[opensourcedex]

DependencyCheck is a free, open source build & deployment project written in Java and released under Apache-2.0. It has 7,695 GitHub stars, 1,419 forks and 195 open issues, and was last pushed 21 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #20 of 59 tracked projects in Build & Deployment, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 2 stars over the last 3 tracked days.

What is DependencyCheck?

Dependency-Check is an OWASP Software Composition Analysis (SCA) utility that detects publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in a project's dependencies by resolving Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) identifiers and linking each match to its associated CVE entries, and it is built for developers, build engineers and security teams who need that check to run automatically inside Maven, Gradle, Ant, Jenkins or command-line builds.

What it is

Dependency-Check is an OWASP project, written in Java and released under the Apache-2.0 licence, that performs Software Composition Analysis against the dependency tree of an application. It inspects each dependency, attempts to determine whether a Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) identifier exists for it, and when one is found it produces a report that links to the associated CVE entries. The project sits in the Java build-tooling and application-security ecosystem, and it ships integrations rather than a single binary: the topics list covers maven-plugin, gradle-plugin, jenkins-plugin, ant-task, build-tool, security-audit and vulnerability-detection. Documentation and production binary releases live on the project's GitHub Pages site, with architecture and extension notes on the wiki. Vulnerability data comes from the NVD API, and the project states plainly that it uses that API without endorsement or certification by the NVD.

The concrete problem it solves is the manual one: cross-referencing a dependency inventory against published vulnerability disclosures by hand, for every build, and keeping that cross-reference current as both the dependency list and the disclosure feeds change. Dependency-Check moves that step into the build lifecycle, so the check runs where the dependencies are already resolved. Two data-source migrations define its recent operational shape. Since 9.0.0+ (January 2024) the tool moved from the NVD data-feed to the NVD API, and Sonatype OSS Index began enforcing API token authentication in September 2025 with a subsequent migration to Sonatype Guide tokens planned to replace the legacy OSS Index keys before the end of 2026.

Key capabilities

  • Resolves Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) identifiers for dependencies and generates a report linking to the associated CVE entries.
  • Ships as a Maven plugin published on Maven Central as org.owasp:dependency-check-maven, alongside Gradle plugin, Ant task, Jenkins plugin and CLI integrations.
  • Provides a command-line entry point, dependency-check.sh, for scans outside the build tool.
  • Reads vulnerability data from the NVD API since version 9.0.0+, with an NVD API Key highly encouraged for usable update speed.
  • Offers purge commands for the local database: ./gradlew dependencyCheckPurge, mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:11.0.0:purge and dependency-check.sh --purge.
  • Uses a local H2 database for NVD data, with shared data directories supported but version-sensitive.
  • Includes a Sonatype OSS Index analyzer, which is automatically disabled when credentials are absent.
  • Carries a CII Best Practices badge and Black Hat Arsenal selections from 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Who uses it and how

  • Java teams running Maven or Gradle builds, where the plugin scans the resolved dependency graph as part of the normal build rather than as a separate audit step.
  • Jenkins users who add the Jenkins plugin so scans run inside existing job pipelines.
  • CI environments, where teams must use a caching strategy: sharing one API key across multiple builds can hit NVD rate limits and return 403 errors.
  • Security and audit groups that prefer the CLI, running dependency-check.sh directly and controlling credentials for the NVD and Sonatype analyzers through documented configuration.
  • Organisations that use a shared data directory across builds, which requires care because the H2 database file is not compatible across versions and may need a purge.

Getting started

Install through the integration that matches your build: the Maven plugin org.owasp:dependency-check-maven from Maven Central, the Gradle plugin, the Ant task, the Jenkins plugin, or the CLI via dependency-check.sh. Documentation and production binary releases are published on the project's GitHub Pages site.

How it compares

No list of paid products replaced by this project is provided in the facts, and no directly comparable tools are named. Within this registry it stands alone in the software composition analysis category, so no side-by-side comparison is offered here.

When to use it — and when not to

A self-hoster must operate more than a binary: the NVD API key and caching strategy, credentials for the Sonatype analyzer, and the local H2 database that backs the vulnerability data. Java 11 is required for 11.0.0 or higher, the upgrade to 12.1.0+ is mandatory because of NVD API compatibility changes, and shared data directories need purge handling when versions change. Teams unwilling to manage API credentials and rate-limit caching, or unable to absorb breaking database changes, should look elsewhere; without an NVD API key updates are described as extremely slow.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Maven Central Build and Deploy Snapshot CII Best Practices Apache 2.0 License

Black Hat Arsenal Black Hat Arsenal Black Hat Arsenal Black Hat Arsenal

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].

Notice

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

Mandatory Upgrade to 12.1.0+

Due to NVD API compatibility changes, an upgrade is mandatory. See #7463 for more information.

Breaking Changes in 11.0.0

  • Java 11 is now required to run dependency-check 11.0.0 or higher

  • H2 database upgrade

    11.0.0 contains breaking changes using the local H2 database. A full download of the NVD data will occur. Note that if you are using a shared data directory the h2 database file is not compatible with older versions of dependency-check. If you run into problems you may need to run a purge:

    • gradle: ./gradlew dependencyCheckPurge
    • maven: mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:11.0.0:purge
    • cli: dependency-check.sh --purge

Other notices

NVD API Key Highly Recommended

Dependency-check moved from using the NVD data-feed to the NVD API since 9.0.0+ (January 2024). 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.

Sonatype OSS Index mandatory authentication and migration to Sonatype Guide

In September 2025 Sonatype OSS Index started enforcing use of API tokens for authentication. In April 2026 a subsequent migration to Sonatype Guide began, kicking off a transition to use of Sonatype Guide API Tokens that are planned to replace the legacy OSS Index API keys/tokens before the end of 2026.

Without credentials, Dependency Check will automatically disable the OSS Index analyzer. Please see the documentation for the CLI, Maven, Gradle, or Ant integrations on how to set the analyzer credentials for use of a Sonatype Guide token or legacy OSS Index API key.

If you wish to use Sonatype OSS Index (via Guide) you must configure Dependency-Check and consider implications for the migration to Sonatype Guide; whose commercial/usage model has changed. See the analyzer documentation for more information.

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:2.21.2")

        // org.owasp.dependencycheck needs these versions. Other plugins pull in older versions..
        add("implementation", "org.apache.commons:commons-lang3:3.20.0")
        add("implementation", "org.apache.commons:commons-text:1.15.0")
    }
}

Requirements

Java Version

Minimum Java Version: Java 11

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 8 run time or SDK must be installed.
    • Assemblies targeting other run times can be analyzed - but 8 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://dependency-check.github.io/DependencyCheck/current.txt)
$ curl -Ls "https://github.com/dependency-check/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 [depende

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is DependencyCheck free to use?

DependencyCheck is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does DependencyCheck do?

OWASP dependency-check is a software composition analysis utility that detects publicly disclosed vulnerabilities in application dependencies.

What is DependencyCheck written in?

DependencyCheck is primarily written in Java. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/dependency-check/DependencyCheck, and it has 7,695 GitHub stars.