What is CBOM – Certificate Bill of Materials

CBOM stands for Certificate Bill of Materials.

It is a concept borrowed from the software industry’s SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) and applies its core principle to the complex ecosystem of digital certificates and cryptographic assets within an organization.

Core Definition

A CBOM is a formal, machine-readable inventory that details all the digital certificates (TLS/SSL, code signing, S/MIME, client authentication, etc.), cryptographic keys, and sometimes related cryptographic assets (like root certificate authorities trusted) used across an organization’s IT infrastructure.

Think of it as a complete “ingredients list” for your organization’s certificate landscape.

Key Components of a CBOM

A comprehensive CBOM typically includes for each certificate:

1. Identification: Serial number, thumbprint, issuer, subject (Common Name, SANs).

2. Cryptographic Details: Key algorithm (RSA, ECC), key size, signature algorithm.

3. Validity Period: Issue date, expiration date.

4. Usage & Policy: Key usage (Encryption, Signing), Extended Key Usage (Server Auth, Client Auth, Code Signing).

5. Location & Ownership: Which server, device, or application it’s installed on (IP, hostname), who owns it, and which team manages it.

6. Issuer & Chain: The issuing CA (public, private, internal) and the full chain of trust.

7. Status: Active, expired, revoked, or soon-to-expire.

Why is CBOM Important? (The “Why”)

The modern IT environment has thousands of certificates, often issued by different CAs and scattered across cloud, on-premises, and IoT devices. This leads to major problems:

• Risk of Outages: An unexpected certificate expiration on a critical server (like a load balancer, VPN, or database) can cause catastrophic service downtime.

• Security Vulnerabilities: Weak cryptographic standards (e.g., SHA-1, 1024-bit RSA), compromised keys, or certificates from untrusted CAs create security holes.

• Lack of Visibility & Governance: Most organizations don’t know how many certificates they have, where they are, or when they expire. This is the primary problem a CBOM solves.

• Compliance Challenges: Standards like PCI DSS, NIST, FIPS, and GDPR require strict management of cryptographic materials. A CBOM is essential for proving compliance.

How is a CBOM Created and Used?

CBOMs are not created manually. They are generated and maintained using specialized tools:

1. Certificate Discovery Tools & Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) Platforms: Tools like PKI Trust Manager and Trust Cloud automatically scan networks, endpoints, and cloud environments to discover certificates and generate a live, dynamic CBOM.

2. The Process:

   • Discovery: Automated tools scan IP ranges, domains, servers, and cloud instances.

   • Aggregation & Inventory: Data from all discovered certificates is aggregated into a central database, this is the core CBOM.

   • Analysis & Reporting: The platform uses the CBOM to provide dashboards showing expiration timelines, compliance status, and security risks.

   • Automation: The CBOM feeds into automated workflows for renewal, revocation, and replacement, preventing manual errors and outages.

Analogy to SBOM

• SBOM is a list of all software components (libraries, dependencies) in an application. It’s crucial for identifying vulnerabilities like Log4j.

• CBOM is a list of all cryptographic components (certificates, keys) in an organization’s infrastructure. It’s crucial for preventing outages and ensuring cryptographic security.

Benefits of Maintaining a CBOM

• Prevents Expiration-Related Outages: Proactive alerts and automated renewals.

• Improves Security Posture: Identifies weak or non-compliant certificates for replacement.

• Enables Rapid Response: If a CA is compromised (e.g., a root CA needs to be distrusted), you know exactly which assets are affected.

• Simplifies Audits and Compliance: Provides a single source of truth for auditors.

• Reduces Operational Overhead: Eliminates manual spreadsheet tracking.

Conclusion

In short, a CBOM is the foundational element for modern certificate management and cryptographic hygiene. It provides the critical visibility needed to move from a reactive, fire-fighting mode to a proactive, secure, and automated governance model for an organization’s digital trust infrastructure.