syft-generation

Overview

Per github.com/anchore/syft, Syft generates SBOMs from "container images, filesystems, archives" (OCI, Docker, Singularity). The SBOM is the input artifact for vuln scanning with Grype (Step 7), for SBOM-to-SBOM drift diffing (Step 8), and for compliance delivery in SPDX or CycloneDX format.

SBOMs are mandated by US EO 14028 (software sold to federal agencies), the EU Cyber Resilience Act (products with digital elements, in effect 2024+), and FDA medical-device guidance; internal supply-chain audits also need a full dependency manifest.

When to use

• The team ships software to customers requiring an SBOM (federal, EU regulated, medical device, etc.).
• Internal compliance program requires SBOM as evidence artifact.
• The vuln-scanning workflow needs an SBOM input (Grype, OSV-Scanner with --sbom).
• Container-image build pipelines need accompanying SBOM for delivery alongside the image.
• A rebuilt image needs a dependency-drift check ("what changed in the inventory?") or a "no unexpected new transitive deps" release gate (Step 8).

Step 1 - Install

Per sf-gh:

# Homebrew
brew install syft

# Docker
docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/scan" anchore/syft scan dir:/scan -o cyclonedx-json

# Install script into a user-owned dir (-b sets the target; no sudo needed)
curl -sSfL https://get.anchore.io/syft | sh -s -- -b "$HOME/.local/bin"

Other paths (consult sf-gh): Scoop, Chocolatey, Nix.

Step 2 - Basic SBOM generation

Per sf-gh:

# Container image
syft alpine:latest

# Local directory
syft ./my-project

# Specific output format to stdout
syft <image> -o cyclonedx-json

# Multiple formats to files in one pass
syft <image> -o spdx-json=./spdx.json -o cyclonedx-json=./cdx.json

The default output is the table format (human-readable); use explicit -o for machine-readable formats in CI.

Step 3 - Output format catalog

Per sf-gh, the common formats are cyclonedx-json (CycloneDX 1.5+, broad support), spdx-json (SPDX 2.3, preferred by US federal procurement), and syft-json (richest metadata). For Grype scan input (Step 7) use syft-json or cyclonedx-json; for compliance delivery the consumer dictates (SPDX-JSON US federal, CycloneDX-JSON most EU) - see sbom-formats for the format-choice guidance. The full format catalog is in references/formats.md.

Step 4 - Source types

Per sf-gh, the common sources are a local Docker image (syft alpine:latest), a remote registry (syft registry:docker.io/alpine:latest), an archive (syft oci-archive:./image.tar), and a directory (syft dir:./my-project). The full source-type syntax table is in references/formats.md.

Step 5 - Attestation pattern (cosign)

For supply-chain integrity, attach the SBOM to the container image via Sigstore cosign:

# Generate SBOM
syft my-image:1.0 -o cyclonedx-json=sbom.json

# Sign + attach to image (Sigstore)
cosign attest --predicate sbom.json --type cyclonedx my-image:1.0

# Verify
cosign verify-attestation --type cyclonedx my-image:1.0

The attestation lives alongside the image in the registry; downstream consumers can verify provenance + retrieve the SBOM.

Step 6 - False-positive triage analogue

Syft generates inventories, not findings - there's no FP triage per se. The analogue here is inventory accuracy: ensuring Syft correctly identifies all components.

Mechanism	Use
--exclude=PATH_PATTERN	Skip directories from scan (vendor / generated)
--catalogers=CATALOGER	Restrict to specific catalogers (e.g., npm, python)
--source-name=NAME / --source-version=VERSION	Override SBOM-level metadata
--platform=linux/amd64	Target specific platform for multi-arch images

Inventory accuracy validation:

# Compare two SBOMs (e.g., before vs after a build change)
syft image:1.0 -o syft-json=v1-sbom.json
syft image:1.1 -o syft-json=v1.1-sbom.json
diff <(jq -S . v1-sbom.json) <(jq -S . v1.1-sbom.json)

If Syft misses a component (false negative on inventory), the downstream vuln scan misses any CVEs against that component. Periodic accuracy validation against known dependencies catches this.

