Container Security Anti-Patterns

Overview

Reference guide for container security anti-patterns covering Docker, Podman, Docker Compose, Podman Compose, scratch-based containers, GPU passthrough, and private registries. Includes 2024-2025 CVEs and real-world escape techniques.

Critical Rules (Top 10)

•NEVER run containers as root - use USER directive with non-root UID
•NEVER use --privileged flag - drops all security boundaries
•NEVER mount Docker socket - /var/run/docker.sock = host compromise
•NEVER hardcode secrets in Dockerfile - use BuildKit --secret or runtime injection
•ALWAYS use minimal base images - scratch/distroless/alpine over full OS
•ALWAYS pin base images by digest - not just tag, for reproducibility
•ALWAYS drop all capabilities - --cap-drop=ALL, add only what's needed
•ALWAYS scan images for vulnerabilities - Trivy/Grype in CI/CD
•NEVER disable seccomp/AppArmor - keep default security profiles
•ALWAYS use multi-stage builds - separate build deps from runtime

Quick Reference

Category	Reference File	Key CVEs
Dockerfile builds	references/dockerfile.md	CVE-2024-24557, CVE-2024-23651, CVE-2025-0495
Runtime security	references/runtime-security.md	CVE-2025-31133, CVE-2024-21626, CVE-2021-41091
Compose files	references/compose-security.md	-
Supply chain	references/supply-chain.md	CVE-2024-3094
Podman-specific	references/podman-security.md	-
GPU passthrough	references/gpu-passthrough.md	CVE-2024-0132, CVE-2025-23266, CVE-2025-23359
Registry security	references/registry-security.md	CVE-2024-22278, CVE-2024-22261, CVE-2022-46463
Scanning & SBOM	references/scanning-sbom.md	-

When to Use

•Writing or reviewing Dockerfiles
•Configuring docker-compose.yml or podman-compose.yml
•Setting up container runtime flags
•Implementing CI/CD image pipelines
•Hardening private registries (Harbor, etc.)
•Configuring GPU passthrough for ML workloads
•Auditing container security posture

Module Index

Build-Time Security

•references/dockerfile.md - Dockerfile anti-patterns, multi-stage builds, secrets handling, BuildKit cache poisoning

Runtime Security

•references/runtime-security.md - Privileged mode, capability management, namespace isolation, container escapes
•references/compose-security.md - Docker/Podman Compose patterns, secrets management, network isolation

Supply Chain Security

•references/supply-chain.md - Base image selection, typosquatting, slopsquatting, SBOM, provenance attestation

Platform-Specific

•references/podman-security.md - Rootless containers, user namespaces, Quadlet, systemd integration
•references/gpu-passthrough.md - NVIDIA Container Toolkit CVEs, CDI security, GPU memory isolation

Infrastructure Security

•references/registry-security.md - Harbor vulnerabilities, content trust, anonymous access, webhook security
•references/scanning-sbom.md - Trivy, Grype, Docker Scout, SBOM generation, VEX documents

Common Escape Vectors

Container to Host Escapes (2024-2025)

Vector	CVE	Mitigation
runc masked path	CVE-2025-31133	Update runc to 1.2.6+
runc procfs race	CVE-2025-52565	Update runc to 1.2.6+
File descriptor leak	CVE-2024-21626	Update runc to 1.1.12+
NVIDIA TOCTOU	CVE-2024-0132	Update toolkit to 1.16.2+
Docker socket mount	N/A	Never mount /var/run/docker.sock
Privileged mode	N/A	Never use --privileged
cgroups release_agent	N/A	Block CAP_SYS_ADMIN

Verification Commands

bash

# Check container is not running as root
docker exec CONTAINER id

# Check capabilities
docker exec CONTAINER capsh --print

# Check seccomp profile
docker inspect --format='{{.HostConfig.SecurityOpt}}' CONTAINER

# Check for socket mounts
docker inspect --format='{{.Mounts}}' CONTAINER | grep docker.sock

# Scan image for vulnerabilities
trivy image IMAGE:TAG

# Generate SBOM
trivy image --format cyclonedx IMAGE:TAG

security-antipatterns-containers