Dependency-Check

Dependency-Check is a Software Composition Analysis (SCA) tool that attempts to detect publicly disclosed vulnerabilities contained within a project's dependencies. It does this by determining if there is a Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) identifier for a given dependency. If found, it will generate a report linking to the associated CVE entries.

Documentation and links to production binary releases can be found on the github pages. Additionally, more information about the architecture and ways to extend dependency-check can be found on the wiki.

9.0.0 Upgrade Notice

Upgrading to 9.0.0 or later is mandatory; previous versions of dependency-check utilize the NVD data feeds which will be deprecated on Dec 15th, 2023. Versions earlier then 9.0.0 are no longer supported and could fail to work after Dec 15th, 2023.

NVD API Key Highly Recommended

With 9.0.0 dependency-check has moved from using the NVD data-feed to the NVD API. Users of dependency-check are highly encouraged to obtain an NVD API Key; see https://nvd.nist.gov/developers/request-an-api-key Without an NVD API Key dependency-check's updates will be extremely slow. Please see the documentation for the cli, maven, gradle, or ant integrations on how to set the NVD API key.

The NVD API Key, CI, and Rate Limiting

The NVD API has enforced rate limits. If you are using a single API KEY and multiple builds occur you could hit the rate limit and receive 403 errors. In a CI environment one must use a caching strategy.

Breaking Changes

9.0.0 contains breaking changes which requires updates to the database. If using an externally hosted database the schema will need to be updated. When using the embedded H2 database, the schema should be upgraded automatically. However, if issues arise you may need to purge the database:

• gradle: ./gradlew dependencyCheckPurge
• maven: mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:9.0.0:purge
• cli: dependency-check.sh --purge

Gradle build Environment

With 9.0.0 users may encounter issues with NoSuchMethodError exceptions due to dependency resolution. If you encounter this issue you will need to pin some of the transitive dependencies of dependency-check to specific versions. For example:

/buildSrc/build.gradle

dependencies {
    constraints {
        // org.owasp.dependencycheck needs at least this version of jackson. Other plugins pull in older versions..
        add("implementation", "com.fasterxml.jackson:jackson-bom:2.16.0")

        // org.owasp.dependencycheck needs these versions. Other plugins pull in older versions..
        add("implementation", "org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:3.14.0")
        add("implementation", "org.apache.commons:commons-text:1.11.0")
    }
}

Requirements

Java Version

Minimum Java Version: Java 8 update 251

While dependency-check 9.0.0 and higher will still run on Java 8 - the update version must be higher then 251.

Internet Access

OWASP dependency-check requires access to several externally hosted resources. For more information see Internet Access Required.

Build Tools

In order to analyze some technology stacks dependency-check may require other development tools to be installed. Some of the analysis listed below may be experimental and require the experimental analyzers to be enabled.

1. To analyze .NET Assemblies the dotnet 6 run time or SDK must be installed.
   • Assemblies targeting other run times can be analyzed - but 6 is required to run the analysis.
2. If analyzing GoLang projects go must be installed.
3. The analysis of Elixir projects requires mix_audit.
4. The analysis of npm, pnpm, and yarn projects requires npm, pnpm, or yarn to be installed.
   • The analysis performed utilize the respective audit feature of each.
5. The analysis of Ruby is a wrapper around bundle-audit, which must be installed.

Current Releases

Jenkins Plugin

For instructions on the use of the Jenkins plugin please see the OWASP Dependency-Check Plugin page.

Command Line

More detailed instructions can be found on the dependency-check github pages. The latest CLI can be downloaded from github in the releases section.

Downloading the latest release:

$ VERSION=$(curl -s https://jeremylong.github.io/DependencyCheck/current.txt)
$ curl -Ls "https://github.com/jeremylong/DependencyCheck/releases/download/v$VERSION/dependency-check-$VERSION-release.zip" --output dependency-check.zip

On *nix

$ ./bin/dependency-check.sh -h
$ ./bin/dependency-check.sh --out . --scan [path to jar files to be scanned]

On Windows

> .\bin\dependency-check.bat -h
> .\bin\dependency-check.bat --out . --scan [path to jar files to be scanned]

On Mac with Homebrew Note - homebrew users upgrading from 5.x to 6.0.0 will need to run dependency-check.sh --purge.

$ brew update && brew install dependency-check
$ dependency-check -h
$ dependency-check --out . --scan [path to jar files to be scanned]

Maven Plugin

More detailed instructions can be found on the dependency-check-maven github pages. By default, the plugin is tied to the verify phase (i.e. mvn verify). Alternatively, one can directly invoke the plugin via mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:check.

The dependency-check plugin can be configured using the following:

<project>
    <build>
        <plugins>
            ...
            <plugin>
              <groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
              <artifactId>dependency-check-maven</artifactId>
              <executions>
                  <execution>
                      <goals>
                          <goal>check</goal>
                      </goals>
                  </execution>
              </executions>
            </plugin>
            ...
        </plugins>
        ...
    </build>
    ...
</project>

Gradle Plugin

For instructions on the use of the Gradle Plugin, please see the dependency-check-gradle github page.

Ant Task

For instructions on the use of the Ant Task, please see the dependency-check-ant github page.

Development Prerequisites

For installation to pass, you must have the following components installed:

• Java: java -version 1.8
• Maven: mvn -version 3.5.0 and higher

Tests cases require:

• dotnet core version 6.0
• Go: go version 1.12 and higher
• Ruby bundler-audit
• Yarn
• pnpm

Development Usage

The following instructions outline how to compile and use the current snapshot. While every intention is to maintain a stable snapshot it is recommended that the release versions listed above be used.

