SBOM Best Practices: How to Generate and Manage Software Bills of Materials

Software supply chain security is now a core concern across organizations of all sizes, with high-profile breaches and new regulatory requirements driving an urgent need for visibility into the components, dependencies, and vulnerabilities within modern software. At the heart of this effort is the Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)―an inventory-style report that catalogs the software artifacts comprising an application, from libraries and modules to upstream dependencies.

As DevOps teams, CISOs, and engineering leaders respond to evolving threats and compliance mandates (including directives from NIST, SSDF, and new federal regulations), SBOMs have emerged as essential tools for risk assessment, vulnerability management, and incident response. But generating and managing SBOMs presents practical challenges and technical complexities that must be addressed to attain genuine supply chain security.

In this article, we’ll explore SBOM best practices, recommended standards, and actionable guidance for integrating SBOM workflows into your organization’s CI/CD pipeline. We’ll cover:

Why SBOMs are essential for modern software supply chain security
Popular SBOM standards and formats
How to automatically generate SBOMs in CI/CD pipelines
Strategies for managing, storing, and analyzing SBOMs at scale
Key practices for ongoing SBOM maintenance and compliance

Why SBOMs Matter for Software Supply Chain Security

The proliferation of open-source and third-party software components increases attack surface—but also creates blind spots. Without a detailed SBOM, organizations lack visibility into:

What software (including transitive dependencies) is actually running in production
Which applications might be impacted by newly disclosed vulnerabilities (e.g., CVE publication)
The licensing and provenance of included components, which affects compliance

Compliance mandates from the US federal government and frameworks like NIST SP 800-218 (SSDF) now require “maintaining a software bill of materials” as a minimum best practice. Gartner estimates that by 2026, 70% of organizations will mandate SBOMs in vendor contracts for mission-critical applications.

SBOM Standards and Formats

Industry standards have coalesced around several SBOM formats. Selecting the appropriate format(s) depends on downstream compatibility and regulatory requirements.

SPDX (Software Package Data Exchange):

Widely used standard maintained by the Linux Foundation
Supports rich metadata and licensing details
Compatible with many open-source compliance tools

CycloneDX:

Lightweight, security-focused SBOM format
Popular in security tooling and cloud-native environments
Supports both JSON and XML serialization

SWID (Software Identification Tag):

ISO/IEC 19770 standard primarily adopted for enterprise license management
Less widely used in open-source

For most organizations, CycloneDX and SPDX are the two leading choices. Many open-source SBOM generators and commercial platforms provide native support for both formats.

Generating SBOMs: Integrating With CI/CD

The best SBOM is one that is generated automatically—and updated—every time software changes. Manual SBOM generation is error-prone and unsustainable at enterprise scale.

SBOM Generation Best Practices:

Automate SBOM Creation Early:
Integrate SBOM generation into your build pipeline, ideally at the earliest integration stage. This ensures that every release and artifact is cataloged.
```
# Example: CycloneDX generation with Maven
mvn org.cyclonedx:cyclonedx-maven-plugin:makeAggregateBom
```
For container images:
```
syft <image-name> -o cyclonedx-json > sbom.json
```
Include Transitive Dependencies:
Your SBOM should list all direct and indirect dependencies. Use tools that can fully resolve nested dependencies (e.g., Syft, Trivy).
Capture Metadata:
Record version, license, author, and hash information for each component. Comprehensive SBOMs support more effective vulnerability scanning and legal review.
Embed SBOMs with Artifacts:
Store SBOM files alongside build outputs (e.g., as attachments with containers, binaries, and Helm charts). This ensures traceability.
SBOM Versioning:
Use consistent versioning (including timestamp and build metadata) to distinguish SBOMs across releases.

Managing and Storing SBOMs

As SBOMs proliferate across applications and environments, proper management becomes critical. Consider the following practices:

Centralized SBOM Repository:
Store SBOMs in a dedicated, searchable repository―such as artifact registries (Nexus, Artifactory) or SBOM management platforms―to simplify discovery and auditing.

Access Controls and Retention:
Protect SBOMs as sensitive information; apply RBAC and encryption. Retain SBOMs for compliance (e.g., minimum 5 years, per critical infrastructure guidance).

Linkage to Source and Artifacts:
Ensure every SBOM is tied to a specific build or image (e.g., via unique digest or build ID). This enables accurate impact analysis during vulnerability response.

Monitoring for Change:
Regularly scan SBOMs for discrepancies (e.g., dependency drift, outdated libraries). Incorporate SBOM validation into build and deployment gates.

Using SBOMs: Effective Vulnerability Management

SBOMs are not only compliance artifacts; they enable proactive security operations.

Automated Vulnerability Scanning:
Feed SBOMs into vulnerability scanners (e.g., Grype, Anchore) to detect known CVEs. Link findings to application backlog for rapid remediation.

Supply Chain Attack Surface Mapping:
Analyze SBOMs to visualize the upstream supply chain. For critical applications, evaluate risk by assessing provenance and contributor trust.

Compliance Reporting:
Accelerate compliance audit cycles by providing SBOMs as evidence for controls related to supply chain transparency (SEC, FDA, NIST 800-218).

Ongoing SBOM Maintenance and Governance

SBOMs are only as good as their currency and coverage. Invest in:

Continuous Updates: Regenerate SBOMs for every build and when dependencies change.
Policy Enforcement: Require updated SBOMs in merge requests and release gates.
Stakeholder Training: Educate developers and security teams on SBOM purpose, tooling, and interpretation.
Tooling Evaluation: Periodically review SBOM generators for coverage, accuracy, and support for new formats.

Real-World Example: Responding to the Log4j Vulnerability

When the Log4j vulnerability (CVE-2021-44228) emerged, organizations with SBOMs were able to quickly identify affected systems and accelerate remediation. Instead of manual code searches, security teams queried SBOM repositories for all instances of Log4j, prioritized critical exposures, and tracked updates across teams. This saved hours to days in triage time and demonstrated robust supply chain governance during external audit.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) are foundational to software supply chain security, vulnerability management, and regulatory compliance. By following best practices for SBOM generation, storage, and usage―automating workflows and aligning with standards like SPDX and CycloneDX―engineering teams gain the visibility and control required to defend against modern supply chain threats.

For further reading, consult:

Investing in SBOM best practices today positions your organization to manage risk, accelerate compliance, and build resilient software supply chains for tomorrow.

SBOM Best Practices: How to Generate and Manage Software Bills of Materials

SBOM Best Practices: How to Generate and Manage Software Bills of Materials

SBOM Best Practices: How to Generate and Manage Software Bills of Materials