Socket is a software supply chain security company that protects development teams from malicious and risky open source packages. It checks dependencies from npm, PyPI, RubyGems and the other major registries for malware, typosquats, hidden risks, vulnerabilities and licence problems, and stops bad packages before they reach the codebase.
Checks run where developers already work: in pull requests, in the editor, at install time and in CI/CD pipelines. One organisation policy applies at every one of those points, which gives security teams consistent enforcement across developers, pipelines and AI coding assistants.
At A Glance
| Vendor | Socket |
|---|---|
| Category | Software supply chain security, DevSecOps |
| Deployment | SaaS, reached through a GitHub app, CLI, firewall proxy and REST API |
| Agentic AI | Socket MCP server, Socket for Origin |
| Market classification | DevSecOps |
What Socket Does
Attackers increasingly publish packages that look legitimate but run malicious code at install time, or slip a harmful update into a package teams already trust. Traditional vulnerability scanners look for known flaws and miss this. Socket analyses every package and every update for malicious behaviour in real time, flagging malicious packages, typosquats, supply chain attacks and install scripts. Known vulnerabilities and licence risk are still covered, but the focus is on stopping packages that behave badly, not only those with a published flaw.
Products
Socket For GitHub
Socket for GitHub is a GitHub App that reviews pull requests. Once installed on a repository, it checks each dependency change and comments on risky additions before they are merged. Socket for GitHub Actions, Socket for VS Code and a Chrome extension extend the same checks to workflows, the editor and package pages in the browser.
Socket Firewall
Socket Firewall is “an intelligent proxy between your package managers and package registries.” It blocks a risky package at the moment someone tries to install it, including transitive dependencies a developer never chose directly.
It supports configurable policies, allow lists and private registries, and can run as a persistent service in front of a private registry.
Reachability Analysis
Reachability analysis tells teams which vulnerabilities their code can actually reach, so they can safely disregard the rest and spend remediation time on real exposure. It works at dependency, precomputed and full application level, and Managed Scans (Beta) run full application reachability daily on Socket infrastructure for GitHub repositories.
Socket CLI And API
The CLI suits teams outside GitHub or those wanting more control, running scans and package scores from a terminal or pipeline. The REST API exposes package scores, alerts, scans, policies and organisation data, and supports SBOM generation and licence policy for compliance teams.
How It Works
| Component | What it does |
|---|---|
| Hosted service | Socket runs as a hosted analysis service. Every entry point sends packages to the same analysis and applies the same organisation policy. |
| Install time | Socket Firewall intercepts installs, in wrapper mode on a developer machine or in registry mode in front of a private registry, and checks every dependency before it lands. |
| Pipelines | Beyond GitHub, documented pipeline setups cover GitLab CI/CD and Bitbucket Pipelines through the CLI. |
| API access | The REST API and SDK use bearer tokens. |
| Administration | Socket supports single sign-on, SCIM user provisioning, an organisation audit log and licence policy configuration. |
Agentic AI Capabilities
Socket MCP Server
AI coding assistants pick dependencies too, often without a developer checking them. The Socket MCP server lets assistants such as Claude, VS Code Copilot and Cursor look up a package’s security and quality score through the depscore tool before suggesting it. The hosted server at mcp.socket.dev needs no install or API key and signs in with OAuth on first use. It can also run locally with a Socket API token.
Socket For Origin
Socket for Origin scans dependency changes in Cursor Origin pull requests against the organisation’s security policy, so code written by agents gets the same review as code written by people.
Integrations
| Area | Integrations |
|---|---|
| Source control and CI/CD | GitHub, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, Bitbucket Pipelines |
| Package registries | Artifactory, AWS CodeArtifact, Nexus |
| Ticketing and compliance | Jira, Vanta |
Company Background
| Leadership | Feross Aboukhadijeh, founder and CEO |
|---|---|
| Funding | $125M raised from investors including Thrive Capital, Capital One Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, Elad Gil, South Park Commons, Village Global, Unusual Ventures and WndrCo |
| Scale | More than 27,000 reported organisations protected |
Note: This overview is compiled from Socket’s publicly available information as of 3 November 2026. It is provided for information only. NHI Mgmt Group does not endorse any vendor, and nothing on this page represents the opinions of NHI Mgmt Group.