Performing Container Vulnerability Scanning with AWS ECR and Anchore

Introduction

Containerization has revolutionized software development and deployment, providing a lightweight, portable, and scalable environment for running applications. As organizations increasingly adopt containers in their CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) pipelines, security concerns surrounding container images have become a critical focus. Vulnerabilities in container images can lead to significant security risks, such as unauthorized access, data breaches, or code execution exploits.

To mitigate these risks, vulnerability scanning tools are essential for identifying and remediating issues in container images. AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is a fully managed Docker container registry, while Anchore is an open-source tool that can scan container images for vulnerabilities. In this article, we will explore how to perform vulnerability scanning using AWS ECR and Anchore to secure your containerized applications.

Background

The Rise of Containerization

Containerization technology emerged as a response to the limitations of traditional virtual machines. Docker, which debuted in 2013, popularized the concept of containers as a way to encapsulate an application and its dependencies into a single, portable unit. Unlike virtual machines, containers share the host operating system’s kernel but run isolated user spaces. This makes containers lightweight, efficient, and fast to deploy.

As container adoption grew, organizations began deploying containerized applications in production environments. However, this shift also introduced new security challenges, as containers often rely on shared infrastructure, libraries, and base images, which can be vulnerable to attacks.

The Need for Container Security

Container security encompasses various practices, such as securing container images, managing runtime vulnerabilities, securing the supply chain, and more. A critical aspect of container security is ensuring that the images used to build containers are free from known vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can exist within the base operating system, libraries, or dependencies packaged within the container image. Without proactive scanning, vulnerabilities can make their way into production systems, posing serious risks.

Vulnerability Scanning in Containers

Vulnerability scanning in containers is the process of analyzing container images for known security vulnerabilities. These tools scan Docker images (and other container formats) to identify outdated libraries, insecure configurations, and vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited by attackers. Integrating such scans into CI/CD pipelines ensures that security issues are detected early in the development lifecycle.

Key Concepts

Before diving into the implementation of vulnerability scanning, let’s define some key concepts:

Container Image

A container image is a read-only, packaged version of a software application, including everything required to run it—such as the application code, system libraries, and environment variables. Container images are stored in container registries like AWS ECR.

Vulnerability Scanning

Vulnerability scanning is the process of identifying and assessing known security weaknesses in a container image. It typically involves comparing the contents of the image to a database of known vulnerabilities, often sourced from public advisories and CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) databases.

CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures)

CVE is a standard for publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities and exposures. Each CVE entry is assigned a unique identifier, which makes it easier to track and reference specific vulnerabilities across different platforms and systems.

AWS ECR (Elastic Container Registry)

AWS ECR is a fully managed container image registry that allows developers to store, manage, and deploy Docker container images. ECR provides integration with other AWS services and offers features like automated image scanning to detect vulnerabilities in stored images.

Anchore

Anchore is an open-source platform for scanning and analyzing container images. It provides detailed reports on vulnerabilities, license compliance, and best practices for container security. Anchore integrates with Docker, Kubernetes, and other CI/CD tools, and can be used as a service or self-hosted.

Technical Implementation

In this section, we will walk through how to set up and use AWS ECR in combination with Anchore to scan container images for vulnerabilities.

High-Level Architecture

The high-level architecture for vulnerability scanning with AWS ECR and Anchore involves the following components:

• AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR): Stores the container images you wish to scan.
• Anchore Engine: Scans the container images stored in ECR and generates vulnerability reports.
• CI/CD Pipeline (optional): Automates the process of pushing new container images to ECR and triggering Anchore scans.

Design Considerations

• Automation: It’s important to integrate vulnerability scanning into your CI/CD pipeline to ensure that scans are performed on every image update.
• Scan Configuration: Anchore provides flexibility in how vulnerabilities are scanned. You can configure scan thresholds (e.g., ignore certain severity levels) and customize policies.
• Integration with AWS Services: Using AWS services like AWS Lambda, Amazon SNS, or AWS CloudWatch, you can automate notifications and take actions when vulnerabilities are detected.

Prerequisites

1. AWS Account: Set up an AWS account if you don’t have one already.
2. Docker: Install Docker for building and testing container images.
3. Anchore: Set up Anchore Engine on your local machine, Kubernetes cluster, or through AWS Marketplace.
4. AWS CLI: Install and configure AWS CLI for managing AWS resources.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Push Container Image to AWS ECR

First, you need to push your container image to AWS ECR:

1. Create an ECR Repository: Use the AWS CLI to create a repository in ECR:

aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-container-repo

• Authenticate Docker to ECR: Get authentication credentials for Docker to push images to ECR:

aws ecr get-login-password --region <region> | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com

• Build and Tag the Docker Image: Build your Docker image and tag it for ECR:

docker build -t my-container-image . docker tag my-container-image:latest <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/my-container-repo:latest

• Push the Image to ECR:Push the image to your ECR repository:

docker push <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/my-container-repo:latest

Step 2: Install and Configure Anchore Engine

Next, set up Anchore Engine to scan the container images stored in ECR.

• Install Anchore Engine: If you prefer self-hosting, you can install Anchore Engine using Docker Compose:

curl -sSL https://github.com/anchore/anchore-engine/releases/download/v0.9.0/anchore-engine-0.9.0.tar.gz | tar -xz cd anchore-engine docker-compose up -d

• Configure AWS ECR as a Source for Anchore: You need to configure Anchore to pull container images from AWS ECR for scanning. Use the Anchore CLI or the API to set up a repository sync with ECR:

anchore-cli system check --url <ecr-url>

• Scan Images with Anchore:To initiate a scan of your container image in ECR, use the Anchore CLI:

anchore-cli image add <aws_account_id>.dkr.ecr.<region>.amazonaws.com/my-container-repo:latest anchore-cli image wait <image_id> anchore-cli image vuln <image_id> all 

This will fetch the image from ECR, analyze it, and report on any vulnerabilities.

Step 3: Automate Scanning in a CI/CD Pipeline

To fully integrate vulnerability scanning into your development workflow, automate the process in your CI/CD pipeline:

1. Integrate with Jenkins or GitLab CI: Trigger Anchore scans automatically when new images are pushed to ECR.
2. Set Alerts: Use Amazon SNS or CloudWatch to send notifications when vulnerabilities exceed a specified threshold.

Best Practices

• Regular Scans: Schedule periodic scans for images in ECR to ensure newly discovered vulnerabilities are detected.
• Severity Thresholds: Set up Anchore policies to only alert on critical or high-severity vulnerabilities, reducing noise in reports.
• Patch Management: Always patch vulnerable dependencies and update images regularly to ensure security.

Conclusion

Container vulnerability scanning is a critical part of securing containerized applications. By integrating AWS ECR and Anchore, developers can automate the process of identifying vulnerabilities in container images, improving the security posture of their applications. With continuous scanning and automated remediation in the CI/CD pipeline, organizations can minimize the risk of vulnerabilities reaching production systems and maintain a secure container ecosystem.

By following the steps outlined in this article, you can implement an effective container security strategy using AWS ECR and Anchore, ensuring that your containerized applications are safe and secure.