Chainguard Images
Hardened minimal container images rebuilt from source daily with SLSA provenance and SBOMs.
Technical Architecture & Overview
Chainguard builds and maintains minimal container images, now marketed as Chainguard Containers, for popular open source packages, rebuilt daily from upstream source with near-zero CVE counts, SLSA provenance attestations, and accompanying SBOMs. A free tier covers up to five images per organization, with commercial plans adding FIPS variants, STIG options, and an SLA on vulnerability remediation.
Targeted Technical Use Cases
Teams that want to shrink container attack surface and CVE noise at the source.
Evaluation & Trade-offs
Core Strengths
- +Images carry no known CVEs at publish time, per the vendor's zero-CVE definition.
- +Provenance and SBOM by default.
- +Daily rebuilds against upstream fixes.
Trade-Offs & Limitations
- -Minimal images can break assumptions in existing Dockerfiles.
- -Commercial variants are subscription-based.
Defensive Security Application
Reducing container vulnerability exposure and supply chain risk through hardened, attested images.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chainguard Images?→
Chainguard builds and maintains minimal container images, now marketed as Chainguard Containers, for popular open source packages, rebuilt daily from upstream source with near-zero CVE counts, SLSA provenance attestations, and accompanying SBOMs. A free tier covers up to five images per organization, with commercial plans adding FIPS variants, STIG options, and an SLA on vulnerability remediation.
What is Chainguard Images used for?→
Teams that want to shrink container attack surface and CVE noise at the source.
What are the strengths of Chainguard Images?→
- +Images carry no known CVEs at publish time, per the vendor's zero-CVE definition.
- +Provenance and SBOM by default.
- +Daily rebuilds against upstream fixes.
What are the limitations of Chainguard Images?→
- +Minimal images can break assumptions in existing Dockerfiles.
- +Commercial variants are subscription-based.
How is Chainguard Images used defensively?→
Reducing container vulnerability exposure and supply chain risk through hardened, attested images.