Container Security Vulnerabilities: Types, Assessment, and Mitigation

Containerization has grown increasingly popular as cloud adoption has expanded. With multi-cloud infrastructures as the norm, deploying self-sufficient applications anywhere is extremely useful.

Additionally, containerization helps to simplify the deployment and management process as applications are packaged with all of their dependencies.

Container Security Demo Container Security Guide

Types of Container Security Vulnerabilities

Some of the most common types of container security risks include:

Vulnerable Images: Containers are built from predefined base images. If an image contains vulnerabilities, then all containers deployed using it will be vulnerable as well.
Container Environment Misconfigurations: Containers must be deployed within runtime environments such as Kubernetes. If these production environments are misconfigured, they can leave the containers that they manage open to attack.
Privilege Escalation Attacks: Containerization should limit an application’s reach outside of its containerized environment. If these access controls are improperly set, then an application may be able to inappropriately access resources outside its container.
Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Applications commonly use third-party dependencies, and containers may be created using third-party images. These could render an application or container vulnerable if they contain vulnerable or malicious code.
Insecure Interfaces: Containerized applications commonly communicate via application programming interfaces (APIs). If these APIs contain vulnerabilities, they can be exploited to attack the application.

Assessing Container Security Vulnerabilities

When considering potential vulnerabilities in containerized applications, it’s important to look at all parts of the container architecture, including:

Container Images: Used to build containers and may contain exploitable vulnerabilities.
Container registry: Used to store and distribute container images and can contain malicious or corrupted images.
Orchestrators: Manage containers and can undermine container security if misconfigured.
Container Engine: Runtime that executes containers and can be exploited to cause data loss or unauthorized access.

Mitigating Container Security Vulnerabilities

As containers become ubiquitous, it’s important to address their potential security vulnerabilities. Some of the key best practices include:

Perform Regular Scans: Container images and containerized applications can contain vulnerable code. Performing regular scans helps ensure that any issues are promptly identified and corrected.
Update Dependencies: Third-party dependencies can also include vulnerabilities. Applying updates when they become available protects against attackers attempting to exploit newly discovered vulnerabilities.
Use Secure Images: Container images should only be sourced from reputable registries. Additionally, the organization should validate these images to ensure that they don’t contain unpatched vulnerabilities or malicious application code.
Secure APIs: API vulnerabilities can allow an attacker to bypass access controls or abuse legitimate functionality. APIs should also be scanned for vulnerabilities, patched, and protected by security solutions.
Securely Configure Container Orchestrators: Misconfigured container orchestrators leave security gaps for attackers to exploit. Ensure that these systems are securely configured and regularly reviewed.
Implement Access Controls: All access controls should be defined based on the principle of least privilege, especially for privileged accounts. Accounts should also use multi-factor authentication (MFA) when possible.
Implement Secure Data Storage: Containerized applications may have the need to process and store sensitive information. They should have access to secure, encrypted, and integrity-protected persistent storage.
Secure the Host System: Vulnerabilities in a host system may be exploited to target containerized applications and the resources that they rely on. Host systems should be hardened and regularly updated.
Monitor and Log: Monitoring and logging are essential to identify potential issues with containerized applications. Monitoring can detect vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or potential attacks against the containerized application.
Deploy Container Security Solutions: Traditional security solutions may not have the visibility or security controls required to effectively manage container security risks. Security solutions with this specialized expertise are required to effectively protect these systems.

Future Trends in Container Security

Containers are a growing threat surface, and organizations will need to take additional steps to secure them. Some of the ways that container security may evolve in the future include:

Zero Trust: Implementing zero trust security in containerized environments reduces the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data and resources.
DevSecOps: Shifting security earlier in the software development lifecycle (SDLC) reduces the risk of vulnerabilities in containerized applications.
Supply Chain Management: Greater visibility into application supply chains reduces the risk of vulnerable dependencies and malicious container images.
AI/ML Security: Integration of AI and ML into security assessments can improve vulnerability detection and remediation.

Container Security with CloudGuard Workload

Container security is a vital part of a corporate application security (AppSec) program, especially as containerized applications become a more common part of cloud environments. To learn more about how to structure your container security program, check out this example container security architecture.

Check Point CloudGuard Workload provides the security tools that developers need to secure their containerized applications and environments. Find out more about how CloudGuard Workload can enhance your organization’s container security posture by signing up for a free demo today.