Remediation Strategies

When SCA identifies license violations, rapid remediation prevents legal exposure. First, verify the finding—false positives occur due to incorrect metadata or dual licensing. If confirmed, evaluate options: remove the dependency, replace with alternative components, negotiate commercial licenses, or potentially open source affected code. Each option has trade-offs in cost, time, and functionality.

Dependency replacement requires careful evaluation of alternatives. Ensure replacements provide equivalent functionality without introducing new security or license risks. Test thoroughly as behavior differences can introduce bugs. Consider long-term maintenance—replacing a well-maintained problematic component with an abandoned permissive one trades license risk for security risk. Document replacement decisions for future reference.

Architecture changes might be necessary for fundamental conflicts. Isolating GPL components in separate processes enables proprietary/GPL hybrid applications. Microservices architectures can segregate components with different license requirements. API boundaries provide license isolation. While architectural changes require investment, they provide sustainable solutions for license compliance in complex applications.