Top 10 SBOM Tools to Inventory Your App Components

How well do you really know your software's components? Without a clear view of all the pieces that make up your software, you're left guessing when new zero day vulnerabilities arise. In this article, we’ll review the top SBOM tools to help you understand the components of your application.

Did you know that 69% of businesses admit they can't fully track their supply chains? This blind spot can lead to severe vulnerabilities. SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) tools help solve this problem by giving you a complete inventory of your software's components, dependencies, and licenses.

7 Best SBOM Tools to Inventory Your App Components at a Glance

1. Best overall SBOM tool to inventory your app components: Jit
2. Best tool for working with containerized applications: Syft
3. Best tool for managing the entire SBOM lifecycle: Fossa
4. Best tool for analyzing container images and Dockerfiles: Tern
5. Best tool for security-focused use cases: CycloneDX
6. Most straightforward open-source command-line tool: Trivy
7. Best for various languages & environments: Microsoft sbom-tool

What Are SBOM Tools?

A Software Bill of Materials is a comprehensive inventory list of all your software components. SBOM tools automate the creation of this list, scanning your source code to identify every software component, library, and dependency, including transitive ones. SBOM tools can also include security vulnerabilities within the dependencies. 

These tools integrate with build systems and package managers to track components added during the build process. They compile a detailed list with everything from third-party modules and open-source packages to proprietary code, offering a granular, transparent view of your software's build so you can effectively prioritize security vulnerabilities across your stack. 

They can also analyze binary files to detect embedded components that might not be declared in the source code. 



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Key Features to Look for in SBOM Tools

• Detailed metadata: You want comprehensive metadata, such as version numbers, licenses, and the code's origin. This information is your decision-making foundation, helping you determine which libraries are safe to use and which might need a second look.
• Policy enforcement: An effective SBOM tool should enable you to define and enforce security and compliance policies. This includes setting rules for acceptable licenses, versions, and sources for dependencies. The tool should automatically flag any components that don't meet your predefined criteria.
• Vulnerability management: Choose a tool that integrates with popular vulnerability databases—such as the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), OSS Index, or GitHub Advisories—and provides timely alerts about vulnerabilities in your components.
• Automated SBOM generation: Modern platforms auto-discover components during builds or container image creation and export a full dependency tree—no hand-crafted manifests required. Real-time generation keeps inventories current as code, containers, or serverless functions evolve across languages.
• Format & standard support: Support for SPDX, CycloneDX, and OWASP Dependency-Track (JSON/XML) ensures SBOMs remain interoperable across scanners, registries, and auditors. Multi-format export makes it easier to satisfy customer or regulatory demands without re-tooling.
• Vulnerability correlation: The best tools enrich SBOMs with live CVE data, severity, and exploit maturity, giving security teams immediate context. Auto-updates when a new CVE maps to an existing component shrink the gap between disclosure and remediation.
• CI/CD and SCM integration: Native plugins for GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, and Azure DevOps enable SBOM creation on every pull request or release tag. Storing SBOM artifacts alongside build outputs guarantees traceability for audits and incident response.
• Package reachability & usage detection: Advanced solutions analyze call graphs and runtime telemetry to flag dependencies that are actually executed, not just declared. This cuts noise and helps prioritize patching efforts for components that can truly be exploited.
• License and policy enforcement: Built-in license classifiers spot GPL, AGPL, or custom license conflicts and block non-compliant merges. Policy-as-code lets enterprises encode business rules—such as “no copyleft in production” or “FIPS-only crypto libs”—and get instant pipeline feedback.

Top 7 SBOM Tools for Cybersecurity

Benefits of SBOM Tools in Cybersecurity 

By using SBOM tools, you gain insight into the origin, integrity, and risk profile of each component of your software, making it easier to maintain a secure and compliant software ecosystem:

• Enhanced vulnerability management: Gain deep insight into the origin, integrity, and risk profile of every software component. This helps you proactively spot latent risks—including often-challenging internal and vendor-related risks—before they can be exploited.
• Faster incident response and remediation: In the event of a security breach, an updated SBOM provides critical information about affected components. This allows for a more targeted and efficient incident response, significantly speeding up the remediation process.
• Streamlined compliance and auditing: SBOMs document software components and their licenses, making it easier to comply with various security standards and regulations like NIST SP 800-53, HIPAA, and CCPA. This simplifies audits and helps you avoid legal risks associated with using unlicensed or improperly licensed software.

Gain SBOM Clarity With Jit

As security threats evolve, it is crucial to have an up-to-date view of your software's components. SBOM tools offer the transparency you need to spot and address risks early. 

That said, SBOM is just one of many components that make up the full breadth of today’s product security requirements, which can include SAST, SCA, secrets detection, IaC scanning, CI/CD Security, CSPM, container scanning, DAST, and more.

Jit unifies all of these controls, including SBOM, so you can implement everything needed for product security in one place. 

Discover how Jit can help you stay on top of security and compliance. Visit Jit to learn more and get started for free.