arXiv:2510.08609v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Developers consistently use version constraints to specify acceptable versions of the dependencies for their project. Pinning dependencies can reduce the likelihood of breaking changes, but comes with a cost of manually managing the replacement of outdated and vulnerable dependencies. On the other hand, floating can be used to automatically get bug fixes and security fixes, but comes with the risk of breaking changes. Security practitioners advocate pinning dependencies to prevent against software supply chain attacks, e.g., malicious p
The proliferation of software supply chain attacks and increased scrutiny on software security practices are pushing developers and organizations to re-evaluate dependency management strategies.
This research provides critical insights into the trade-offs between different dependency management approaches (pinning vs. floating), directly impacting software security, development efficiency, and project stability.
Increased awareness and empirical data on the security implications of dependency management could lead to revised best practices and more sophisticated tooling for developers and organizations.
- · Security software vendors
- · Organizations with robust CI/CD pipelines
- · Developers focused on secure coding practices
- · Organizations with lax dependency management
- · Projects relying heavily on outdated dependencies
- · Bad actors exploiting software supply chain vulnerabilities
Improved security posture for software projects adopting optimized dependency management strategies.
Potential for new standards or automated tools that intelligently balance security, stability, and update frequency in dependency resolution.
Reduced surface for software supply chain attacks could shift attacker focus to other vectors, such as social engineering or internal threats.
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Read at arXiv cs.LG