SBOMs alongside your code to ensure version history and accuracy.
• Scan regularly for CVEs and pair SBOMs with vulnerability scanning tools to catch issues as they emerge. 

Don’t:

• Treat it as a one-off, because it needs to be continuously updated with every new build or release.
• Forget to audit transitive dependencies, because vulnerabilities often hide in third-party libraries.
• Ignore license analysis, because SBOMs can help prevent legal exposure from incompatible open source licenses. 

Protect your database with EDB PG AI

Today’s software is increasingly complex. SBOMs are a critical part of modern software security and compliance. They provide the traceability and transparency that government and industry regulatory bodies demand. 

For enterprises running PostgreSQL, the stakes are even higher. Your database is the backbone of your business, and knowing exactly what’s in it is essential to protecting data, ensuring compliance, and maintaining trust. 

Ready to secure your PostgreSQL stack with SBOM transparency? Reach out to explore how EDB PG AI and our security pack and support services can integrate SBOM monitoring into your CI/CD pipeline and enhance development security.