Software supply chain attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and devastating. For example, Gartner predicts that 45% of all businesses will experience a breach by 2025. In addition, Cybersecurity Ventures underscores the gravity of this threat, projecting a staggering $138 billion in annual damages by 2031. Altogether, these forecasts highlight the urgent need for organizations to prioritize software supply chain security and implement robust measures to protect sensitive data, operations, and reputations.
Because modern pipelines depend heavily on external components, the rise of third-party libraries, faster software development cycles, complex supply chains, lack of visibility, new attack techniques, SaaS adoption, and limited resources are all driving the surge in software supply chain attacks. Therefore, organizations must adopt a comprehensive and active approach to address these challenges and protect their software supply chains.
What is a Software Supply Chain Attack?
ENISA defines a Software Supply Chain Attack as “a compromise of a particular asset, e.g. a software provider’s infrastructure and commercial software, to indirectly damage a certain target or targets, e.g. the software provider’s clients.” In other words, a Software Supply Chain Attack is a malicious activity that targets the software supply chain, aiming to compromise and insert vulnerabilities or malware into the development and distribution process. As a result, this type of attack exploits the interconnected and often complicated network of processes, tools, and entities involved in building and delivering software.
Key components and concepts related to a Software Supply Chain Attack
Cyber threat intelligence and infosec literature often break down software supply chain attacks into distinct categories for better analysis and defense. Accordingly, this section introduces the five key concepts defined by the MITRE Attack Pattern Catalog. This catalog structures supply chain attack patterns to facilitate analysis using various sources, including adversarial threats gathered by NIST.Attack Act: The What
The attack act is the specific action that delivers a malicious payload or intention to a system. As a result, it produces direct harm.- Example 1: Malware inserted into system software during the build process.
- Example 2: System requirements or design documents maliciously altered.
Attack Vector: The How
The attack vector is the method adversaries use to exploit vulnerabilities or process weaknesses. Consequently, it shows how attackers access and abuse the attack surface.- Example 1: An attacker modifies source code in a compromised repository.
- Example 2: An attacker gains unauthorized access to internal technical documentation.
Attack Origin: The Who
The origin identifies the source of the attack. Therefore, it clarifies the attacker’s role, status, or relationship to the system.- Example 1: An insider with privileged access to build servers modifies a script.
- Example 2: An external threat actor uploads a trojanized package to a public registry.
Attack Goal: The Why
The goal explains the reason behind the attack. Above all, it highlights what adversaries want to achieve.- Disruption: halting services or builds.
- Corruption: reducing trust by altering artifacts or source code.
- Disclosure: leaking sensitive secrets or intellectual property.
Attack Impact: The Consequences
Finally, the impact describes the outcomes of an attack, showing the consequences for software providers and clients.- Example 1: Every build that uses a poisoned package becomes compromised downstream.
- Example 2: Users unknowingly deploy backdoored software into production environments.
Most common Software Supply Chain Attacks
Numerous types of software supply chain attacks exist, and organizations must be aware of the various threat vectors at each stage of the lifecycle. Based on the SLSA framework, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), these threats can be grouped into four categories: source, build, package, and dependency risks.
Software Supply Chain Threats in the Source Stage
- Submit bad code → see how Flask request.get misuse or insecure deserialization flaws create direct attack surfaces.
- Compromise source repo
- Build from a modified source
- Write insecure code
- Tampering critical files → as explained in chmod 777 backdoor analysis.
SSCS Threats in the Build Stage
In the Build Stage, developers compile and integrate code into a working version. Because this phase is so critical, risks include skipping security checks in the CI/CD pipeline, changing code after version control, or compromising the build process. Consequently, malicious code can sneak into artifacts unnoticed.
- Bypass CI/CD → linked to GitHub prebuild malware.
- Modify code after source control
- Compromise build process → mitigated with DevSecOps early warning detection.
- Compromise artifact repository
Software Supply Chain Threats in the Package Stage
The Package Stage involves bundling code into deployable units. In particular, threats include using compromised packages or dependencies and modifying package registries. Accordingly, attackers may upload altered or malicious versions of packages to widely-used registries.
- Use compromised package → covered in malware scanner evaluations.
- Compromise package registry
- Upload modified package → analyzed in Namso-gen fake generator malware.
SSCS Threats in the Dependency Stage
In the Dependency Stage, the focus is on integrating third-party libraries, frameworks, and packages into the software. Above all, this phase is risky because vulnerabilities in dependencies often spread silently across the pipeline.
- Use Compromised Dependency → explained with DoS risks in obfuscated dependencies.
- Outdated or Vulnerable Dependencies
- Transitive Dependency Risks
- Malicious Package Registries → mitigated with DevOps security tools and third-party risk management.
