Containers have truly transformed the way in which software is developed and deployed. They deliver unmatched efficiency and scalability. Organizations’ adoption of container technologies has grown at a rapid pace, and with that growth comes a demand for better security solutions. Across industries, companies are adopting containers at an ever-increasing rate, using these lightweight, portable environments to digitalize their business and accelerate application delivery. Traditional security scanning methods frequently come up short when applied in such environments and leave many potential vulnerabilities undetected. This is where the Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) process comes in. The CVM solves the distinct security needs of containerized applications and delivers a unified methodology to discover, evaluate, and fix vulnerabilities over the entire lifecycle of containers.
In this blog post, we will discuss what container vulnerability management is and why it is important. We will also discuss common vulnerabilities that occur in containers and how CVM can help get rid of them. So, let’s get started.
What is Container Vulnerability Management?
We define Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) as the practice of identifying, measuring, and remediating security vulnerabilities in containerized environments. It includes a collection of practices and tools that can help secure the container environment from possible security threats and vulnerabilities.
CVM works by:
- Vulnerability scanning: Vulnerability scanning includes methods to scan container images, host systems, and orchestrators for potential vulnerabilities.
- Risk Evaluation: In this step, each identified vulnerability will be assessed on the level of risk it presents to the system.
- Determining threats: The weaknesses identified can be mitigated through the application of enabling countermeasures. These include anything from patching, updating, or reconfiguring components.
Container Vulnerability Management Elements:
- Container Images: CVM scans for vulnerabilities (irrespective of severity) in the application code, dependencies, and the base operating system layers of container images. This entails looking at, for instance, outdated packages, known security vulnerabilities, and misconfigurations.
- Host Systems: Host systems that run Container are manageable for CVM. This means looking at the host OS, the runtime of the container, and any other services it needs to run securely.
- Orchestrators: Kubernetes and other container orchestrators are essential to manage when it comes to the more complex world of a containerized environment. CVM reviews these systems for potential misconfigurations and insecure defaults that could lead to vulnerabilities in the container infrastructure.
Importance of Container Vulnerability Management
Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) is important to maintain security and reliability when working with containerized environments. It goes beyond just basic security procedures to cover more sophisticated security practices and support wider business objectives. Let’s discuss a major areas where CVM is important:
- Vulnerable Container Images: Container images may contain outdated software components, known vulnerabilities, or malicious code. Without proper management, these vulnerabilities can propagate across deployments.
- Misconfigured Containers: If containers are not configured properly, they can result in the leak of unauthorized access, data, or resource abuse. The misconfigurations can be identified and fixed by CVM.
- Container Vulnerabilities on the Host System: Containers running on compromised host systems can be vulnerable. CVM reviews all requests to ensure that the host systems are secure and are patched to the latest secure and stable version.
- Orchestrator Vulnerabilities: Vulnerability in container orchestration platforms that may allow unauthorized access to entire clusters of containers.
Common Vulnerabilities in Containers
Containers can expose companies to many security risks. In order to stay on top of Container Vulnerability Management, it is important to understand these common vulnerabilities. The following are five of the most common types of vulnerabilities found in containerized environments:
1. Outdated Software Components
Base images and third-party software dependencies are often used in containers. When these components/libraries/packages are not regularly updated as per security requirements, they can lead to security vulnerabilities. Some of them include old and deprecated libraries, unpatched OS components, and unsupported/end-of-life software versions. Due to these issues, attackers can get an entry point to the infrastructure, which can lead to data loss/breach.
2. Misconfigurations
Containers with misconfigurations may put your business at a high-security risk. This includes things like containers running with privileged access, network access controls set too permissively, or ports unnecessarily open. For example, if one of the containers ran as root and got exploited, it could compromise the host machine. Also, if network settings are too permissive, they may allow any container to communicate with another container or even external systems without authorization.
3. Secrets Management
Securing the secrets (passwords, API keys, certificates) is one of the biggest elements in a containerized architecture. Common vulnerabilities in this domain are related to hardcoded credentials in container images or secrets being improperly stored. Failure to secure secrets can allow attackers to gain access to important & confidential systems, databases, or services, which can consequently result in the leak of data or unauthorized actions.