Step 7 - Generate + scan workflow (Grype)

Grype is the Anchore vuln scanner that pairs with Syft. Per github.com/anchore/grype, three input modes:

Input mode	Use
Container image	grype alpine:latest (Grype generates SBOM internally)
Directory	grype ./my-project (filesystem scan)
SBOM input	grype sbom:./sbom.json (no re-generation; faster + auditable)

The SBOM-input mode is the recommended production pattern: generate the SBOM once via Syft (Step 2), attest via cosign (Step 5), then scan the SBOM. Decoupling gives an audit trail and allows re-scanning with a refreshed vuln DB without re-building. Per gr-gh, coverage spans major OS package ecosystems (Alpine, Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, Amazon Linux) and language packages (Ruby, Java, JavaScript, Python, .NET, Go, PHP, Rust).

# Install (Homebrew, or the install script into a user-owned dir - no sudo)
brew install grype
# curl -sSfL https://get.anchore.io/grype | sh -s -- -b "$HOME/.local/bin"

# Scan the Syft-generated SBOM (recommended)
grype sbom:./sbom.json

# Output formats: table (default) / json / sarif / cyclonedx-json / template
grype sbom:./sbom.json -o sarif       # GitHub Code Scanning
grype sbom:./sbom.json -o json        # EPSS + KEV + risk-score annotations

# CI gate: exit 1 at/above severity; focus on upgradable findings
grype sbom:./sbom.json --fail-on high --only-fixed

Severity levels per gr-gh: critical, high, medium, low, negligible, unknown. The JSON output annotates findings with EPSS, KEV, and risk scoring for downstream prioritization.

Suppression (MANDATORY triage): Grype's native path is .grype.yaml ignore rules - per-CVE, per-package+version, or pattern-based (fix-state), each with a mandatory expires: date and a reachability reason:. Full config + justification template: references/grype-ignore-rules.md. OpenVEX status assertions (not_affected / fixed / etc., see vex-author) filter findings in a signed, machine-readable way. Audit ignore entries quarterly; expired entries are removed.

DB management for CI determinism - Grype's DB updates multiple times per day; pin per scan or results vary run to run:

grype db update                                # manual refresh
grype db status
grype db import grype-db-v6-2026-05-06.tar.gz  # pinned version for CI

CI wiring - anchore/scan-action wraps Grype + SARIF upload:

      - uses: anchore/scan-action@v5
        with:
          sbom: sbom.cyclonedx.json
          fail-build: true
          severity-cutoff: high
          output-format: sarif
      - uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        if: always()
        with: { sarif_file: results.sarif }

Grype's DB is Anchore-curated; coverage differs from OSV.dev / Snyk / NVD - pair with osv-scanner or snyk-test for consensus. No reachability analysis: every CVE on a declared component counts.

Step 8 - Diffing SBOMs across versions

An SBOM diff turns two point-in-time inventories into a change signal: which components are net-new, removed, or version-changed between image or build versions. Per github.com/CycloneDX/cyclonedx-cli, the CycloneDX CLI provides a first-class diff subcommand accepting any two CycloneDX BOMs (XML, JSON, or Protobuf):

# Install: brew install cyclonedx/cyclonedx/cyclonedx-cli
#   or:    docker run cyclonedx/cyclonedx-cli ...

# Generate both inventories with the SAME source type + format
syft myapp:1.0 -o cyclonedx-json=sbom-v1.0.json
syft myapp:1.1 -o cyclonedx-json=sbom-v1.1.json

# Human-readable diff
cyclonedx diff sbom-v1.0.json sbom-v1.1.json --component-versions

# Machine-readable diff for CI gate logic
cyclonedx diff sbom-v1.0.json sbom-v1.1.json \
  --component-versions --output-format json > diff-result.json

Key flags per cdx-cli-gh: --component-versions (the signal flag - reports added / removed / version-changed components; without it only structural BOM changes are reported), --from-format / --to-format (autodetect / json / xml / protobuf), --output-format (text / json).

