sutanunandigrami/docker-security

Docker Security

Image Build Security

1. Lint before build: hadolint Dockerfile
2. Scan immediately: trivy image <org>/<app>:<tag> — catch CVEs before registry push
3. Generate SBOM: syft <org>/<app>:<tag> -o spdx-json > sbom.spdx.json
4. Check layers: dive <org>/<app>:<tag> — identify bloat, leaked files

Image Hardening Checklist

• Base image: Use distroless or Chainguard — gcr.io/distroless/base:nonroot or cgr.io/chainguard/base:latest
• No root: RUN useradd -m -u 1000 app && chown -R app:app /app → USER app
• Read-only FS: docker run --read-only --tmpfs /tmp --tmpfs /run <image>
• Drop caps: docker run --cap-drop=ALL --cap-add=NET_BIND_SERVICE <image>
• No secrets in layers: Use RUN --mount=type=secret (Docker 18.04+)

Docker Compose Security

services:
  app:
    image: <image>:<pinned-tag>   # Never use latest in prod
    user: "1000:1000"
    read_only: true
    cap_drop: [ALL]
    cap_add: [NET_BIND_SERVICE]
    tmpfs: [/tmp, /run]
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    networks:
      - internal

networks:
  internal:
    driver: bridge
    driver_opts:
      com.docker.network.bridge.enable_icc: "false"  # Block inter-container comms

Secret Scanning

trivy image --scan-secrets <org>/<app>:<tag>   # Leaked secrets in layers
grype <org>/<app>:<tag>                        # CVE + secret detection
gitleaks detect .                              # Pre-push secret scan

Registry Hardening

cosign sign <image>:<tag>                         # Sign (requires COSIGN_KEY env)
cosign verify --key cosign.pub <image>:<tag>      # Verify on pull
trivy image --severity HIGH,CRITICAL --exit-code 1 <image>:<tag>  # Gate in CI
crane manifest <image>:<tag> | jq .               # Inspect remote manifest
cosign tree <image>:<tag>                         # Check provenance + attestations

Runtime Security

docker run --security-opt apparmor=docker-default <image>   # AppArmor profile
docker run -m 512m --cpus=1 <image>                          # Limit resources (DoS protection)
docker run -v /data:/data:ro <image>                         # Read-only volume mounts
docker run --security-opt no-new-privileges:true <image>     # Block privilege escalation
# Verify storage driver: docker info | grep "Storage Driver" (should be overlay2)

Multi-Stage Build (Minimal Attack Surface)

# Stage 1: Build
FROM golang:1.21 AS builder
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN go build -o myapp .

# Stage 2: Runtime (distroless — no shell, no package manager)
FROM gcr.io/distroless/base:nonroot
COPY --from=builder /app/myapp /myapp
USER nonroot
ENTRYPOINT ["/myapp"]

Rules

• NEVER pin latest tag in deployments — use commit SHA or semver
• NEVER copy entire filesystem — COPY selectively + maintain .dockerignore
• NEVER log secrets to stdout/stderr (ends up in container logs)
• ALWAYS group apt-get install && apt-get clean in single RUN layer
• ALWAYS use multi-stage builds to minimize final image size
• ALWAYS scan images in CI before push (trivy --exit-code 1 on CRITICAL)
• NEVER run containers with --privileged unless absolutely necessary