Attestd vs Socket

Socket and Attestd catch different things by design. The strongest argument here is not why Attestd instead of Socket. It is why the two are complementary. Socket inspects what a package actually does: network calls, filesystem writes, obfuscated code, before there is any advisory for it. Attestd synthesizes confirmed conditions: CVE risk, active exploitation, and known compromise, into a single deterministic answer you can query by name and version alone.

Socket catches the unknown. Attestd confirms the known, fast.

Socket's behavioral analysis runs on every version update and flags packages performing suspicious actions (network access, filesystem operations, shell execution, obfuscation), often within hours of publication, before a CVE or a malicious-package advisory exists for it. That is real detection value no static database can provide, since a brand-new attack has no prior record to match against.

Attestd does not do behavioral analysis. It ingests confirmed signals (OSV malicious-package advisories, NVD, CISA KEV, npm/PyPI registry security actions) and returns them as a synthesized, deterministic verdict for a specific product@version, queryable without installing the package or running it anywhere.

A pipeline that runs Socket at install time and Attestd at query time gets both: novel-attack detection before an advisory exists, and a fast, deterministic answer for every subsequent check against a confirmed condition, without re-running behavioral analysis on every lookup.

{
  "score": {
    "overall": 0.42,
    "supplyChain": 0.1,
    "vulnerability": 0.8,
    "quality": 0.6,
    "maintenance": 0.7,
    "license": 0.9
  }
}

{
  "risk_state": "high",
  "actively_exploited": false,
  "patch_available": true,
  "fixed_version": "2.1.0",
  "supply_chain": {
    "compromised": false
  }
}

This isn't theoretical

Four incidents in Attestd's public detection ledger show packages Attestd's registry confirmed compromised, the kind of confirmed condition this page argues Attestd is built to serve fast. Packages with risk_state: none, clean on every CVE check, flagged only by the supply chain signal.

• →90+ @mastra packages compromised with no CVEs
• →Two @joyfill packages delivering a RAT with no postinstall hook
• →debug and chalk, an estimated 10% of cloud environments exposed within two hours
• →ViteVenom: six packages using blockchain C2 built to survive takedown

All four return supply_chain.compromised: true in the same call as risk_state. None required a separate product or a second lookup.

What you get from each

Pricing

Socket's free tier covers 1,000 scans per month plus the free Socket Firewall install-time blocker. Team is $25 per developer per month with a 5-developer minimum ($125 per month minimum). Business is $50 per developer per month with a 20-developer minimum ($1,000 per month minimum). Attestd Solo is $19.99 per month flat for 10,000 calls, no per-seat minimum.

When Socket is the right choice

Socket is right when you want install-time interception, especially for npm and PyPI, with behavioral analysis blocking a package before it lands on disk, including attacks with no advisory yet.

When attestd is the right choice

• →You need a fast, deterministic answer for a package that already has a confirmed condition, without re-running behavioral analysis
• →You are building an agent or provisioning check that queries by name and version, not an install-time proxy
• →You want CVE risk and confirmed supply chain compromise in the same call as exploitation status
• →You want the two approaches layered: Socket at install time, Attestd at decision time

Try it in 30 seconds

Get a free API key at the developer portal, then connect Attestd to your coding assistant via the setup docs.

curl "https://api.attestd.io/v1/check?product=nginx&version=1.20.0" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ATTESTD_KEY"