Finite State alternatives

We build CRACI, so weigh that in; we describe every option from its own documentation and say when another tool fits better.

Why teams look beyond Finite State

Finite State is a product security platform that "unifies firmware, binaries, source code, and compliance evidence" for connected device makers, with "support for 50+ binary instruction set architectures." It builds SBOMs and a software inventory from those artifacts, ranks findings by reachability, exploit intelligence and product context, records VEX decisions, and maps evidence to the CRA, FDA guidance and other frameworks. It embeds checks in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI and Jenkins.

Teams still compare alternatives, usually for one of these reasons:

• Most of the firmware is their own. Analyzing a binary works backward from the output. A team that builds its own images can record what went into them instead.
• A narrower job. Some teams need only firmware analysis, only malware and tampering checks, or protection on the device, rather than a full product security platform.
• Pricing and hosting. Finite State publishes no prices, and some teams want a free tool they run themselves.

What to look for

• Whether you mainly analyze firmware you receive or firmware you build.
• How the SBOM is produced, and whether the tool tells you when it is incomplete.
• Instruction set and file format coverage if you analyze binaries.
• Prioritization: reachability, exploit intelligence and VEX.
• Evidence for the Cyber Resilience Act: which releases contain an affected component, and how fast you know.
• CI coverage, hosting options and how pricing scales.

The options

1. CRACI (our product)

CRACI is a GitHub Actions runner that produces the SBOM while the build runs. It is for teams that build their own firmware and software. A package-aware proxy records what each job fetches from package and source hosts, including packages restored from CI caches, and each SBOM states its completeness per job and per cache. Yocto builds run on runners of up to 32 vCPUs and 96 GB of RAM: in a side-by-side build of core-image-sato, CRACI's SBOM had every component in Yocto's own SBOM plus 88 it missed, such as host packages and GitHub Actions, and a package URL for each of the 653 Rust crate versions Yocto lists without one.

CRACI re-evaluates monitored SBOMs continuously, supports VEX, and lets security teams triage findings and route each one to the team that owns the fix. You can add vendor SBOMs, so bought-in components are monitored next to your own builds. Because CRACI runs the job, it also enforces an egress policy that fails closed.

Best for: device makers that build their own images on GitHub Actions and want the build, the SBOM and the vulnerability tracking in one place. Consider if: you can live without binary analysis and reachability, which CRACI does not offer; it cannot see inside firmware you did not build. It supports GitHub Actions only, with GitLab CI and Jenkins on the roadmap. CRACI vs Finite State

2. ONEKEY

ONEKEY analyzes compiled firmware with "no source code or network access needed." It generates an SBOM from the binary, imports supplier SBOMs, exports CycloneDX and SPDX, looks for likely zero-days such as hardcoded credentials, and re-analyzes firmware daily. Its Compliance Wizard walks teams through the CRA, IEC 62443-4-2, ETSI EN 303 645 and the Radio Equipment Directive.

Best for: device makers checking firmware images they did not build, with guided checks against standards. Consider if: you need findings beyond known CVEs; ONEKEY's zero-day analysis is its difference from pure component matching. CRACI vs ONEKEY

3. Black Duck Binary Analysis

Black Duck Binary Analysis identifies open source in executables, libraries, containers, firmware and mobile apps without source code, using static and string analysis with fuzzy matching so it finds modified components too. It reports vulnerabilities, license issues and exposed secrets such as tokens and passwords. It sits next to Black Duck SCA and Coverity SAST.

Best for: organizations that already use Black Duck for source code and want the same component data for binaries. Consider if: quote-based pricing works for you; there were no published prices as of September 2026. CRACI vs Black Duck

4. NetRise

NetRise Turbine performs "firmware/binary analysis to create accurate SBOMs and uncover risk within the software that actually executes on your devices," and prioritizes vulnerabilities by reachability and exploitability. NetRise Provenance looks at the origin, maintainers and repository health of open-source components. Dragos acquired NetRise on September 21, 2026, and positions it for operational technology fleets.

Best for: product security, third-party risk and incident response teams, especially in industrial and critical infrastructure, who need to know what runs on devices. Consider if: quote-based buying works for you; NetRise publishes no prices, and it has been part of Dragos since September 2026.

5. Exein

Exein works on the device and on the firmware. Exein Runtime uses eBPF to monitor and block malicious behavior on embedded Linux, and the open-source meta-exein Yocto layer puts its Pulsar agent into your image. Exein Analyzer inspects firmware before release, or your SBOM when the binary is not available, ranks findings with reachability scoring and LLM-powered filtering, and maps them to CRA requirements.

Best for: embedded Linux makers that want protection in the field as well as firmware analysis. Consider if: you are comfortable shipping an agent on the device. CRACI vs Exein

6. ReversingLabs Spectra Assure

Spectra Assure analyzes compiled software packages without source code for malware, tampering, exposed secrets and vulnerabilities, and produces CycloneDX and SPDX SBOMs from what it finds. Differential analysis compares versions and flags suspicious changes between releases. The rl-secure CLI runs on premises and in CI.

