Does the project use tools to help update its dependencies?

This check tries to determine if the project uses a dependency update tool. These tools automate the process of updating dependencies by scanning for outdated or insecure requirements, and opening a pull request to update them if found.

Reference: ESF - Securing the Software Supply Chain - Recommended practices for Developers - 2.2.2 Open Source Management Practices

Out-of-date dependencies make a project vulnerable to known flaws and prone to attacks.

There are both open-source and commercial tools available for Software Composition Analysis (SCA) for the process of identifying potential areas of risk from the use of third-party software components.

Dependency Update tools automate part of the dependency-update process by integrating with the SCM, detecting out-of-date or vulnerable dependencies, and creating a pull request with the change in project dependencies descriptors, that could be accepted for merge.

The check looks for well-known tools in use, specifically dependabot, renovatebot, Depfu, Dependencies.io and Dependaroo.

For GitHub, see instructions for dependabot or renovatebot.

There are many ways to implement dependency updates, and it is challenging for an automated tool to detect them all. A FAIL status is therefore not a definitive indication that the project is at risk.