Container Security

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Chainguard Containers
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Chainguard · Freemium · 3 capabilities in this domain · 4.04 / 5
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Docker Hardened Images
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Docker · Freemium · 3 capabilities in this domain · 4.00 / 5
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Chainguard VMs
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Chainguard · Commercial · 3 capabilities in this domain
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Docker Scout
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Docker · Freemium · 3 capabilities in this domain
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Echo Container Images
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Echo · Commercial · 3 capabilities in this domain
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RapidFort
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RapidFort · Freemium · 3 capabilities in this domain
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Snyk Container
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Snyk · Freemium · 3 capabilities in this domain
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The Guardener
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Chainguard · Commercial · 3 capabilities in this domain
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Bitnami Secure Images
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Bitnami · Commercial · 2 capabilities in this domain
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Chainguard OS Packages
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Chainguard · Commercial · 2 capabilities in this domain
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Iron Bank
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Platform One (U.S. Department of Defense) · Free · 2 capabilities in this domain
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Minimus
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Minimus · Commercial · 2 capabilities in this domain
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Clair
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Red Hat · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Copacetic
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Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Docker Bench for Security
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Docker · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Dockle
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Goodwith Tech · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Google Distroless
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Google · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Grype
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Anchore · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Hadolint
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Hadolint Project · Open Source · 1 capabilities in this domain
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Microsoft Defender for Containers
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Microsoft · Commercial · 1 capabilities in this domain
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In Container Security

Chainguard OS Packages

Chainguard · Container Security

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CommercialCompany

Some teams cannot adopt a prebuilt catalog image — a bespoke runtime, a vendor appliance, an internal base image with mandated agents. Chainguard OS Packages lets those teams keep their own build while replacing the package source underneath it, which recovers most of the vulnerability reduction without the full migration.

Website ↗

What it does4 capabilities · 3 at full coverage

3 of 4 at full coverage.

Base Image CVE Remediation AutomationFullCONTAINER · level 3 · 12 providers
Minimal Hardened Base ImagesPartialCONTAINER · level 3 · 14 providers
Rebuilt-from-Source Dependency ProvisioningFullDEPS · level 5 · 6 providers
SBOM GenerationFullSBOM · level 2 · 28 providers

What it proves24 controls across 10 frameworks

Satisfied through its capabilities, not claimed by the vendor.

S2C2F5 / 25ING-4 INV-1 REB-1 REB-2 REB-3
CRA4 / 41Annex I Part I (2)(b) Annex I Part I (2)(j) Annex I Part II (1) Annex I Part II (2)
SAMM 2.04 / 90I-SB-2-B O-EM-1-B O-EM-2-A O-EM-2-B
CIS Controls2 / 18CIS 2 CIS 4
CSF 2.02 / 106ID.AM-02 PR.PS-02
DSOMM2 / 19BD-Patch-Management IM-Infrastructure-Hardening
SSDF 1.12 / 42PS.3.2 PW.9.1
CIS Benchmarks1 / 6CIS Docker Benchmark
SP 800-204D1 / 11204D-CI-EVIDENCE
Scorecard1 / 20SBOM

What it stops7 techniques · 2 risks

7 techniques countered, 4 of them common

Command and Scripting InterpreterT1059Very Common
Exploitation of Known Vulnerable ComponentVery Common
Escape to HostT1611Common
Stolen Publishing TokenCommon
SLSA threat D: Build from modified source or parametersSLSA-D
SLSA threat DEP: Dependency threat (A–H applied recursively)SLSA-DEP
SLSA threat E: Compromised build processSLSA-E

2 risks reduced

Cannot determine exposure to a compromised componentHigh
Exploitable vulnerabilities in container base imagesHigh

Where it runs1 phase · 2 ways to deploy

Capabilities per lifecycle phase

Build4

How it is delivered

CLI toolContainer image catalog

What it unlocks5 activities · reaches level 5

Program activities its capabilities support, reaching level 5. Supporting an activity is not completing it.

Level 1

Generate SBOMs for critical releasesLow effort

Level 2

SBOM for every build in SPDX and CycloneDXLow effort

Level 3

Standardize on minimal hardened base imagesMedium effort

Level 5

Consume dependencies rebuilt from verified sourceHigh effort
Near-zero known vulnerabilities in production imagesHigh effort

How it holds up2 strengths · 2 limitations · 3 uses it suits

Strengths

Adoption path for services that cannot use catalog images
Consistent evidence

Limitations

Keeps the team's own build and therefore its own build risk
Less reduction than a full catalog image because the team still controls the package set

Best for

Bespoke runtimes
Images with mandated agents
Long-tail legacy services

Proof points

Recovers most of the CVE reduction without abandoning an existing Dockerfile
Same package base as the catalog images, so evidence is consistent

How it works

Teams point their APK package source at Chainguard's repository and build as they do today. The packages carry the same source-build, continuous-rebuild and SBOM properties as those inside catalog images.

Organization size it suits

Estates with a long tail of bespoke or mandated base images

What it costsPer image or catalog subscription

LicensingPer image or catalog subscription

Priced perimage or catalog per year

BillingSubscription

Scales withNumber of hardened images or catalog tier consumed

Total cost

Compare against engineering time spent triaging and patching base-image CVEs.

What it takes to run2 evidence outputs

Evidence it produces

Per-package SBOMSource-build provenance for OS dependencies

What it works with2 standards

Standards and formats

SLSA Provenance PredicateSPDX (ISO/IEC 5962)

What else to look at9 siblings

Same family

Chainguard ActionsCommercial
Chainguard ContainersFreemium · 4.04
Chainguard FactoryCommercial
Chainguard LibrariesCommercial
Chainguard VMsCommercial
The GuardenerCommercial
WolfiOpen Source
apkoOpen Source
melangeOpen Source

What backs this up

No measurement, incident or pipeline using it.

Gantry 7.1.0 · OFF.12 · OFF.13