MCP SBOM Server

Overview

The MCP SBOM Server is a specialized Model Context Protocol (MCP) service that bridges the gap between AI assistants and open‑source security tooling. It performs a Trivy vulnerability scan on a target project directory and outputs the results as an SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) in CycloneDX format. By exposing this workflow through MCP, AI assistants can request a comprehensive dependency inventory and vulnerability report without needing direct access to the underlying command‑line tools. This capability is especially valuable for developers who want to embed automated security checks into conversational or workflow‑driven AI interactions.

At its core, the server wraps Trivy—a widely adopted scanner that detects vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and license issues—in a simple HTTP interface that follows the MCP specification. When an AI client sends a request, the server invokes Trivy against the specified directory, collects the raw scan output, and then transforms it into a CycloneDX SBOM. The CycloneDX format is an industry‑standard, machine‑readable representation of software components and their relationships, making the resulting artifact ready for downstream consumption by compliance tools, dependency‑management systems, or CI/CD pipelines.

Key capabilities include:

• Automated scanning: Trivy runs against the entire file system of a project, covering containers, files, and Kubernetes manifests.
• SBOM generation: The output is a fully‑formed CycloneDX XML/JSON document that lists every component, its version, and any identified vulnerabilities.
• MCP integration: The server exposes a single MCP endpoint that can be called by any compliant AI assistant, allowing seamless inclusion in chat‑based workflows or scripted pipelines.
• Cross‑platform support: While the documentation highlights Windows path handling, the server itself runs on any OS where Trivy and Node.js are available.

Typical use cases include:

• Security‑first development: Developers ask an AI assistant to “scan my project for vulnerabilities” and receive a ready‑to‑use SBOM that can be imported into GitHub Advanced Security or Snyk.
• Compliance reporting: Auditors can trigger the server from an AI workflow to generate up‑to‑date SBOMs for regulatory submissions.
• CI/CD integration: Continuous‑integration systems can invoke the MCP endpoint via an AI assistant, ensuring that every build is automatically scanned and the results are stored in a central artifact repository.

What sets this MCP server apart is its tight coupling of Trivy’s powerful scanning engine with the standardized CycloneDX SBOM format, all exposed through a lightweight MCP interface. Developers benefit from not having to write custom wrappers or parse raw Trivy output; instead, they can rely on the AI assistant to orchestrate scans and deliver structured security data that integrates cleanly into existing tooling ecosystems.