DependencyTrack / DependencyTrack/dependency-track

Add support for pulling in additional dependencies through `externalReferences`

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#4,277 4 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
enhancement
Dominant language
Java
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

### Current Behavior

It is my understanding that Dependency Track does not currently pull in dependencies specified in [externalReferences](https://cyclonedx.org/docs/1.6/json/#externalReferences). There are a lot of use cases for this, including more complex products.

### Proposed Behavior

The main use cases are `externalReferences` with URLs, in which case it would be great if DT could pull these in. Authentication is of course asn issue here.

`BOM-Link` is also an option in externalReferences, where it perhaps would make sense to have some kind of bundle (zip file?) with a set of SBOMs that can reference each other.

### Checklist

- [x] I have read and understand the [contributing guidelines](https://github.com/DependencyTrack/dependency-track/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#filing-issues)
- [x] I have checked the [existing issues](https://github.com/DependencyTrack/dependency-track/issues) for whether this enhancement was already requested

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start with the linked CycloneDX 1.6 externalReferences specification and trace Dependency-Track's existing SBOM ingestion entry point. Clarify the supported URL authentication and BOM-Link bundle behavior before implementation. Done means external references are imported reliably with agreed handling for authentication and referenced SBOMs, with tests covering those cases.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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