What Is a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)? Meaning, Example & Use Cases

A software bill of materials (SBOM) is essential for modern cybersecurity and compliance. It lists the components in your software, helping you understand what you’re building, buying, or deploying. In this blog, you’ll learn the SBOM meaning, how it helps secure your supply chain, and how to manage it effectively.

Key Takeaways

• An SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) is a machine-readable list of all components inside a software application, providing visibility into open-source, third-party, and internal code.
• SBOMs improve software security, compliance, and supply chain transparency, making it easier to detect and respond to vulnerabilities, especially newly announced CVEs.
• They support multiple roles, PSIRT managers, compliance teams, developers, product owners, and executives, by enabling faster incident response, smoother audits, and more secure releases.
• SBOMs are critical for vulnerability management, especially when paired with VEX, helping teams prioritise exploitable risks over non-critical ones.
• Common SBOM use cases include supply chain security, pre-deployment CVE checks, vendor risk assessments, and open-source license compliance.
• Automating SBOM creation and updates within CI/CD pipeline sensures accuracy, scalability, and audit readiness, and aligns with emerging regulations like U.S. EO 14028 and the EU Cyber Resilience Act.

Definition: What is an SBOM?

An SBOM is a machine-readable list of software components used in an application, including open-source libraries, modules, and third-party code. It shows you where your software comes from and what it contains. This visibility helps manage risk, meet regulations, and respond quickly to new threats.

SBOMs serve as a blueprint of your software’s composition, offering transparency across every phase of development and deployment. They include key attributes such as supplier names, component versions, cryptographic hashes, and license information. This structured information makes it easier to validate software integrity and ensure nothing is hidden within your product.

How SBOMs Differ from Traditional Inventories

Traditional inventories list physical assets like servers or laptops, but SBOMs track code-level components inside your software. They document both direct and transitive dependencies, those added by your libraries, not just by your team. This deeper level of detail is critical for identifying hidden risks in your supply chain.

Why Is SBOM Important for Software Security?

SBOMs make it easier to see, manage, and secure the software components you depend on. Without them, vulnerabilities can go unnoticed, and response times lag. They also reduce the chances of introducing unsafe or non-compliant code into your systems.

Without an SBOM, many organisations lack the ability to trace the origin and risk of software components. This blind spot becomes a liability during zero-day attacks or urgent patch cycles. By maintaining an SBOM, your security and engineering teams can act with confidence when responding to evolving threats.

Identifying Vulnerabilities Faster

When a new Common Vulnerability and Exposure (CVE) is announced, your SBOM helps you check if you’re affected. It links vulnerabilities to specific components, letting you prioritise what matters. This speeds up remediation and limits your exposure.

Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility

Modern software is rarely built from scratch, you rely on third-party and open-source components. An SBOM gives you visibility into who supplied what, and how components connect. This helps you assess the integrity of your software supply chain.

Improving Vulnerability Management

Your SBOM works with tools like VEX to show which vulnerabilities are actually exploitable. Not every CVE is urgent, and SBOM data helps you filter noise from real threats. This saves time and helps your PSIRT team focus on what counts.

Improving Embedded & Product Security

Embedded systems often run on legacy code or hard-to-patch firmware. SBOMs document those components so you can track and secure them throughout the product lifecycle. This is essential for products in regulated markets like medical or automotive.

Who Needs SBOMs?

SBOMs are valuable across your organisation, from development to compliance. Each role benefits from the visibility and structure SBOMs provide. Here’s how your team might use them.

The growing complexity of software ecosystems means everyone has a stake in visibility. Whether you're responsible for building, securing, or approving software, SBOMs help break down silos and unify efforts. They create a common language that bridges the gap between technical, compliance, and leadership teams.

PSIRT Manager

As a PSIRT Manager, you need fast answers during incidents. SBOMs help you identify affected systems and act quickly. They also support structured response and audit-ready documentation.

Product Compliance Manager

You’re focused on proving your product meets regulations. SBOMs support audits and standards like NIST, ISO/IEC, and the EU Cyber Resilience Act. They give you traceability for every component in your release.

Product Owner

SBOMs help you ship secure products with confidence. They make it easiert o validate third-party software and reduce last-minute compliance delays. This keeps projects on track without sacrificing security.

Head of Development

Your team manages complex builds with open-source and internal code. SBOMs give you a single source of truth for what’s inside your product. They also help streamline updates and reduce unexpected risks.

