How to Quickly Measure SBOM Accuracy for Maven Projects (for Free)

Creating accurate Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) and comparing them across different tools is a complex task, as highlighted by a case study involving four SBOM generators: CycloneDX Maven Plugin, Eclipse jbom, Syft, and Trivy. The study, motivated by interest from previous talks and webinars, offers a script for reproducing results and applying them to various projects. The SBOMs were evaluated based on their ability to identify compile and runtime dependencies in a Java/Maven project, using the Maven Dependency Plugin as a benchmark. The analysis focused on false-negatives, where missing components in the SBOM affect accuracy, and highlighted the challenges posed by optional fields and the variability of dependency identification across different stages of the development lifecycle. The study emphasizes the difficulty of establishing a ground truth for SBOMs and the importance of PURLs in automating this process, while acknowledging the limitations of not considering other identifiers like CPEs or digests. The shared script aims to facilitate the systematic evaluation and comparison of SBOMs, maintaining simplicity for transparency and ease of modification.

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