Integrating 3rd-party components?

The CRA makes it clear: if you’re building products with digital elements, you’re also responsible for the components you integrate, even open-source ones.

Here’s what manufacturers are on the hook for:

  • Risk assess components (including FOSS) and ensure they don’t compromise the product’s security.
  • Report vulnerabilities in those components to whoever maintains them.
  • Share fixes upstream if you patch a third-party component.
  • Maintain an SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) to track what’s inside your product.
  • Document everything in the technical file.

Gone are the days of “not my code, not my problem.” Whether you bundle a library, flash a chipset, or ship a container image — the CRA says: you own the risk.

So how are folks here dealing with this? Have you started generating SBOMs? What’s your plan for vetting or monitoring dependencies?