Best for: a release gate for malware and tampering on the package you ship, or on commercial software before you deploy it. Consider if: firmware analysis across many instruction sets is your main need. Community is free and Community+ is $500 per month (as of September 2026). CRACI vs ReversingLabs

7. RunSafe Security

RunSafe Identify "generates detailed SBOMs for embedded systems at software build time, eliminating the need for binary analysis," with a focus on C and C++, and outputs CycloneDX. RunSafe lists Yocto, QNX, Linux, VxWorks and Windows builds. RunSafe Protect adds runtime code protection against memory exploits without source code changes, and Monitor tracks crashes in the field.

Best for: automotive, aerospace, defense and industrial teams with large C and C++ codebases who want memory safety protection. Consider if: you need more than C and C++ coverage, or control over what the build can connect to. Pricing is by quote.

8. Cybeats

Cybeats SBOM Studio is a system of record that ingests, manages, monitors and shares SBOMs across products and suppliers. It scores SBOM quality at import and shares SBOMs and VEX with customers. For SBOM generation and binary composition analysis, Cybeats points to vendors in its Marketplace, and its RAVEN add-on reasons about reachability and drafts VEX.

Best for: medical, industrial and telecom manufacturers running an SBOM program across many products and suppliers. Consider if: you need the analysis itself; SBOM Studio manages SBOMs that another tool generated. CRACI vs Cybeats

9. EMBA (open source)

EMBA is a GPLv3 firmware analyzer "designed as the central firmware analysis and SBOM tool for penetration testers, product security teams, developers and responsible product managers." It extracts firmware, runs static analysis and dynamic analysis through emulation, generates an SBOM, and reports weaknesses such as insecure binaries, outdated components and hardcoded passwords. EMBArk adds a web interface.

Best for: security teams and penetration testers who want firmware analysis without a license fee. Consider if: you can run and maintain it yourself on Linux; there is no vendor support or managed monitoring.

Side by side

"Black Duck BDBA" means Black Duck Binary Analysis, "NetRise" means NetRise Turbine, "ReversingLabs" means Spectra Assure, and "RunSafe" means Identify with Protect. Cybeats is described above and left out of the table. "Not stated" means the capability is not described in the vendor's documentation, not that it is missing.

For the Cyber Resilience Act

Finite State, ONEKEY and Exein all map their findings to the CRA. Its reporting obligations have applied since September 11, 2026, and its main provisions apply from December 11, 2027. A 24-hour early warning depends on knowing quickly which releases contain an affected component. For firmware you build, CRACI keeps the build history with each build's SBOM, so you can see which builds contained a vulnerable dependency. Its API returns SBOMs, network traces and provenance, SBOMs export as CycloneDX or SPDX, and CRACI submits the CRA notifications on your behalf.

No tool on this page makes a manufacturer compliant on its own. See what the CRA requires and CRA compliance tools compared.

When to stay with Finite State

• Much of your firmware comes from suppliers, on many different instruction set architectures.
• You want firmware, binaries, source code and supplier SBOMs reconciled in one product record.
• You rely on reachability and exploit intelligence to cut the list of findings.
• You want CRA control mapping and audit-ready reports from the same platform.

For more, see Yocto builds on CRACI, embedded security tools compared and ONEKEY alternatives.

Finite State alternatives FAQ

Short answers to the questions teams ask when they compare

What is the best alternative to Finite State?

It depends on what you analyze. For firmware images you receive from suppliers, look at ONEKEY, Black Duck Binary Analysis, NetRise or the open-source EMBA. For runtime protection on the device as well as firmware analysis, look at Exein or RunSafe. For malware and tampering checks on a release package, look at ReversingLabs Spectra Assure. If you build your own firmware in GitHub Actions, CRACI records the SBOM from each build and monitors it for vulnerabilities.

Can CRACI analyze firmware binaries like Finite State?

No. CRACI does not analyze binaries or firmware images, and it does not do reachability analysis. It records what your own builds fetch while they run on CRACI's GitHub Actions runners, including Yocto builds, and produces the SBOM from that record. For firmware you receive as a binary, you can add the vendor's SBOM to CRACI so its components are monitored, but without an SBOM you need a binary analysis tool.

Is there a free alternative to Finite State?

EMBA is a free, GPLv3 firmware analyzer. It extracts firmware, runs static analysis and dynamic analysis through emulation, generates an SBOM and reports weaknesses such as outdated components and hardcoded passwords. You run it yourself on Linux, and EMBArk adds a web interface.

Is a build-time SBOM better than one from binary analysis?

For software you build, a build-time SBOM records what went in instead of inferring it from the output, which is hard for compiled code such as Rust and C. Binary analysis is still the only option for firmware you did not build. In a side-by-side core-image-sato build, CRACI's SBOM had every component in Yocto's own SBOM plus 88 it missed, and a package URL for each of the 653 Rust crate versions Yocto lists without one.

Does CRACI replace Yocto's create-spdx?

For supply chain coverage it can: CRACI's job SBOM covers everything Yocto's built-in SBOM listed in our comparison, plus host packages, GitHub sources and Actions, and other fetched sources. Yocto's SPDX still carries recipe metadata CRACI does not record, such as applied patches and CVEs marked as fixed, so keep create-spdx on if you rely on those.