Top 10 Kubernetes Container Scanner to Detect Security Vulnerability and Misconfiguration

Kubernetes, also known as K8s, is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.

It groups containers that make up an application into logical units for easy management and discovery. Kubernetes builds upon 15 years of experience of running production workloads at Google, combined with best-of-breed ideas and practices from the community.

Here we will discuss a few Kubernetes Container Scanner tools that can help to find the security vulnerability and misconfiguration and provide the best security.

Top 10 Kubernetes Container Scanner

1. Kube Hunter
2. Kube Bench
3. Checkov
4. MKIT (Managed Kubernetes Inspection Tool)
5. Kubei
6. Kube Scan
7. Kubeaudit
8. Kubesec
9. Clair
10. Anchore

Kube Hunter

It is a vulnerability scanning tool from Aqua Security for this Kubernetes cluster. This tool helps to increase security awareness. This also offers multiple standard scanning options like interlace, remote, and identify the network for vulnerability.

There are many ways to run the tool to download the binary zip file, and then extract it. To install directly Kube Hunter directly so that the machine can get proper network access. After this, you can start scanning for vulnerabilities in your cluster.

You can use Kube Hunter in a docker container. Directly install it on the machine and through the local network start scanning the clusters.

Here you will get the active and passive tests list which will make you identify the vulnerabilities present in the cluster:

Kube Bench

This is an open-source quality security tool that checks your deployment, which has to meet CIS’s security benchmark.

It also supports some benchmark tests for the multiple version. Not only this, it identifies the errors and helps to fix them. Providing solutions also it’s one of the parts of work. This tool also ensures that data get proper authorization and authentication so that data securely encrypted. It also ensures deployment, which allows CIS principal.

You need to go to the application and write as instructed. All test has to get defined in YAML, and It is very easy to extend and update.

Checkov

It is another Kubernetes Container Scanner tool that prevents misconfiguration during the building time of code languages like terraform, serverless framework, cloud formation, others. The language is written in Python, and it aims to increase security and provides the best practices compliance.

It is fully open-source and straightforward, so only it can be built more than 500 security policies. It gives a best practice for AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.

It also does the scan for the input folder, which contains Terraform and CloudFormation files. It also helps for scanning cd pipelines. It also supports different formats like CLI, JSON, Junit XML, etc.

MKIT (Managed Kubernetes Inspection Tool)

This tool is very helpful for the quick identification of security risks. It keeps safe the cluster and its resources. There is a quick and easy way to find out the misconfiguration in the cluster.

This Kubernetes Container Scanner tool comes with the interface, and it gets run by default. It helped you to see the passed checks and failed checks. You can also know the reason behind the affected resource in detail by clicking the affected resource section.

This software is straightforward to install and helps to build open-source libraries. It also provides the support of multiple Kubernetes like AKS, EKS, and GKE. It can also store sensitive data in the container.

Kubei

It shows immediate risk in the cluster, and most of the part has written in Go programming language. It covers everything in the CIS Docker benchmark.

It has an option to scan application pods, system pods, and Kubernetes clusters. You can also customize the scan depends on the vulnerability, speed, and scope.

With the help of GUI, you can view everything and mitigate them. It also scans the public image and provides real-time status. It provides a web user interface with a multiple scan option.

Kube Scan

Since it is a container scanner, it comes in a container. You can install this in a new cluster where it scans the workload and shows you the risk score and details by web UI. It also provides a score like 0 to 10, where “0” is no risk, and “10” is high risk.

The rules of this are based on KCCSS and this is an open-source framework. It works similarly to CVVSS, and more than 30 security settings available for this, like capabilities, privilege level, risk baseline, etc.

The risk score depends on the risk baseline, which eases the exploitation. This rescan happens every 24 hours, and it runs as a container to provide the best result.

Kubeaudit

This is one type of open-source auditing tool. It finds the misconfiguration and tells you the procedure to solve it. Usually, it uses the Go language tool, which is one type of command-line tool. You can install it in the machine and use this with a single command.

It shows a running application that has no root user, and it only gives read-only access. It also helps you to avoid more privileges so that it can prevent common security concerns.

It has three different modes like local, cluster, manifest, audit, etc. It has three levels of severity which built auditing containers, namespaces, pods, etc.

Kubesec

This security risk analysis tool configures and validates the manifest files which get used for cluster operations and deployment. Users can install this with container images.

As an open-source tool, it comes with a bundle of HTTP servers where it comes with a background at 8080 by default. It has the capacity to run the service via HTTPS at v2.kubersec.io/scan. It also scans multiple YAML documents, but it must be a single input file.

Clair

1. It offers static security with vulnerability scanning. This API-driven analysis engine maintains the security flow so that everything can go perfectly.

You not only need to build the service also need to monitor so that it continuously can do the vulnerability. It also notifies you how potential the container’s threat and it completely depends on CVE and similar databases.

If any threat comes that can be solved by National Vulnerability Database, it will provide a detailed report.

Anchore

It gives a deep analysis of the docker image. It also indicates whether it is secure or not. This engine runs standalone in any orchestration platform, which includes Rancher, docker swarm, and Amazon ECS. It is also available in CI/CD pipeline.

You need a Kubernetes scanner to check the security flow. You need to submit the docker image, which will analyze and provide the details. You can even use custom security so that it can evaluate.

It defines the policies correctly which deploying the dangerous image. It also secures the image so that it can create an orchestration platform.

Final Thoughts

The above Kubernetes Container Scanner tools aim to secure the cluster so that hackers can not break it. This scanner helps to deploy the application and helps to identify the vulnerabilities.