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"What We Learned Dissecting the World's Most Popular Containers" by Ayse Kaya (Strange Loop 2022)
Discover the hidden issues in the world's most popular containers, including vulnerabilities, complexity, and maintenance issues, and learn strategies for container hardening, optimization, and effective management.
- Containers have become the norm, with Docker being the most loved technology among developers.
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The study analyzed the world’s most popular containers and found numerous issues, including:
- High numbers of vulnerabilities: some containers had over 2,000 vulnerabilities.
- Complexity: many containers had thousands of packages, making it difficult to understand their contents.
- Lack of maintenance: many packages were not being updated, leaving vulnerabilities unfixed.
- Redundancies: many containers had duplicate packages, incurring unnecessary tech debt.
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The study identified patterns and correlations, such as:
- Correlation between container size and scan time: larger containers took longer to scan.
- Correlation between package count and vulnerability count: containers with more packages had more vulnerabilities.
- Severity distributions of vulnerabilities: some containers had a high proportion of high-severity vulnerabilities.
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The study highlighted the importance of container hardening and optimization, recommending:
- Automating the optimization of containers.
- Using tools like Docker Slim to optimize containers.
- Implementing effective container management strategies.
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The study also emphasized the need for data science and analytics in the container ecosystem, highlighting:
- The importance of understanding the complexities of the container landscape.
- The need for data-driven decision-making in container management.
- The potential for machine learning and AI to improve container optimization.