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Dependency-Check VS SpotBugs

Compare Dependency-Check VS SpotBugs and see what are their differences

Dependency-Check logo Dependency-Check

Dependency-Check is a utility that identifies project dependencies and checks if there are any...

SpotBugs logo SpotBugs

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
  • Dependency-Check Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-13
  • SpotBugs Landing page
    Landing page //
    2020-02-25

Dependency-Check features and specs

  • Open Source
    Dependency-Check is an open-source tool, which means it is freely accessible and can be modified and distributed by anyone under the terms of its license.
  • OWASP Backing
    Being a project under the OWASP umbrella, Dependency-Check benefits from a reputable organization dedicated to improving software security, ensuring quality and reliability.
  • Comprehensive Vulnerability Database
    It uses the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and other sources to identify known vulnerabilities, providing a wide coverage of potential threats across dependencies.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Dependency-Check can be easily integrated with various CI/CD pipelines, IDEs, and build tools, enhancing its usability across different environments and workflows.
  • Multiple Formats Support
    It supports scanning dependencies from multiple formats like Maven, Gradle, and Jenkins, accommodating diverse project setups.

Possible disadvantages of Dependency-Check

  • False Positives
    Dependency-Check may sometimes report false positives, identifying vulnerabilities that may not directly impact the specific usage of a dependency in a project.
  • Performance Issues
    Scanning large projects with numerous dependencies can be time-consuming, potentially affecting build times or requiring significant computational resources.
  • Manual Verification Required
    Often, the identified vulnerabilities require manual verification to assess their applicability and impact, which can be time-consuming for developers.
  • Limited to Known Vulnerabilities
    Dependency-Check relies on known vulnerabilities, meaning it might not detect zero-day vulnerabilities or those not yet disclosed in public databases.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Setting up Dependency-Check for optimal performance and accuracy can be complex, potentially requiring significant configuration effort for custom environments.

SpotBugs features and specs

  • Open Source
    SpotBugs is an open-source tool, which means it's freely available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. This provides opportunities for customization and integration into various development environments without licensing costs.
  • Detects Common Bugs
    SpotBugs is effective at identifying a wide range of common Java programming mistakes and potential bugs, such as null pointer dereferences, infinite recursive loops, and misuse of Java libraries, helping to improve code reliability.
  • Integration with Build Tools
    SpotBugs integrates well with popular build tools like Maven, Gradle, and Ant, making it easy to incorporate into continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
  • Extensible with Plugins
    Users can extend the functionality of SpotBugs through plugins, allowing for specialized bug pattern detection that goes beyond the built-in capabilities of the tool.
  • High Scalability
    SpotBugs can analyze large-scale projects efficiently, making it suitable for enterprise-level applications with extensive codebases.

Possible disadvantages of SpotBugs

  • Java-Specific
    SpotBugs is primarily focused on detecting bugs in Java code, which limits its applicability for projects that involve multiple languages or are not Java-based.
  • False Positives
    Like many static analysis tools, SpotBugs may generate false positives, which can lead to extra effort spent investigating non-issues.
  • Learning Curve
    New users may face a learning curve to effectively use and configure SpotBugs, especially when customizing or integrating it into complex build environments.
  • Limited UI
    SpotBugs' user interface is not as advanced or user-friendly compared to some commercial static analysis tools, which may affect the user experience and ease of navigation.
  • Limited Support
    Support for SpotBugs is community-driven, which may not be as responsive or comprehensive as the support offered by commercial tools, potentially leading to slower issue resolution.

Dependency-Check videos

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SpotBugs videos

Using SpotBugs plugin in Eclipse | Scan the Java source code as you write

More videos:

  • Demo - SpotBugs Demo | Static Analysis Using SpotBugs
  • Review - OKAY JAVA | SPOTBUGS GUI WITHOUT ANY IDE | SPOTBUGS REPORT | HTML REPORT | XML REPORT | FINDBUGS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Dependency-Check and SpotBugs)
Security
77 77%
23% 23
Web Application Security
63 63%
37% 37
Code Analysis
100 100%
0% 0
Security & Privacy
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dependency-Check should be more popular than SpotBugs. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Dependency-Check mentions (19)

  • An NPM dependency check list
    9 Finally, before committing to integrating the package, if there are any doubts it might be worth checking the package with the OWASP Dependency Checker. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • Top Dependency Scanners: A Comprehensive Guide
    OWASP Dependency-Check represents the leading open-source tool for dependency vulnerability scanning. - Source: dev.to / 18 days ago
  • OWASP Dependency Check in Node js ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ
    OWASP Dependency Check is a tool that analyzes dependencies and checks for known issues. You can access it through the following link: Https://owasp.org/www-project-dependency-check. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • SQL Injection Isn't Dead Yet
    To detect these types of vulnerabilities, we should first and foremost know our dependencies and versions, and which of them have vulnerabilities. The OWASP Top 10 2021 identifies this need as A06:2021-Vulnerable and Outdated Components. OWASP has several tools for this, including Dependency Check and Dependency Track. These tools will warn about the use of components with vulnerabilities. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Build and Push to GAR and Deploy to GKE - End-to-End CI/CD Pipeline
    You can scan your code repositories using OWASP Dependency-Check within a Harness pipeline. Within the gar-build-and-push stage, click on + Add Step โ†’ Add Step before the BuildAndPushGAR step. From the step library, find Owasp under the Security Tests section. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
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SpotBugs mentions (4)

  • We Have Code Quality At Home: Open Source Java Code Quality Tools
    SpotBugs is an open source static anlysis tool. "SpotBugs uses static analysis to inspect Java bytecode for occurrences of bug patterns." This means that SpotBugs runs against the compiled source source code, rather than raw Java files. Because it analyses bytecode, it can catch some types of bugs that source code analysis would not catch. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Handling EI_EXPOSE_REP & EI_EXPOSE_REP2 ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿ’ป
    SpotBugs is a great tool for static code analysis. Recently I got two similar warnings in one of the codebases I work on And I had to fix it. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Is there a tool to track CVEs for the software that we use?
    While at it you could also point them to static code analyzers such as error_prone, spotbugs and pmd (use all 3 at once - they complement each other in detecting different issues). Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Looking for a Static Code Analysis tool for Scala Code
    If you donโ€™t have checkmarx/Vera code money, have you looked at https://find-sec-bugs.github.io/? It can be used with a few things such as https://spotbugs.github.io/ and sonarQ. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Dependency-Check and SpotBugs, you can also consider the following products

Snyk - Snyk helps you use open source and stay secure. Continuously find and fix vulnerabilities for npm, Maven, NuGet, RubyGems, PyPI and much more.

PT Application Inspector - PT Application Inspector is an application security analyzer for applications of every scale.

Nessus - Nessus Professional is a security platform designed for businesses who want to protect the security of themselves, their clients, and their customers.

HCL AppScan - Fast, Accurate, Agile Application Security Testing

OpenVAS - The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a framework of several services and tools...

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