Common Software Supply Chain Attack Techniques
According to the CISA and NIST report, software supply chain attacks often fall into three main categories.
However, recent incidents show additional vectors that developers must understand.
Below we expand on the most relevant techniques with practical examples.
Hijacking Updates
Attackers compromise legitimate update mechanisms to distribute malware.
For example, the NotPetya attack in 2017 abused the Ukrainian M.E.Doc tax software update server, delivering
destructive wiper malware disguised as a patch. To defend against this risk, teams should apply threat detection and response for DevOps practices that flag anomalous behavior in update flows.
Undermining Code Signing
This technique involves abusing or stealing valid signing certificates to make malicious code appear legitimate.
A notable case was the CCleaner compromise in 2017, where attackers distributed trojanized software signed with valid certificates.
Consequently, organizations need unified integrity controls such as those described in cybersecurity platform strategies
Compromising Open-Source Code
Adversaries insert backdoors into popular open-source packages, later pulled into thousands of projects.
The EventStream NPM incident and the XZ Utils backdoor (2024) illustrate how critical this vector has become.
Developers should review resources like NPM Security FAQs and typosquatted package incidents to learn how to avoid poisoned dependencies.
Dependency Confusion
First described by Alex Birsan in 2021, this attack exploits naming collisions between internal and public package registries, tricking build systems into pulling malicious versions instead of trusted internal packages.
Typosquatting and Malicious Packages
Attackers publish malicious packages with names similar to popular libraries (e.g., “reqeusts” instead of “requests”).
Developers accidentally install these, introducing malware into their projects.
A real example is analyzed in Namso-gen malware and in our list of open-source malware scanners
Build Pipeline Tampering
As seen in the SolarWinds Orion compromise, attackers can infiltrate build servers to inject malicious code during compilation.
This makes the entire signed artifact chain untrustworthy. Techniques for prevention include monitoring CI/CD integrity with
early warning detection
and analyzing
GitHub prebuild malware campaigns
.
Xygeni: Your Comprehensive Solution for Robust Software Supply Chain Security
Continuous Security Posture Management
Xygeni provides continuous risk assessment throughout all stages of the SDLC, offering real-time monitoring of infrastructure, pipelines, and teams. This helps detect vulnerabilities early and makes sure security risks are handled before they grow into serious threats.
CI/CD Security
Xygeni Ci/CD Security builds security directly into CI/CD pipelines, stopping tampered code from getting into production. It blocks compromised artifacts before deployment by using secure build attestations, artifact checks, and automated security gates, making sure your builds stay intact.
Anomaly Detection
Xygeni’s anomaly detection watches for suspicious actions in real-time, quickly noticing unusual things like unapproved changes to configurations, code repositories, or user permissions. These instant alerts help teams respond to threats right away
Open Source Security
Xygeni provides real-time malware detection for open-source components, identifying and blocking malicious code before it enters the software supply chain. It also generates a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) to ensure complete visibility and accountability for all open-source dependencies.
Code Security
Xygeni Code Security secures your code by detecting and blocking malicious elements like backdoors, ransomware, and trojans. This protects every line of application code from unauthorized injections that could lead to data theft, system disruption, or damage to reputation.
Build Security
Xygeni Build Security secures the build process from code creation to deployment by checking and checking artifacts, creating build attestations, and running real-time integrity checks. It uses keyless signatures and SLSA provenance to ensure that all components stay secure and untampered.
Secrets Management
Xygeni Secrets Security actively scans for exposed secrets, such as API keys or credentials, across the entire SDLC. It prevents sensitive information from being leaked and ensures the security of infrastructure configurations and development processes.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Security
Xygeni scans IaC templates for misconfigurations, makeing sure vulnerabilities are not copied across different environments. Securing these templates helps organizations scale infrastructure while keeping robust security controls.
Xygeni delivers end-to-end protection, safeguarding every phase of the SDLC with features like attestation, real-time alerts, and artifact verification to combat growing software supply chain attacks.
Stay Ahead of Software Supply Chain Attacks
Now that we have explained what is a software supply chain attack, and as they continue to rise, organizations urgently need to protect their development pipelines and infrastructure. The growing complexity of these attacks, from compromised source code to malicious dependencies, highlights the importance of taking action early. To keep sensitive data safe, ensure smooth operations, and protect your organization’s reputation, it’s critical to implement strong software supply chain security measures.
Xygeni offers a comprehensive solution, integrating real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, code and build security, and open-source protection. Equip your team with the tools necessary to secure your software supply chain from development through deployment.
Don’t wait for a breach—secure your software supply chain now. Save a demo with Xygeni today and see how our solutions can protect your systems from emerging threats.
