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4 min read Intermediate Kubernetes

Docker Overview and Security Resources

Docker is a platform that uses container technology to automate application deployment, ensuring consistent performance across different environments. It enhances portability, efficiency, version control, and orchestration for scalable and isolated application deployment. However, Docker can have security issues such as vulnerabilities in container images, misconfigurations, and risks associated with shared kernel resources.

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👉 What is Docker?​

👉 Docker Pentest & Security Resources​

👉 Read Writeups​

👉 Practice​

Docker Penetration Testing Check List:

1. Container Security Assessment:​

  • Test Case: Identify and assess security configurations and vulnerabilities in Docker containers.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Inspect container details
    docker inspect <container-id>

    # Check for changes in container filesystem
    docker diff <container-id>

  • Example:

    # Inspect container named 'web-container'
    docker inspect web-container

2. Container Image Analysis:​

  • Test Case: Analyze container images for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # List available images
    docker image ls

    # Inspect details of a specific image
    docker image inspect <image-id>

  • Example:

    # Inspect details of the 'nginx' image
    docker image inspect nginx

3. Exposed Ports:​

  • Test Case: Identify exposed ports and assess their security.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # List port mappings of a running container
    docker port <container-id>

  • Example:

    # List port mappings for container 'web-app'
    docker port web-app

4. Privilege Escalation:​

  • Test Case: Check for potential privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Access container with root privileges
    docker exec -u 0 -it <container-id> /bin/bash

  • Example:

    # Access 'database-container' with root privileges
    docker exec -u 0 -it database-container /bin/bash

5. Container Breakout:​

  • Test Case: Attempt to escape from the container and access the host system.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Run a privileged container and break out
    docker run -it --privileged --pid=host debian nsenter -t 1 -m -u -n -i sh

  • Example:

    # Attempt container breakout on 'web-container'
    docker run -it --privileged --pid=host web-container nsenter -t 1 -m -u -n -i sh

6. Network Security:​

  • Test Case: Assess network configurations and security.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # List available networks
    docker network ls

    # Inspect details of a specific network
    docker network inspect <network-id>

  • Example:

    # Inspect details of the 'backend-network'
    docker network inspect backend-network

7. Resource Utilization:​

  • Test Case: Assess resource utilization and potential denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerabilities.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Display real-time resource usage of a container
    docker stats <container-id>

  • Example:

    # Display resource usage for 'app-container'
    docker stats app-container

8. Docker API Security:​

  • Test Case: Check for unauthorized access to the Docker API.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Query Docker API for information
    curl -s --unix-socket /var/run/docker.sock http://localhost/info

  • Example:

    # Query Docker API for system information
    curl -s --unix-socket /var/run/docker.sock http://localhost/info

9. Docker Compose Security:​

  • Test Case: Assess security configurations in Docker Compose files.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Validate and view the configuration of a Docker Compose file
    docker-compose config

  • Example:

    # Validate and view the configuration of 'docker-compose.yml'
    docker-compose -f docker-compose.yml config

10. Orchestration Platform Security:​

  • Test Case: Evaluate security configurations of the orchestration platform (e.g., Kubernetes).

  • Commands/Tools:

    # List pods in a Kubernetes cluster
    kubectl get pods

    # Describe details of a specific pod
    kubectl describe pod <pod-name>

  • Example:

    # List pods in the default namespace
    kubectl get pods

    # Describe details of the 'web-pod'
    kubectl describe pod web-pod

11. Auditing and Logging:​

  • Test Case: Evaluate the effectiveness of logging and auditing configurations.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # View logs of a running container
    docker logs <container-id>

  • Example:

    # View logs for 'nginx-container'
    docker logs nginx-container

12. Security Monitoring:​

  • Test Case: Assess the effectiveness of security monitoring solutions.
  • Commands/Tools:
    • Utilize third-party security monitoring tools specific to Docker.

13. Container Signing and Verification:​

  • Test Case: Implement container image signing and verify signed images.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Sign a container image
    docker trust sign <image-name>

    # Verify a signed container image
    docker trust inspect --pretty <image-name>

  • Example:

    # Sign 'my-app' image
    docker trust sign my-app

    # Verify the signed 'my-app' image
    docker trust inspect --pretty my-app

14. Container Runtime Policies:​

  • Test Case: Enforce and assess runtime policies for containers.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Set runtime policies for a container
    docker run --security-opt <policy-option> <image-name>

  • Example:

    # Run 'secure-app' container with SELinux policy
    docker run --security-opt label=type:container_runtime_t secure-app

15. Container Secrets Management:​

  • Test Case: Securely manage and assess the handling of secrets within containers.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Create and manage secrets
    docker secret create <secret-name> <file-path>

  • Example:

    # Create a secret named 'db-password' from 'password.txt'
    echo "supersecretpassword" | docker secret create db-password -

16. Container Compliance Scanning:​

  • Test Case: Scan containers for compliance with industry standards.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Use a container compliance scanning tool
    trivy <image-name>

  • Example:

    # Scan 'my-web-app' image for vulnerabilities
    trivy my-web-app

17. Container Isolation Techniques:​

  • Test Case: Evaluate and enforce container isolation techniques.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Run container with user namespace isolation
    docker run --userns=host <image-name>

  • Example:

    # Run 'isolated-app' with user namespace isolation
    docker run --userns=host isolated-app

18. Container Filesystem Permissions:​

  • Test Case: Assess and enforce filesystem permissions within containers.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Run container with specific filesystem permissions
    docker run --read-only <image-name>

  • Example:

    # Run 'readonly-app' with read-only filesystem
    docker run --read-only readonly-app

19. Container Image Tagging Best Practices:​

  • Test Case: Implement and assess best practices for tagging container images.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Tag a container image with version information
    docker tag <image-name> <image-name>:<version>

  • Example:

    # Tag 'backend-service' image with version 'v1.0'
    docker tag backend-service backend-service:v1.0

20. Container Backup and Recovery:​

  • Test Case: Implement and assess backup and recovery procedures for containers.

  • Commands/Tools:

    # Backup a container's data volume
    docker run --volumes-from <container-id> -v $(pwd):/backup busybox tar cvf /backup/backup.tar /data

  • Example:

    # Backup 'database-container' data volume
    docker run --volumes-from database-container -v $(pwd):