Skip to content

Commit a4121e5

Browse files
authored
Add overview doc for Chainguard EKS add-ons (#3233)
## Type of change **New Content** - Add overview doc for Chainguard EKS add-ons under the FIPS section ## What should this PR do? resolves chainguard-dev/internal#5782 ## Why are we making this change? Chainguard is launching FIPS-validated EKS add-ons through AWS Marketplace and there was no documentation covering what they are, why they're useful, or how to get started with them. ## What are the acceptance criteria? - New page renders correctly at `/chainguard/fips/eks-add-ons/` - Page appears in the FIPS section nav - All links resolve (Amazon EKS docs, AWS Marketplace, Chainguard FIPS docs) - Add-ons table displays correctly ## How should this PR be tested? 1. Check the preview link and confirm the page renders correctly under the FIPS section 2. Verify the nav entry "EKS Add-ons" appears in the FIPS sidebar 3. Click through all external and internal links to confirm they resolve 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) --------- Signed-off-by: Mark Drake <mark@chainguard.dev>
1 parent fef521b commit a4121e5

1 file changed

Lines changed: 95 additions & 0 deletions

File tree

Lines changed: 95 additions & 0 deletions
Original file line numberDiff line numberDiff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
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.

0 commit comments

Comments
 (0)