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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "Overview of Chainguard EKS Add-ons" |
| 3 | +linktitle: "EKS Add-ons" |
| 4 | +description: "Learn about Chainguard EKS add-ons, which provide zero-CVE and FIPS-validated container images for core Amazon EKS cluster components through AWS Marketplace." |
| 5 | +type: "article" |
| 6 | +date: 2026-04-10T00:00:00+00:00 |
| 7 | +lastmod: 2026-04-10T00:00:00+00:00 |
| 8 | +draft: false |
| 9 | +tags: ["FIPS", "Chainguard Containers"] |
| 10 | +images: [] |
| 11 | +menu: |
| 12 | + docs: |
| 13 | + parent: "fips" |
| 14 | +weight: 035 |
| 15 | +toc: true |
| 16 | +--- |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +Chainguard EKS add-ons are hardened, minimal container images for the foundational software components that power Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) clusters. Available through [AWS Marketplace](https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace), they serve as FIPS-validated drop-in replacements for AWS default add-ons, providing zero known CVEs and FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography without requiring custom image builds or manifest overrides. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## What are EKS add-ons? |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +Amazon EKS add-ons are software components that provide supporting operational capabilities to Kubernetes applications — things like networking drivers, storage integrations, and observability agents that allow the cluster to interact with underlying AWS resources, but aren't specific to any application running on it. |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +They handle cluster functions like internal DNS resolution, pod networking, persistent storage, and traffic routing, and are managed independently from your application workloads. AWS installs several add-ons in every EKS cluster by default. |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +For a full explanation of how EKS add-ons work (including how to install, configure, and update them), refer to the [Amazon EKS add-ons documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/eks-add-ons.html). |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +## Available Chainguard EKS add-ons |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +Chainguard provides hardened images for five widely used EKS add-ons. All are FIPS-validated. |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +| Add-on | Description | |
| 35 | +|--------|-------------| |
| 36 | +| **kube-proxy** | Routes network traffic between pods within the cluster | |
| 37 | +| **CoreDNS** | Handles internal DNS — how services discover and communicate with each other | |
| 38 | +| **Amazon VPC CNI** | Connects pods to the AWS VPC network backbone | |
| 39 | +| **Amazon EBS CSI Driver** | Enables persistent block storage volumes backed by Amazon EBS | |
| 40 | +| **Amazon EFS CSI Driver** | Enables shared, persistent file storage backed by Amazon EFS | |
| 41 | + |
| 42 | + |
| 43 | +## Why use Chainguard EKS add-ons? |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +### Zero known CVEs |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +Default EKS add-on images ship with known CVEs. Because customers do not own the upstream source code, they aren't able to patch these vulnerabilities. |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +Chainguard rebuilds each add-on using its minimal, hardened container image approach, removing unnecessary packages and dependencies that are the most common source of CVEs. Like Chainguard Containers, Chainguard EKS add-ons are rebuilt continuously to incorporate available security patches, keeping the known CVE count at or near zero. |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +### FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +For organizations operating under FedRAMP, NIST, or other compliance frameworks that require FIPS-validated cryptography, existing options create additional developer toil to maintain the image. Chainguard EKS add-ons are the only available option that provides FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography for core EKS cluster infrastructure. No other provider offers FIPS-validated replacements for these components. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +To learn more about how Chainguard approaches FIPS, refer to the [Chainguard FIPS documentation](/chainguard/fips/). |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +### Drop-in compatibility |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +Chainguard EKS add-ons are designed as direct replacements for the corresponding AWS-managed components. They use the same Helm-based deployment workflow as any other EKS add-on and require no changes to your existing cluster configuration. |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +Chainguard EKS add-ons are available through AWS Marketplace and can be found through the AWS Console. There's no manual setup, you don't need a Chainguard account to subscribe, and billing is consolidated with your existing AWS bill. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | + |
| 64 | +## Who should use Chainguard EKS add-ons? |
| 65 | + |
| 66 | +Chainguard EKS add-ons are well-suited for: |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +- **Regulated industries**: Healthcare, financial services, defense, and government organizations that require FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography or operate under FedRAMP, NIST 800-53, or similar compliance frameworks. |
| 69 | +- **Security-conscious engineering teams**: Platform and DevOps teams that want a clean, auditable baseline for cluster infrastructure without maintaining custom image builds or accepting audit exceptions. |
| 70 | +- **Organizations requiring infrastructure control**: Enterprises that need more control over their EKS deployments than EKS Auto Mode provides, and for whom FIPS compliance through Auto Mode is not a viable option. |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +## Using Chainguard EKS add-ons |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +### Prerequisites |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +In order to use Chainguard EKS add-ons, you will need the following: |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +- An active AWS account |
| 80 | +- An existing Amazon EKS cluster, or permission to create one |
| 81 | +- AWS IAM permissions sufficient to subscribe to AWS Marketplace offerings |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +### Subscribe through AWS Marketplace |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +Chainguard EKS add-ons are listed in AWS Marketplace and can be found within the EKS Console. To subscribe: |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +1. In the AWS Console, navigate to your EKS cluster and open the **Add-ons** tab. |
| 88 | +2. Search for the Chainguard add-on you want to install. |
| 89 | +3. Subscribe. |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +### Deploy with Helm |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +Once subscribed, deployment follows the standard EKS Helm workflow, and you can deploy the add-ons with AWS CLI or in your GitOps workflows. Unlike a standalone Helm chart, which is self-managed, EKS will automatically handle lifecycle management of your add-ons. No new tooling, no Chainguard account, and no changes to your existing Kubernetes manifests are required. |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +For step-by-step installation guidance, refer to the deployment instructions included with each add-on listing in AWS Marketplace. |
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