4. Image Integrity Issues
The integrity of container images is important for companies to maintain a secure containerized environment. Vulnerabilities in this category include the use of tampered or unsigned container images. Tampered images may contain malicious code or backdoors (added by threat actors). Unsigned images, on the other hand, lack verifiable authenticity, which makes it difficult to ensure that the deployed containers are from trusted sources.
5. Runtime Vulnerabilities
Although a secure build of containers is possible, containers are difficult to secure against runtime vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities such as container escape (where processes are able to break out of the isolation of their containers and reach the host system) enable the need for strong security measures. Improperly configured resource limits can also cause denial-of-service scenarios. This is where the abuse of resources line comes in.
Benefits of Container Vulnerability Management
Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) presents several advantages for organizations that use containerized environments. Below are five important benefits highlighting the importance of strong CVM practices:
#1. Enhanced Security Posture
Container Vulnerability Management helps bridge a gap on the security front. CVM improves the infrastructure by automatically identifying and eliminating vulnerabilities in container images, host systems, and orchestrators. By continuously looking for misconfigurations that leak or expose sensitive data, organizations have the ability to limit their attack surface and, therefore, close the doors on potential exploits, keeping critical systems secure.
#2. Compliance Adherence
Some industries have very strict data protection and system security regulations. CVM is an extremely valuable component of the compliance standards. CVM delivers the tools and mechanisms required to continuously monitor and report the security compliance postures of containerized environments. This function helps in maintaining compliance and also eases the auditing process to prove that the organization is following required security standards.
#3. Operational Efficiency
Container Vulnerability Management is an efficient security operation for enterprises using a containerized environment. CVM minimizes the manual effort necessary for security maintenance by automating vulnerability scanning and assessment processes. This provides security automation by checking that containers adhere to policies, which allows the DevOps and security teams to focus on other strategic tasks.
#4. Cost Reduction
Although CVM requires some up-front investment, the savings can be very substantial over time. Organizations often spend a significant amount of money dealing with the fallout of security breaches (or last-minute fixes) that are as a result of vulnerabilities. On the other hand, CVM fits into an approach focused on increasing scale and efficiency in security via automation which can help mitigate a lot of repetitive manual security reviews that further bring down operational costs.
#5. Faster Integration of DevSecOps
Container vulnerability management provides a level of support for integrating security into the DevOps pipeline and approaching DevSecOps in a true way. CVM raises awareness of security issues and helps teams fix vulnerabilities earlier in the development and deployment process by providing continuous feedback on the same. By integrating CVM, companies create a culture of security by design and shared responsibility among development, operations, and security teams.
Best Practices for Container Vulnerability Management
Container security is a broad domain and in order to ensure effective container vulnerability management, companies must consider all pillars of container security. The following are five critical best practices organizations must consider:
1. Regular Patching and Updates
Due to extremely sophisticated supply chain attacks, it has become important for companies to keep both the underlying host systems and other container images and orchestration platforms updated. It is a good practice to set up an update schedule for all parts of the container ecosystem. To simplify the process, organizations should use automated patch management systems and revise & update the base image that is being used for container creation. Testing patches should also be conducted in a staging environment before deployment to production servers. This process ensures compatibility and guarantees that it will not affect the stability of the systems.
2. Network Segmentation
The right network segmentation is essential for keeping potential breaches under control and minimizing lateral movement of threat attacks (if compromised) in containerized environments. This is achieved by making use of network policies to regulate communication between containers and external systems. Another way is to use virtual networks to keep distinct container workloads isolated from one another. It is very important to configure firewalls and security groups in a way that would restrict unnecessary network access.
3. Minimal Host OS Usage
Host system attack surface reduction is critical for container security posture. This part consists of the use of heavy-weight OS specifically for containers so that only the very essential parts are provided. Organizations should disable or remove unwanted services and ports from host systems to minimize entry points for attackers. Host configurations should be audited regularly to ensure that security best practices are followed.
