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Image: Manage Your OSS Security Using a Free Scanning Tool

Why spin your wheels? Why hesitate? What’s there to think about? Why? Why? Why?

Frankly, okay, there’s a lot to think about when it comes to managing your Open Source Software and potential OSS vulnerabilities. Here are just a few questions you should be asking:

  • Am I exposing my company and potential customers to unknown risks? And if so, what are they?
  • Are we aware of the OSS software used in our applications?
  • Have we carried out the proper due diligence for all the open source licensing requirements?
  • Are we impacted by a new vulnerability that’s making the headlines?

The good news? There’s a tool for that. Given that use of open source is on the rise and therefore so are the inherent security risks, security experts and legal teams should be clambering to implement the right processes and OSS license scanning tools to get in front of any potential issues. Revenera has a free scanning tool called FlexNet Code Aware.

In addition to being completely cost-free to download and use, it allows you to quickly and easily start scanning Java, NuGet and NPM packages and allows you to see what’s in your code:

  • Security threats
  • Intellectual property (IP) and compliance issues
  • Vulnerabilities that affect you

 

And yes, it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. You download the tool, start and run a quick scan, and within minutes you have access to prioritized vulnerability and security threats, as well as steps for remediation.

It’s a no fuss, high level analysis.

So, let’s add one more question to the list above…why wait?

Get up and running right away and build a Bill of Materials for your products. Download FlexNet Code Aware and assess your code today.

Common Open Source Questions

What is open source scanning?

Open source scanning is a process that identifies and remediates security and license compliance risks that reside in open source software. A scanning solution scans your applications to identify open source components in source code, software packages, binaries, code snippets, build dependencies, Docker images, and multimedia files. Given the nature of open source frameworks, they can sometimes be riddled with vulnerabilities, many of which would go unnoticed without a proper scan. From security threats to intellectual property (IP) compliance issues, open source scanning allows organizations to manage open source vulnerabilities and streamline business efficiency.

Why everyone should use an open source vulnerability scanner?

An open source vulnerability scanner solves countless problems that an organization faces as the result of open source software use, many of which can have reputation, IP, and significant monetary impact. Some of the ways in which an open source vulnerability scanner can help:

  • Identifies problems associated with open source in your applications and provides alerts when new security vulnerabilities affecting you are discovered.
  • Identifies what open source licenses are found in your code and potential areas of non-compliance. A scanner detects licenses, copyright, email/URLs and custom search terms to find evidence of third-party and commercial code.
  • A robust scanner integrates seamlessly into your DevOps environment.
  • Automates the review of commonly used components based on your company’s license and security policies.
  • Creates third-party notices and generates reports so that you can stay on top of your open source compliance and security requirements..

What is an OSS scan?

An open source software (OSS) scan is a solution that discovers any risks that reside in an organization’s use of open source software in enterprise applications as well as software products shipping outside the organization. This includes any dependencies associated with that OSS. These risks typically come in the form of security vulnerabilities or open source license compliance issues. It is important to leverage an OSS scan in order to address any vulnerabilities that reside in an organization’s code and to ensure that the organization is complying with any license agreements that come with the open source software being used.

How do you know if software is vulnerable?

Open source use is on the rise as software development teams work faster to get products out the door quicker. With increased use comes the likelihood of increased risk exposure. It’s important to implement the right tools for open source software management to gain control over where security and license compliance risk exists and the best path toward remediation. Automated, continuous software composition analysis scanning solutions are the best method for discovering vulnerabilities in software assets. Running a scan early and often in the development lifecycle shines a light on your risks so you can secure your code, your users and your reputation.

How do I scan my network for vulnerability?

By deploying a Software Composition Analysis tool like Revenera’s FlexNet Code Insight, you can scan your software network for vulnerabilities and prioritize your risks. By implementing a tool to scan a network, you can track down vulnerabilities during development, at the build stage and in code that’s being used in your applications in production to ensure that you are always staying on top of any gaps that reside in your security framework.

What is the best free open source vulnerability scanner?

Revenera offers a robust open source software vulnerability scanner tool, FlexNet Code Aware. FlexNet Code Aware is an automated open source risk assessment and package discovery solution that enables you to quickly scan your products for security and intellectual property (IP) compliance risk. After you run your scan, you are quickly provided with leading operational risk indicators, prioritized by severity. This helps determine your organization’s level of operational risk.

How do vulnerability assessment tools work?

Vulnerability assessment tools run automated scans of your software assets. Most scanning solutions leverage a database of known vulnerabilities and determine areas of potential security and license compliance risk. These tools scan your source code, binaries, and dependencies for software vulnerabilities and license compliance issues and inform you, typically by ranking vulnerabilities so that you can prioritize which issues to remediate first. There are many ways in which tools assess vulnerability. Revenera’s very own vulnerability assessment tool, FlexNet Code Insight, scans your applications’ source code, builds an accurate Software Bill of Materials (SBoM) and issues alerts if vulnerabilities are identified.

What are network vulnerability assessment tools?

Network vulnerability assessment tools are solutions that regularly scan an organization’s network to monitor, identify, and remediate any security or compliance risks that exist.

How often should you run a vulnerability scan?

For optimal results, running a scan early and often in the software development lifecycle is recommended in order to find and remediate issues. Data shows that waiting to identify and fix issues late in the process costs more time, money and resources. With Code Insight from Revenera you can adjust the depth and breadth of scans and analysis based on your project and risk profile. A quick scan helps you prioritize issues based on a high-level overview. Trigger deep scans where necessary to create a detailed and complete analysis.

How long does a vulnerability scan take?

The duration of a vulnerability scan depends on several factors including the size of your codebase, but even the most strenuous of scans can take just a few hours with the right tools. Most simple scans can be done in much less. To offload bandwidth and focus on other business needs, vulnerability scans can be organized by Revenera’s dedicated team of auditors, who specialize in supporting internal audit and M&A activities. Using Code Insight to run a scan of a designated codebase or application, the audit team produces accurate reports on open source software and subsequent dependencies within short windows of time.

Why use vulnerability scanner software?

Today, developers are leveraging more than 50 percent of Open Source Software (OSS) in their proprietary applications. Furthermore, attackers use similar vulnerability scanning tools in order to pinpoint the network vulnerabilities that a business has not yet addressed. To address use, vulnerability scanner software should not only be used, but used frequently. This allows an organization to stay on top of any risks that might exist in the software and address them before they are exploited.

What are some vulnerability scanner software features?

When looking for a vulnerability scanner software, there are several key features that an organization needs to look for. A Vulnerability Scanner should be able to:

  • Discover and track all open source software
  • Proactively and continuously monitor open source security vulnerabilities
  • Pinpoint and address levels of compliance with open source licenses
  • Automate the review process and enforce an organization’s policies
  • Seamlessly integrate into an organization’s build environment

A successful vulnerability scanner should quickly provide a software developer and their organization with answers to the following questions:

  • Are we exposed to a specific vulnerability
  • Are we exposed to high priority license issues and/or high severity vulnerabilities?
  • Where should we focus our limited analysis resources?
  • Where are the issues that need attention now?
  • Where should we focus our limited analysis resources?
  • Where are the issues that need attention now?