Open-Source Security · devops-kung-fu

bomber

Bomber is a Go-based tool that scans Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) in CycloneDX, SPDX, or Syft formats to identify security vulnerabilities across multiple data sources. It's designed primarily for closed-source software vulnerability assessment, though it works with open-source SBOMs as well.

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Source: GitHub — github.com/devops-kung-fu/bomber

622

GitHub stars

Forks

Primary language

MPL-2.0

License (OSI-approved)

Key facts

Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.

Field	Value
Repository	devops-kung-fu/bomber
Owner	devops-kung-fu
Primary language	Go
License	MPL-2.0 — OSI-approved
Stars	622
Forks	55
Open issues	28
Latest release	v0.5.1 (2024-09-23)
Last updated	2026-02-10
Source	https://github.com/devops-kung-fu/bomber

What bomber is

Bomber parses SBOM files and queries multiple vulnerability providers (OSV, GitHub Advisory Database, Sonatype OSS Index, Snyk) to enrich component data with CVE information and EPSS scores. It supports multiple output formats (stdout, HTML, JSON, Markdown) and can process individual files or batch-scan entire directories with deduplication.

Quickstart

Get the bomber source

Clone the repository and explore it locally.

terminalbash

1git clone https://github.com/devops-kung-fu/bomber.git2cd bomber3# follow the project's README for install & configuration

Need it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.

Best use cases

Vendor-supplied SBOM triage

Quickly assess vulnerability risk from closed-source vendor software by scanning provided SBOMs before procurement or deployment decisions.

Multi-SBOM organizational assessment

Batch-scan directories of SBOMs from multiple vendors or internal projects with automatic deduplication to identify portfolio-level supply chain risk.

Supply chain risk reporting

Generate stakeholder-ready HTML and JSON reports with vulnerability severity, EPSS exploitation probability, and license information for compliance and audit trails.

Implementation considerations

Requires valid SBOM input in supported formats (CycloneDX, SPDX, Syft JSON/XML). Invalid or malformed SBOMs will fail parsing.
OSV provider (default) is free and credential-free; other providers (Sonatype, Snyk) require registration or paid licenses, with API rate limits.
EPSS data enrichment depends on provider availability and may return 'UNDEFINED' severity for some vulnerabilities with incomplete threat intelligence.
Folder scans deduplicate components across multiple SBOMs; ensure consistent component naming/versioning across files for accurate aggregation.
Output filtering and vulnerability ignoring (via config files) are available but require manual curation; no automatic risk-scoring workflows documented.

When to avoid it — and what to weigh

Real-time continuous integration scanning — Bomber is designed for SBOM analysis, not source code scanning. For CI/CD pipelines scanning live codebases, consider dedicated SCA tools like Snyk or Dependabot.
Requiring guaranteed zero vulnerability databases — Each provider covers different ecosystems and has different detection rates. Absence of findings does not guarantee absence of vulnerabilities; requires multi-provider validation.
Needing vendor support and SLAs — Bomber is community-maintained open-source (BETA status). No commercial support, SLA, or guaranteed response times available.
Proprietary/proprietary ecosystem dominance — Providers have uneven ecosystem coverage (npm, Python, Go, Java well-covered; others less so). Specialty languages or internal package managers may have no provider support.

License & commercial use

Licensed under Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0), a weak copyleft OSI-approved license. Permits commercial use, modification, and distribution provided source changes are disclosed under MPL-2.0. Allows proprietary extensions if core bomber modifications remain under MPL-2.0. Review with legal counsel if incorporating directly into closed-source products.

MPL-2.0 permits commercial use without purchase or licensing fees. No vendor lock-in or subscription model documented. However, some providers (Snyk) require paid licenses. Tool itself is free to deploy and use; operational costs limited to provider API access and compute resources.

DEV.co evaluation signals

Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.

Signal	Assessment
Maintenance	Active
Documentation	Adequate
License clarity	Clear
Deployment complexity	Low
DEV.co fit	Good
Assessment confidence	High

Security considerations

Bomber itself parses untrusted SBOM inputs; validate SBOM source authenticity before scanning. Provider integrations transmit component data to external APIs (OSV, GitHub, Sonatype, Snyk); review data residency and privacy implications. EPSS and vulnerability data freshness depend on provider update frequency; stale data possible. No cryptographic signing of reports; output integrity not validated. Recommend scanning SBOMs from trusted vendors only.

Alternatives to consider

Snyk

Commercial SCA with real-time CI/CD integration, SBOM support, and guaranteed vendor support. Higher cost but broader ecosystem coverage and automated remediation.

Grype (Anchore)

Open-source vulnerability scanner with native Syft SBOM generation; tighter integration if you generate SBOMs yourself. No multi-provider abstraction like bomber.

Trivy (Aqua Security)

Lightweight open-source scanner covering images, filesystems, and repos. Broader asset coverage but less SBOM-focused; no multi-provider aggregation.

Software development agency

Build on bomber with DEV.co software developers

Download bomber and scan your next closed-source SBOM to identify supply chain risk before deployment. Free, open-source, multi-provider vulnerability intelligence.

Talk to DEV.co

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bomber FAQ

Does 'no vulnerabilities found' mean my SBOM is secure?

No. Each provider covers different ecosystems and has different detection rates. A single provider absence of findings does not guarantee safety. Scan with multiple providers (e.g., OSV + GitHub Advisory) for confidence.

Can I use bomber in my CI/CD pipeline?

Yes, via CLI integration in CI jobs. Bomber scans SBOM artifacts and returns exit codes. No native GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins plugin documented; custom scripting required.

Do I need a paid license to use bomber?

No. Bomber itself is free open-source (MPL-2.0). Default OSV provider is free and credential-free. Other providers (Sonatype, Snyk) may require registration or paid subscriptions.

What SBOM formats does bomber support?

CycloneDX (JSON/XML), SPDX (JSON), and Syft (JSON). Bomber auto-detects format; mix formats in a single folder scan.

Custom software development services

Adopting bomber is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source security software in production.

Assess Your Vendor SBOMs Today

Download bomber and scan your next closed-source SBOM to identify supply chain risk before deployment. Free, open-source, multi-provider vulnerability intelligence.

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