4. Automated Image Scanning
Container images need to be continuously scanned for vulnerabilities at runtime and before deployment. It means to start using automated scanning tools as part of CI/CD pipeline in order to capture issues early in the development process. Organizations should set up policies to handle images that contain vulnerabilities (not allow deployments of images with critical security flaws, etc). Also, having a vulnerability management process to respond to and remediate discovered vulnerabilities goes a long way in keeping the containers secure.
5. Access Controls
Securing containerized environments demands the proper implementation of strong access controls. It means enforcing least-privilege principles to container processes and user access, ensuring that entities only have the permissions required to execute their function.
Challenges in Container Vulnerability Management
Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) is a great solution, but organizations have many problems implementing it and making the most out of it. Here are five key challenges:
#1. Complexity of Ecosystems
Container ecosystems are densely layered technologies overwhelmed with multiple components. The complexity leads to the almost impossibility of keeping an eye on all the possible vulnerabilities. Container images have multiple layers, and each layer could be associated with one or more dependencies and issues. In the case of orchestration platforms, they introduce an additional layer of complexity with their own deployment parameters and security considerations.
#2. Limitations of Scanning Tools
Container vulnerability scanning tools are important to find various types of vulnerabilities in container environments. Most tools face challenges when it comes to identifying vulnerabilities in custom or proprietary code within containers. Moreover, false positives can be generated by the scanning tools, which again may mean an unnecessary chasing game for security teams. Despite being widely used, it can be challenging for some tools to scan containers functioning in runtime environments, allowing vulnerabilities to go undetected until they are compromised.
#3. Evolving Threats
The landscape around container security is ever-changing, with new vulnerabilities and attack vectors appearing all the time. This fast-changing evolution makes it difficult for enterprises to predict any potential threat areas. New types of attacks specific to containerized environments are continually being developed, requiring constant vigilance and adaptation of security strategies. Staying on top of the latest security patches, best practices, and evolving threats is, again, an incredibly time-consuming and costly business.
#4. Resource Constraints
Implementing and supporting a successful container vulnerability management program is an operationally intensive process that involves people and tools. The scarcity of professionals skilled and experienced in container security makes this all the more difficult. Having to invest time and resources in continuously monitoring, updating, and remedying vulnerabilities is a fact that no company enjoys. In resource-constrained environments, such demands may result in coverage gaps or delayed responses to remediate identified vulnerabilities, further exposing the containerized environment to security risks.
How to Integrate Container Vulnerability Management with DevSecOps
In a fast-paced world of containerized environments, the CVM model is what keeps security mechanisms up-to-date and relevant. This makes the practice of security integrated with development and deployment and not an afterthought. The following four strategies are some of the ways to successfully incorporate CVM into DevSecOps workflows:
Integrate Security to CI/CD Pipelines
Building security checks into Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines is necessary to detect and fix vulnerabilities early in the development process. This includes automatic security scans on commit time, image kick-off time, and pre-deployment validation. Companies can set up vulnerability scanners to run on a schedule that checks for any security issues known within the container images and their dependencies. The goal is to mitigate security risks before they can be exploited on production systems, which ultimately protects organizations from being compromised.
Shift Left Security Practices
For container vulnerability management, the shift left approach means teaching developers how to write better and more secure code and some best practices containers security-wise. Build or use enterprise tools that allow the developers to conduct local security scans on their container images so vulnerabilities are discovered and fixed during the development process. Define and implement security policies for container builds, such as only using base images and libraries approved in advance to avoid introducing known vulnerabilities.
Continuous Feedback Loops
Continuous feedback loops are essential to an ongoing process of refining container security practices. Conduct periodic security audits and vulnerability tests to evaluate the success of existing security controls. Building a system that tracks and analyzes security incidents can be helpful in identifying patterns and improvement opportunities.
Collaboration Between Teams
For CVM to be successfully integrated into DevSecOps, a high degree of collaboration between development, operations, and security teams is required. This collaboration means assigning owners to security in containers across all teams. There should be regularly scheduled cross-functional meetings to review security findings and determine what areas need the most attention (ranking of vulnerabilities). Shared dashboards and reporting tools help unify visibility across teams to an organization’s security posture, encouraging a dev/ops/security culture of shared responsibility.
