Why ShieldedStack

If Socket Firewall is free, why pay for ShieldedStack?

Free and SaaS-first firewalls are useful when vendor-hosted workflows are acceptable. ShieldedStack is for teams that need dependency enforcement on infrastructure they control, under an EU vendor, with no package telemetry or audit data uploaded to someone else's cloud.

Free or SaaS-first firewalls

  • Useful for individual developers and teams comfortable with vendor-hosted workflows.
  • Package activity, scan findings, users, or audit context may leave your environment.
  • Paid plans commonly scale by seat, so cost rises with every developer and CI user.
  • Plan-level coverage and limits need review before standardizing across ecosystems.

ShieldedStack

  • On-prem enforcement: the proxy, policy engine, logs, and audit trail run in your infrastructure.
  • No phone-home: package names, versions, scan results, users, and audit logs stay with you.
  • EU jurisdiction: built in Denmark for GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and data sovereignty pressure.
  • No per-developer pricing: license by installation, tenant, and workspace instead of seat count.

Compare the models in ShieldedStack vs Socket Firewall, or see flat annual pricing.

What is ShieldedStack?

ShieldedStack is an intelligent security proxy that sits between your developers and seven package ecosystems. It intercepts every package download request, scans for known vulnerabilities in real-time, and blocks threats before they reach your codebase without slowing down your developers.

ShieldedStack architecture diagram showing how the proxy intercepts package requests

For Development Teams

  • Zero configuration changes to existing workflows
  • Transparent package downloads with automatic protection
  • No slowdown in development speed

For Security Teams

  • Complete visibility into package risk posture
  • Centralized policy control and enforcement
  • Audit trails for compliance requirements

Different from Socket, Sonatype, and JFrog curation

Runs where your data lives

ShieldedStack is installed into your environment. Package traffic, findings, policies, user identities, and audit trails do not need to be uploaded to a vendor-hosted control plane.

EU-built for regulated teams

A Denmark-based vendor and on-prem architecture help answer GDPR, NIS2, DORA, data residency, and procurement questions without redesigning the workflow.

Flat price, not seat tax

Add developers, CI agents, and projects inside your licensed scope without converting every new engineer into another security-tool seat.

Why This Matters: The Hidden Threat in Your Dependencies

Every package download across your supported ecosystems is a potential backdoor into your enterprise. Between 2019 and 2022 supply chain attacks surged 742% and it's only getting worse. Attackers increasingly target the open-source packages your developers trust most. The SolarWinds, Codecov, and event-stream attacks exposed a harsh reality: your security is only as strong as your weakest dependency.

The typical enterprise downloads thousands of packages monthly. Without visibility and control, each download could deliver malware, data exfiltration tools, or backdoors directly into your production environment.

This isn't a theoretical risk. The numbers expose the scale of the threat facing every modern development team:


512,847
Malicious packages discovered since Nov. 2023
156%
YoY growth of malicious packages
4.5
Trillion
JavaScript (npm) requests, 70% YoY growth
530
Billion
Python (PyPI) package requests, 80% YoY increase largely driven by AI & cloud

Source: Sonatype State of the Software Supply Chain

ShieldedStack: Your Intelligent Supply Chain Proxy

ShieldedStack sits invisibly between your developers and package managers across seven package ecosystems, acting as an intelligent security gateway that scans for known vulnerabilities and blocks threats in real-time before they reach your codebase.

  • Intercepts Every Request: All package downloads flow through ShieldedStack's proxy
  • Real-Time Vulnerability Scanning: Instantly checks packages against our vulnerability database
  • Age-Based Risk Assessment: Flags outdated packages with accumulated security debt
  • Intelligent Blocking: Automatically denies package versions with known vulnerabilities based on your severity thresholds
  • Zero Developer Friction: Works transparently with existing workflows—no changes to developer tools required

Try Our Free Dependency Explorer

See why dependency visibility matters. Analyze any package from NuGet, npm, or PyPI—including all transitive dependencies—without signing up.

Complete Visibility & Control

ShieldedStack's hosted security console delivers end-to-end visibility and guided response with:

  • Unified Package Intelligence: Track every package and version in use across your organization
  • Actionable Vulnerability Reports: Map CVEs to affected projects with first patched versions and ready-to-run upgrade guidance
  • Legacy & License Insights: Spot outdated dependencies and high-risk licensing trends before they escalate
  • Policy Workflows: Tune allowlists, denylists, and severity gates without slowing developers
  • Audit-Ready Trails: Preserve every package decision for compliance and post-incident reviews
  • Team-Friendly Exports: Share dashboards and reports with security leadership and engineering owners

The Business Impact

  • Block compromised packages before they enter your environment
  • Eliminate security debt from aging dependencies
  • Reduce incident response costs by stopping attacks at the source
  • Maintain compliance with software supply chain security requirements
  • Accelerate secure development without slowing delivery

Frequently Asked Questions

How does ShieldedStack differ from Snyk, Dependabot, JFrog, or Socket Firewall?

Free firewalls such as Socket Firewall can be a good starting point if SaaS workflows and plan limits fit your risk model. ShieldedStack is different because it runs on your infrastructure, does not upload package telemetry or audit data, is EU-built, and is licensed without per-developer fees. Snyk and Dependabot remain useful scanners, but they operate after packages have already reached your repository. See our ShieldedStack vs Socket Firewall, ShieldedStack vs Snyk, ShieldedStack vs Dependabot, and ShieldedStack vs JFrog pages for a full breakdown.

How do I block vulnerable npm packages before they reach my CI/CD pipeline?

Point your package manager client at ShieldedStack's proxy endpoint. All package download requests flow through ShieldedStack, which scans each package against a real-time CVE database and blocks any version that violates your configured severity policy—before the package is delivered to your build agent or developer machine.

Does ShieldedStack work with npm, NuGet, PyPI, Maven, Go, Cargo, and RubyGems?

Yes. ShieldedStack supports seven package ecosystems: npm (Node.js/JavaScript), NuGet (.NET), PyPI (Python), Maven (Java), Go modules, Cargo (Rust), and RubyGems (Ruby). You configure each client to use ShieldedStack as its proxy, and protection is applied uniformly across all ecosystems from a single policy console.

What is a package security proxy?

A package security proxy sits between your developers or CI systems and public package registries. Every download request passes through the proxy, which inspects the package for known CVEs, malicious code indicators, license issues, and policy violations—then either allows or blocks the download in real time.

Can I block packages by CVE severity in CI/CD?

Yes. ShieldedStack's policy engine lets you configure severity thresholds (Critical, High, Medium, Low) independently for different environments. For example, you can hard-block Critical CVEs in production CI while only alerting on Medium severity in development.

What remediation guidance does ShieldedStack provide?

For each vulnerability, ShieldedStack highlights the first patched version and provides practical remediation guidance. Where applicable, it includes ecosystem-specific upgrade commands so teams can move from alert to fix faster.

Does ShieldedStack prevent dependency confusion attacks?

Yes. Because ShieldedStack controls and proxies all package resolution, it can enforce allowlists and private registry priorities that prevent malicious public packages from shadowing your internal packages—a key vector in dependency confusion attacks.

Does ShieldedStack support SBOM export?

Yes. ShieldedStack can export a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) covering all packages observed flowing through the proxy across all supported ecosystems, giving you an accurate, continuously updated inventory for compliance and audit purposes.