The JSON output carries three lists: added (net-new deps - review every entry: expected transitive dep, base-image update, or supply-chain risk), removed (may hide a dep renamed by a packaging change), and modified (version changes with old + new values). Minimal CI gate:

ADDED=$(jq '.added | length' diff-result.json)
if [ "$ADDED" -gt "0" ]; then
  echo "::error::Net-new components detected. Review diff-result.json."
  jq '.added' diff-result.json
  exit 1
fi

The full GitHub Actions gate with allowlist-subtraction, plus the nightly-drift workflow (diff production tag vs last known-good SBOM, rotate the baseline only on a clean diff), are in references/diff-ci-workflows.md.

Diff rules of thumb: always pass --component-versions; generate both SBOMs with the same tool, format, and source type (dir: vs image scope mismatch produces noisy diffs); diff multi-arch images per-platform (--platform=linux/amd64 on both runs); SPDX SBOMs need cyclonedx convert first. The diff shows inventory change, not vulnerability change - scan net-new components with Grype (Step 7).

Step 9 - CI integration

jobs:
  sbom:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: anchore/sbom-action@v0
        with:
          path: ./
          format: cyclonedx-json
          output-file: sbom.cyclonedx.json
      - uses: anchore/sbom-action@v0
        with:
          path: ./
          format: spdx-json
          output-file: sbom.spdx.json
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: sboms
          path: sbom.*.json

The anchore/sbom-action GHA wraps Syft + handles GitHub dependency-graph submission automatically when format: github-json.

Step 10 - Composition with sister tools

Sister tool	Use
sbom-formats	Reference for CycloneDX + SPDX schemas and format choice
trivy-image	Alternative scanner (built-in SBOM gen + scan in one pass)
vex-author	OpenVEX documents that filter Grype findings (Step 7)
osv-scanner	Cross-plugin: also accepts SBOM input

Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern	Why it fails	Fix
Generate SBOM only at release time	Misses build-time inventory differences	Generate per CI build + attest
Use single format only	Different consumers need different formats	Generate both CycloneDX + SPDX (Step 2)
Skip platform targeting on multi-arch images	Misses platform-specific deps	--platform=linux/amd64 (Step 6)
Generate SBOM but don't attest / sign	Provenance unverifiable downstream	Cosign attest pattern (Step 5)
Trust Syft inventory without validation	Misses components → misses CVEs	Periodic accuracy check (Step 6)
Re-generate SBOM via Grype on every scan	Slow + non-deterministic; SBOM lives outside scan	Use sbom: input mode (Step 7)
.grype.yaml ignore without expires:	Permanent debt	Mandatory expires: (Step 7)
Skip Grype DB pin in CI	Different DB version per run; non-deterministic	Pin DB version (Step 7)
Diff without --component-versions	Reports only structural BOM changes, not inventory delta	Always pass the flag (Step 8)
Diff SBOMs from different tools / scan depths	Format + scope mismatches appear as false diffs	Same generator, format, source type (Step 8)

Limitations

• Syft can't scan what it can't see - encrypted archives, custom package formats may produce incomplete SBOMs.
• Some language-specific catalogers have edge cases (e.g., npm workspaces, Python wheel quirks); validate against known deps.
• SBOM generation alone doesn't prove the deps are vulnerability-free - run the Grype scan step (Step 7).
• Multi-arch container scanning is per-platform; combine SBOMs manually or via tooling for unified view.
• Grype includes no reachability analysis, and its DB coverage differs from OSV.dev / Snyk / NVD (Step 7).
• cyclonedx diff operates on CycloneDX only; SPDX SBOMs require cyclonedx convert first (Step 8).

References

• sf-gh - Syft repository: install, scan commands, formats
• gr-gh - Grype repository: install, input modes, --fail-on
• cdx-cli-gh - cyclonedx-cli repository: diff flags + output
• references/formats.md - full output format catalog + source-type syntax
• references/grype-ignore-rules.md - .grype.yaml config + justification template
• references/diff-ci-workflows.md - diff CI gate + nightly drift workflows
• anchore.com/syft - landing
• oss.anchore.com/docs/reference/grype/cli/ - full Grype CLI reference
• openvex.dev - OpenVEX specification; first.org/epss - EPSS data source
• ntia.gov/SBOM - NTIA SBOM minimum elements
• whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nations-cybersecurity/ - US EO 14028
• sbom-formats, trivy-image, vex-author - sister tools