How can SentinelOne Help?
Container Security is the in-built service of the SentinelOne CNAPP (Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform). Some of the key benefits include:
- Complete Lifecycle Security: CNAPP from SentinelOne secures your containers across their lifecycle. This includes development, deployment, and runtime.
- Advanced Threat Detection: Closely integrated with machine learning, the platform delivers real-time threat detection for containerized environments This allows companies to detect and react to security threats in real-time, which can play a critical role in reducing the window of vulnerability.
- Automated DevSecOps Integration: By integrating seamlessly with original CI/CD pipelines, SentinelOne’s solution helps in discovering vulnerabilities early and aiding in their mitigation.
- Agentless Architecture: The solution provides agentless security across multi-cloud infrastructure with simple deployment and minimal operational overhead.
- Single Pane of Glass View & Management: SentinelOne provides a unified dashboard to view and manage container security initiatives at the infrastructure level. This consolidated view helps security teams quickly find, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities throughout their container landscape.
- Workflows for Automated Remediation: The solution adds automated remediation capabilities allowing organizations to fix identified vulnerabilities in minutes. This automation reduces the overall mean time to remediate (MTTR).
- Additional Features: AI-SIEM, External Attack and Surface Management, Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP), Purple AI, Offensive Security Engine, Secrets Scanning, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Scanning, and patented Behavioral AI, Static AI, and autonomous response capabilities with broad support for all major Linux platforms, physical and virtual, cloud-native workloads, and containers.
Conclusion
As secure as possible as the application and surrounding infrastructure may be, it has become important to use Container Vulnerability Management (CVM) to provide insight into vulnerabilities within the running containers. With more and more organizations incorporating container technology to improve their operational agility and scalability, the importance of implementing a robust security process/standard is larger than ever. CVM helps to overcome these security challenges specific to containerized applications, allowing companies to identify, assess, and mitigate vulnerabilities from an exhaustive list of containers and orchestrators.
With the threat landscape constantly changing, CVM is critical. This is an essential part of having a high-level security posture, being compliant with several regulations and standards but also aligning to your risk management efforts. Organizations that implement CVM see enormous reductions in their attack surface as well as improved protection for sensitive data and the integrity of their containerized applications.
The integration of CVM into these DevSecOps results in security being stacked into development from day zero. With containerization leading the path for future application development and deployment practices, Container Vulnerability Management is just as crucial as ever to overall security strategies that ensure organizations stay secure even when leveraging the power of containers.
FAQs
1. What is container vulnerability management?
Container Vulnerability Management is a structured process that aims to find, check, and reduce the security risks in containerized technologies. This includes a vulnerability scan that looks at the container image, runtime environment, and orchestration platform for known vulnerabilities, misconfiguration, and other possible risks to security.
2. How can I detect vulnerabilities in my containers?
Companies use special tools to scan containers for vulnerabilities. These tools scan container images and every single resource that is found within a container, like the base operating system, installed packages, and application code, to check for known security vulnerabilities. A majority of these scanners can be integrated with CI/CD pipelines to silently make an automated scan while the build and deployment process is underway.
3. Which tool is best for managing container vulnerabilities?
There is no one “best” but the one that best suits your own needs, environment, and budget. This can be done with open-source tools such as Trivy and Clair or by commercial solutions such as SentinelOne.
4. Can container vulnerabilities affect the entire system?
Yes, container vulnerabilities affect the entire system. Even if containers are isolated, they may not be perfectly fit to defend against all the vulnerabilities and an attacker may exploit one to escape from a container and reach the host system or into other containers.
5. How can I automate container vulnerability management?
Automating container vulnerability management involves embedding security checks throughout your development and deployment workflows. This can be done by adding vulnerability scanners to your CI/CD pipeline and having them automatically scan images during builds. Policy-as-code tools allow you to automatically enforce security standards.