The repository has some large files due to test resources. The team has tried to clean up the history as much as possible. However, it is recommended that you perform a shallow clone to save yourself time:

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/jeremylong/DependencyCheck.git

On *nix

$ mvn -s settings.xml install
$ ./cli/target/release/bin/dependency-check.sh -h
$ ./cli/target/release/bin/dependency-check.sh --out . --scan ./src/test/resources

On Windows

> mvn -s settings.xml install
> .\cli\target\release\bin\dependency-check.bat -h
> .\cli\target\release\bin\dependency-check.bat --out . --scan ./src/test/resources

Then load the resulting 'dependency-check-report.html' into your favorite browser.

Building without running tests

To speed up your turnaround cycle times, you can also compile without running the tests each time:
mvn -s settings.xml install -DskipTests=true

Please remember to at least run the tests once before opening the PR. :)

IntelliJ Idea

To be able to debug your tests in IntelliJ Idea, you can introduce a maven configuration that executes your test and enables debugging with breakpoints etc.
Basically, you do what´s described in https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/work-with-tests-in-maven.html#run_single_test and set the forkCount to 0, otherwise debugging won´t work.

Step by step:

• Run -> Edit Configurations
• + (Add new configuration) -> Maven
• Give the Configuration a name, e.g. Run tests
• Choose working directory, e.g. core
• In command line, enter -DforkCount=0 -f pom.xml -s ../settings.xml test
• Press OK
• Run -> Debug, then choose the newly created run configuration

IntelliJ will now execute the test run for the core subproject with enabled debugging. Breakpoints set anywhere in code should work.

Only test one function or one class

If you would like to speed up your turnaround cycle times, you can also just test one function or one test class.
This works by adding -Dtest=MyTestClass or -Dtest=MyTestClass#myTestFunction to the run configuration. The complete command line in the run configuration then would be:

-Dtest=MyTestClass#myTestFunction -DforkCount=0 -f pom.xml -s ../settings.xml test

Docker

In the following example it is assumed that the source to be checked is in the current working directory and the reports will be written to $(pwd)/odc-reports. Persistent data and cache directories are used, allowing you to destroy the container after running.

For Linux:

#!/bin/sh

DC_VERSION="latest"
DC_DIRECTORY=$HOME/OWASP-Dependency-Check
DC_PROJECT="dependency-check scan: $(pwd)"
DATA_DIRECTORY="$DC_DIRECTORY/data"
CACHE_DIRECTORY="$DC_DIRECTORY/data/cache"

if [ ! -d "$DATA_DIRECTORY" ]; then
    echo "Initially creating persistent directory: $DATA_DIRECTORY"
    mkdir -p "$DATA_DIRECTORY"
fi
if [ ! -d "$CACHE_DIRECTORY" ]; then
    echo "Initially creating persistent directory: $CACHE_DIRECTORY"
    mkdir -p "$CACHE_DIRECTORY"
fi

# Make sure we are using the latest version
docker pull owasp/dependency-check:$DC_VERSION

docker run --rm \
    -e user=$USER \
    -u $(id -u ${USER}):$(id -g ${USER}) \
    --volume $(pwd):/src:z \
    --volume "$DATA_DIRECTORY":/usr/share/dependency-check/data:z \
    --volume $(pwd)/odc-reports:/report:z \
    owasp/dependency-check:$DC_VERSION \
    --scan /src \
    --format "ALL" \
    --project "$DC_PROJECT" \
    --out /report
    # Use suppression like this: (where /src == $pwd)
    # --suppression "/src/security/dependency-check-suppression.xml"

For Windows:

@echo off

set DC_VERSION="latest"
set DC_DIRECTORY=%USERPROFILE%\OWASP-Dependency-Check
SET DC_PROJECT="dependency-check scan: %CD%"
set DATA_DIRECTORY="%DC_DIRECTORY%\data"
set CACHE_DIRECTORY="%DC_DIRECTORY%\data\cache"

IF NOT EXIST %DATA_DIRECTORY% (
    echo Initially creating persistent directory: %DATA_DIRECTORY%
    mkdir %DATA_DIRECTORY%
)
IF NOT EXIST %CACHE_DIRECTORY% (
    echo Initially creating persistent directory: %CACHE_DIRECTORY%
    mkdir %CACHE_DIRECTORY%
)

rem Make sure we are using the latest version
docker pull owasp/dependency-check:%DC_VERSION%

docker run --rm ^
    --volume %CD%:/src ^
    --volume %DATA_DIRECTORY%:/usr/share/dependency-check/data ^
    --volume %CD%/odc-reports:/report ^
    owasp/dependency-check:%DC_VERSION% ^
    --scan /src ^
    --format "ALL" ^
    --project "%DC_PROJECT%" ^
    --out /report
    rem Use suppression like this: (where /src == %CD%)
    rem --suppression "/src/security/dependency-check-suppression.xml"

Building From Source

To build dependency-check (using Java 8) run the command:

mvn -s settings.xml install

Running dependency-check on dependency-check

Dependency-check references several vulnerable dependencies that are never used except as test resources. All of these optional test dependencies are included in the test-dependencies profile. To run dependency-check against itself simple exclude the test-dependencies profile:

mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:aggregate -P-test-dependencies -DskipProvidedScope=true

Building the documentation

The documentation on the github pages is generated from this repository:

mvn -s settings.xml site  site:staging

Once done, point your browser to ./target/staging/index.html.

Building The Docker Image

To build dependency-check docker image run the command:

mvn -s settings.xml install
./build-docker.sh

License

Permission to modify and redistribute is granted under the terms of the Apache 2.0 license. See the LICENSE.txt file for the full license.

Dependency-Check makes use of several other open source libraries. Please see the NOTICE.txt file for more information.

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Copyright (c) 2012-2023 Jeremy Long. All Rights Reserved.