DepWarden

DepWarden is a dependency-security and software composition analysis tool for developers and teams that need scanning to feed into build checks and compliance workflows. It is strongest for organizations that want SCA, source scanning, and SBOM outputs in one product. The hosted option is limited to Mumbai residency, and buyers with formal assurance requirements should weigh its security posture carefully.

Overview

DepWarden brings dependency scanning, SAST, and SBOM handling together, with hosted and self-hosted deployment options. That breadth makes it a plausible fit for teams that want to connect vulnerability findings to CI gates and compliance outputs rather than assemble separate tools. It does not include reachability analysis, however, so it cannot tell teams whether a vulnerable component is actually reachable in their code.

For hosted use, the service runs in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s Mumbai region; EU and US residency are not offered. The service is single-region, has no self-serve uptime SLA or public status page, and does not hold SOC 2, ISO 27001, or equivalent third-party attestation. It has also not commissioned an independent penetration test. These constraints may rule it out for buyers with strict regional, availability, or assurance requirements.

Key features

Dependency manifests are checked against vulnerability, exploitability, supply-chain, package-health, and license data. Findings are prioritized using CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS, fix availability, and dependency depth, with copyable upgrade commands. That combination helps developers sort risk and act on it, though the absence of reachability analysis leaves an important distinction unresolved for teams trying to judge whether a finding is exploitable in their own code.

The SAST capability scans source across 15 languages and infrastructure-as-code formats using more than 300 rules. DepWarden accepts CycloneDX and SPDX SBOMs and can export an SBOM, OpenVEX document, and NOTICE license file. That coverage suits teams managing both application risk and compliance artifacts, but SAST and VEX are reserved for the Team tier rather than the lower paid plans.

Manifest, lockfile, and SBOM support covers npm, PyPI, Maven, Gradle, Go, RubyGems, Cargo, NuGet, Composer, Dart, and Swift. Pull request scanning is supported, as are branch connections to GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps, with scheduled email reports. The service says repository tokens are not kept beyond a scan. Build integrations include Maven, npm/yarn/pnpm, and GitHub Actions; the npm CLI can also run in GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI, and Azure Pipelines.

For anonymous scans, DepWarden uses a session-isolated workspace and says it does not receive or store application source code or compiled binaries. Its other listed controls include TLS with HSTS, salted password hashing, optional TOTP, role-based access control, append-only audit logs, and SCIM 2.0 for organization deployments. These are useful controls, but they do not substitute for independent attestation or penetration testing where those are procurement requirements.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing and provides report-only scanning, no account or API key requirement, and an HTML report. It cannot fail a build, so it is suited to evaluation or occasional checks rather than enforcing CI policy.

Developer costs $19 a month, billed $19 / month ($190 / year). It covers one engineer and adds all report formats, build gating, and fix paths, making it the entry point for an individual who needs actionable reports in a build workflow. It does not include the SAST and VEX features of Team.

Team costs $99 a month, billed $99 / month ($990 / year). It is aimed at a squad and adds SAST, scheduled delivery, VEX, and IP-restricted keys. Business costs $399 a month, billed $399 / month ($3,990 / year), for an organization needing high volume, branded reports, and long retention. Enterprise has custom pricing, with contract terms and self-hosted or air-gapped deployment for organizations that need deployment control beyond the hosted service.

Platforms

DepWarden supports web, API, Linux, macOS, and Windows, alongside self-hosted deployment; the overall deployment model is hybrid. The range accommodates both hosted use and controlled deployment, while air-gapped hosting is specifically an Enterprise option.

Who it's for

Individual developers and open-source maintainers can use the free report-only tier or pay for build gating and fix paths. Security engineers and CI gate owners have a stronger fit once a team needs scheduled scans, source analysis, and policy-enforcing builds. Compliance teams can use the SBOM, OpenVEX, and NOTICE outputs. Organizations that require EU or US hosted residency, a published uptime commitment, or independent security attestations should look elsewhere or assess the Enterprise self-hosted option.

Pros and cons

Pros: Prioritization combines exploitability signals, fix availability, and dependency depth, with upgrade commands to help move from finding to remediation.

Pros: Broad ecosystem coverage, pull request scanning, several repository integrations, and CI options support varied development workflows.

Pros: SCA, SAST, and SBOM/VEX outputs bring security and compliance work into one product, with self-hosted and air-gapped options at Enterprise level.

Cons: No reachability analysis means teams cannot determine whether vulnerable dependencies are used by reachable code.

Cons: Hosted service is restricted to Mumbai, single-region, without a self-serve uptime SLA or public status page.

Cons: No SOC 2, ISO 27001, equivalent third-party attestation, or independent penetration test may be disqualifying for assurance-led procurement.

Cons: Free scans cannot fail builds, and SAST and VEX require the $99 a month Team tier.

Alternatives

Compare software composition analysis software if you want to survey the category before settling on a workflow.

Choose Sonatype Nexus Repository if you want repository-management capabilities alongside CI/CD integration and an option for an external PostgreSQL database; its Community Edition is free. Choose Xygeni if a free tier capped at five contributors, ten repositories, and 200 scans a month suits a team that wants SAST, SCA, secrets security, and an IDE plugin.

Safety CLI is another alternative.

Choose ScanCode.io if you want free, open-source scanning that runs as a Docker container or on a Linux server, with no commercial plan or usage limits stated. Snyk Open Source is an alternative for teams whose needs fit its free allowance of five projects or its $25 a month Team tier.

Docker Desktop is another alternative, with a free Personal plan and a $9 a month Pro plan. Retire.js is a free open-source scanner and related tools. Socket is another freemium option, with a Team plan at $25 a month per developer and a five-developer minimum.

Verdict

DepWarden is a strong fit for developers and teams that want dependency risk, build gating, source scanning, and SBOM workflows under one roof, especially when self-hosting is an option. Its actionable prioritization and broad ecosystem support are compelling; the lack of reachability analysis is a real limitation. Look elsewhere if your organization needs EU or US hosted residency, independent assurance, or a published uptime commitment.