scanning-docker-images-with-trivy

Trivy is a comprehensive open-source vulnerability scanner by Aqua Security that detects vulnerabilities in OS packages, language-specific dependencies, misconfigurations, secrets, and license violati. Use when working with scanning docker images with trivy.

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Repository: oyi77/1ai-skills
Last source activity: July 31, 2026 at 15:22
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name	scanning-docker-images-with-trivy
description	Trivy is a comprehensive open-source vulnerability scanner by Aqua Security that detects vulnerabilities in OS packages, language-specific dependencies, misconfigurations, secrets, and license violati. Use when working with scanning docker images with trivy.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	container-security
tags	["containers","docker","security","trivy","vulnerability-scanning"]
version	1.0
author	oyi77
license	Apache-2.0
nist_csf	["PR.PS-01","PR.IR-01","ID.AM-08","DE.CM-01"]

Scanning Docker Images with Trivy

Overview

Trivy is a comprehensive open-source vulnerability scanner by Aqua Security that detects vulnerabilities in OS packages, language-specific dependencies, misconfigurations, secrets, and license violations within container images. It integrates into CI/CD pipelines and supports multiple output formats including SARIF, CycloneDX, and SPDX.

When to Use

Trigger phrases:

"scanning docker images with trivy"
"Trivy is a comprehensive open-source vulnerability scanner by Aqua Security that"
When conducting security assessments that involve scanning docker images with trivy
When following incident response procedures for related security events
When performing scheduled security testing or auditing activities
When validating security controls through hands-on testing

Prerequisites

Docker Engine 20.10+
Trivy v0.50+ installed
Internet access for vulnerability database updates
Container registry credentials (for private registries)

Core Concepts

This section covers core concepts for scanning docker images with trivy.

Ensure all prerequisites are met before proceeding
Follow the documented workflow steps in sequence
Record results and any anomalies encountered during this phase

Scanner Types

Scanner	Flag	Detects
Vulnerability	`--scanners vuln`	CVEs in OS packages and libraries
Misconfiguration	`--scanners misconfig`	Dockerfile/K8s manifest misconfigs
Secret	`--scanners secret`	Hardcoded passwords, API keys, tokens
License	`--scanners license`	Software license compliance issues

Severity Levels

CRITICAL: CVSS 9.0-10.0 - Immediate action required
HIGH: CVSS 7.0-8.9 - Fix before production deployment
MEDIUM: CVSS 4.0-6.9 - Plan remediation
LOW: CVSS 0.1-3.9 - Accept or fix opportunistically

# Linux (apt)
sudo apt-get install wget apt-transport-https gnupg lsb-release
wget -qO - https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy-repo/deb/public.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/trivy.gpg > /dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/trivy.gpg] https://aquasecurity.github.io/trivy-repo/deb $(lsb_release -sc) main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/trivy.list
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install trivy

# macOS
brew install trivy

# Docker
docker pull aquasecurity/trivy:latest

# Scan a public image
trivy image python:3.12-slim

# Scan with severity filter
trivy image --severity CRITICAL,HIGH nginx:latest

# Ignore unfixed vulnerabilities
trivy image --ignore-unfixed alpine:3.19

# Scan local image
docker build -t myapp:latest .
trivy image myapp:latest

# Scan from tar archive
docker save myapp:latest -o myapp.tar
trivy image --input myapp.tar

# All scanners (vuln + misconfig + secret + license)
trivy image --scanners vuln,misconfig,secret,license myapp:latest

# Generate SBOM in CycloneDX format
trivy image --format cyclonedx --output sbom.cdx.json myapp:latest

# Generate SBOM in SPDX format
trivy image --format spdx-json --output sbom.spdx.json myapp:latest

# JSON output for programmatic processing
trivy image --format json --output results.json myapp:latest

# SARIF output for GitHub Security tab
trivy image --format sarif --output results.sarif myapp:latest

# Template-based output
trivy image --format template --template "@contrib/html.tpl" --output report.html myapp:latest

# Scan specific layers only
trivy image --list-all-pkgs myapp:latest

# Scan Dockerfile for misconfigurations
trivy config Dockerfile

# Scan Kubernetes manifests
trivy config k8s-deployment.yaml

# Scan Helm charts
trivy config ./helm-chart/

# Scan Terraform files
trivy config ./terraform/

# GitHub Actions
name: Trivy Container Scan
on: push

jobs:
  scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Build image
        run: docker build -t myapp:${{ github.sha }} .

      - name: Run Trivy vulnerability scanner
        uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
        with:
          image-ref: myapp:${{ github.sha }}
          format: sarif
          output: trivy-results.sarif
          severity: CRITICAL,HIGH
          exit-code: 1

      - name: Upload Trivy scan results
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3
        if: always()
        with:
          sarif_file: trivy-results.sarif

      - name: Generate SBOM
        uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
        with:
          image-ref: myapp:${{ github.sha }}
          format: cyclonedx
          output: sbom.cdx.json

# GitLab CI
trivy-scan:
  stage: security
  image:
    name: aquasecurity/trivy:latest
    entrypoint: [""]
  script:
    - trivy image --exit-code 1 --severity CRITICAL,HIGH
        --format json --output gl-container-scanning-report.json
        $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
  artifacts:
    reports:
      container_scanning: gl-container-scanning-report.json

# .trivyignore - Ignore specific CVEs with expiry
# Accepted risk: low-impact vulnerability in dev dependency
CVE-2023-12345 exp:2025-06-01

# False positive: not exploitable in our configuration
CVE-2024-67890

# Vendor will not fix
CVE-2023-11111

# Docker Hub (uses ~/.docker/config.json)
trivy image myregistry.azurecr.io/myapp:latest

# ECR
aws ecr get-login-password --region us-east-1 | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin <account>.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
trivy image <account>.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/myapp:latest

# GCR
trivy image gcr.io/my-project/myapp:latest

# With explicit credentials
TRIVY_USERNAME=user TRIVY_PASSWORD=pass trivy image registry.example.com/myapp:latest

# Verify Trivy installation
trivy version

# Update vulnerability database
trivy image --download-db-only

# Quick scan with table output
trivy image --severity CRITICAL python:3.12

# Verify no CRITICAL vulnerabilities
trivy image --exit-code 1 --severity CRITICAL myapp:latest
echo "Exit code: $?"  # 0 = no vulns, 1 = vulns found

Rationalization	Reality
"We are too small to be targeted"	Automated attacks target everyone. Size does not matter.
"Security slows us down"	A breach slows you down 100x more. Build security in from the start.
"We will fix it after launch"	Vulnerabilities in production are exploited within hours. Fix before deploy.