CTO/CIO

You care about security, resilience, and long-term risk. SBOMs give your teams the data they need to respond to incidents, reduce attack surfaces, and support due diligence. They’re also becoming standard in procurement and vendor risk reviews.

Benefits of SBOMs

SBOMs deliver a wide range of practical advantages that strengthen security, compliance, and overall software quality.

• SBOMs increase software transparency by clearly showing all components, which helps build trust with customers, auditors, and regulators.
• They improve security by making it easier to validate components, identify vulnerabilities, and manage risks across your software.
• SBOMs help track changes across versions, ensuring you can verify exactly what was included in every release.
• Automation reduces the time spent manually documenting components, improving accuracy, consistency, and overall efficiency.
• They enable faster vulnerability response by showing exactly where affected components are used, resulting in quicker remediation and fewer surprises.

SBOMs also support digital transformation initiatives by aligning security with agile development. They allow teams to shift security left, catching issues earlier in the lifecycle. This reduces cost and effort while improving software delivery speed.

SBOM Use Cases

SBOMs support a wide range of real-world applications. Whether you're developing, buying, or maintaining software, they help you reduce risk and meet compliance needs. Let’s look at where they add the most value.

As software becomes more modular and component-based, SBOMs help manage risk across multiple suppliers and environments. They allow you to conduct what-if analyses and simulate the impact of new vulnerabilities on your portfolio. This insight supports more informed planning, procurement, andr elease decisions.

Software Supply Chain Security

SBOMs provide full visibility into third-party and open-source code. This helps you identify potential supply chain risks before they become real issues. You can assess suppliers, check licenses, and reduce hidden dependencies.

Pre-Deployment CVE Risks

Before release, you can compare your SBOM to known CVE databases. This flags risky components early and gives developers time to respond. It’s aproactive step that reduces post-release incidents.

Purchase Risk Assessment

When buying software, SBOMs let you see what’s inside the product. This helps your security and compliance teams make informed decisions. You can compare vendors, flag red flags, and reduce onboarding delays.

Open-Source Licensing Risks

Open-source software comes with legal obligations. SBOMs track licenses and ensure your team stays compliant. This prevents surprises during audits and helps you manage intellectual property risk.

SBOM Examples

There are several types of SBOMs based on when they’re created. Each serves a different purpose and offers different insights. Here’s how they work.

Each SBOM type plays a different role in the software lifecycle. Source SBOMs help during coding, build SBOMs reflect what’s compiled, and deployed SBOMs track what’s running. Using all three together gives you full lifecycle coverage and a reliable audit trail.

Source SBOM

This SBOM is created directly from the source code. It lists all declared dependencies and open-source libraries. It’s useful during development and helps ensure compliance from the start.

Build SBOM

A build SBOM is generated during compilation or packaging. It includes resolved dependencies and the exact versions used. This version is often most accurate for security reviews and auditing.

Deployed SBOM

Once your product ships, you need to track what’s running in the field. A deployed SBOM reflects the exact components in production. It helps you manage updates, monitor risk, and support customers.

How to Manage and Automate SBOMs Effectively

Managing SBOMs manually isn’t scalable. Automation helps generate, update, and validate SBOMs across your CI/CD pipeline. This ensures your software bill of materials stays accurate and audit-ready.

Your SBOM management tool should support standard formats like SPDX and CycloneDX. It should integrate with your build systems and automatically trigger updates when code changes. Validation steps at eachstage help maintain accuracy and reduce compliance gaps.

To be effective, your process should also include version control, redaction policies, and role-based access. This keeps internal records detailed while supporting safe sharing with partners or customers. SBOMs work best when they’re part of your broader risk and compliance strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions About SBOM (FAQ)

What is the difference between a BOM and an SBOM?

A BOM lists materials in physical products, while an SBOM lists components in software. BOMs apply to manufacturing, and SBOMs apply to code. Both help with transparency and lifecycle management.

Are SBOMs mandatory under U.S. or EU law?

SBOMs are mandatory for suppliers to the U.S. federal government (via EO 14028) and for many digital products under the EU Cyber Resilience Act. Other sectors have guidelines rather than universal mandates.

What are the most common SBOM tools?

Common SBOM formats include SPDX and CycloneDX. Tools that generate or manage SBOMs include Syft, CycloneDX toolchains, Anchore, Trivy, Dependency-Track, and various SCA platforms. These tools support automatic SBOM generation and validation within CI/CD pipelines.

How often should an SBOM be updated?

SBOMs should be updated with every code change, dependency update, or security patch. This keeps the documentation aligned with your actual software. Automation helps you manage this without extra overhead.