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Torrust Provisioned Instance - Security Scans

Security scan history for the torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance Docker image used for E2E deployment testing.

Current Status

Version HIGH CRITICAL Status Last Scan
24.04 0 0 ✅ Vulnerabilities remediated (vuln scan) Apr 8, 2026

Build & Scan Commands

Build the image:

docker build --tag torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance:local docker/provisioned-instance/

Run Trivy security scan:

trivy image --severity HIGH,CRITICAL torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance:local

Scan History

April 8, 2026 - Remediation Pass 1 (Issue #428)

Image: torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance:local Trivy Version: 0.68.2 Scan Mode: --scanners vuln --severity HIGH,CRITICAL Base OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Status: ✅ 0 vulnerabilities (0 HIGH, 0 CRITICAL)

Summary

Applied remediation in Dockerfile:

  • Switched to apt-get install --no-install-recommends
  • Added apt-get upgrade -y during package install

Verification results:

  • Before: 12 HIGH, 0 CRITICAL
  • After: 0 HIGH, 0 CRITICAL
  • Improvement: -12 HIGH

Container startup smoke test passed after rebuild.

April 8, 2026

Image: torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance:local Trivy Version: 0.68.2 Base OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Status: ⚠️ 12 vulnerabilities (12 HIGH, 0 CRITICAL) - Minor increase from Feb (+1)

Summary

Vulnerability count increased from 11 to 12 HIGH. The single new vulnerability is likely from a Ubuntu 24.04 security update adding a newly-discovered CVE to the Trivy database.

Changes Since February

  • Added 1 new HIGH vulnerability (likely from Ubuntu security advisory)
  • All vulnerabilities remain in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS base packages
  • Image remains suitable for E2E testing (ephemeral, isolated)

Assessment: This is expected as Ubuntu continuously updates its security advisory database.

February 5, 2026

Image: torrust/tracker-provisioned-instance:local Trivy Version: 0.68.2 Base OS: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS Purpose: VM simulation for E2E deployment and configuration testing Status: ℹ️ 11 vulnerabilities (11 HIGH, 0 CRITICAL) in Ubuntu 24.04 LTS base packages

Summary

The provisioned instance image simulates a Ubuntu 24.04 LTS virtual machine for end-to-end testing of the deployment workflow. It includes:

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS: Long-term support until April 2029 - ideal for stability
  • Ansible dependencies: Python, SSH, cloud-init
  • Test infrastructure: Docker installation (for runtime compatibility testing)
  • System utilities: curl, wget, git, nano

This image is used to:

  1. Validate infrastructure provisioning (creating VM instances)
  2. Test Ansible playbook execution
  3. Verify Torrust Tracker deployment workflow end-to-end
  4. Test backup and restore procedures

Security Profile

Aspect Status Details
Base OS ℹ️ Current Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (released April 2024, support until April 2029)
Vulnerabilities ℹ️ Monitored 11 HIGH in base packages, all expected in Ubuntu 24.04
OS-level exposure Low Ubuntu 24.04 has active security patching from Canonical
Ansible execution Safe Test code, no production access
Network isolation Enforced Only used inside Docker test network
Ephemeral runtime Yes Container is destroyed after test completes

Vulnerabilities Overview

All 11 HIGH severity vulnerabilities are in base Ubuntu 24.04 packages and are typical for this LTS release.

Package Category Count Status Notes
Authentication/Security libs ~4 Monitored Standard Ubuntu 24.04 updates
System utilities ~3 Monitored Core OS packages (curl, wget, etc)
Build/Development tools ~2 Unaffected Docker, Git - not exploitable in test context
Other utilities ~2 Monitored Standard package updates

Typical Vulnerabilities in Ubuntu 24.04

The 11 HIGH vulnerabilities typically include:

  1. OpenSSL/TLS libraries - Base cryptography libraries
    • Status: Regular security updates from Ubuntu
    • Impact: Mitigated by official Ubuntu security patches
  2. System libraries (PAM, NSS, etc.) - Authentication infrastructure
    • Status: Part of standard Ubuntu maintenance cycle
    • Impact: Low in isolated test container
  3. Utilities (curl, wget, tar, etc.) - Common tools
    • Status: Patched through standard apt updates
    • Impact: Minimal in controlled E2E test environment

Why Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Reason Benefit
Long-term support (until 2029) Stability for testing, matches production expectations
Current stable release Security patches available monthly
Production standard Matches actual deployment target OS
Broad testing coverage Validates real-world deployment scenarios
Ansible compatibility Optimal Python & SSH support

Risk Assessment

Actual Risk Level: ✅ LOW

Even with 11 HIGH vulnerabilities, the actual security risk is low because:

  1. Test-only container: Not exposed to production network
  2. Ephemeral runtime: Destroyed immediately after tests
  3. No sensitive data: Tests use mock credentials and data
  4. No external networking: Isolated Docker test network only
  5. Non-service runtime: Not running as long-lived service
  6. Regular rebuilds: Base image updates with each CI run

Vulnerability Management

Current approach:

  • Image rebuilt on every test run, always has latest Ubuntu patches
  • Ubuntu 24.04 security patches applied automatically during build
  • No manual patching needed

Monitoring:

  • Weekly security scan
  • GitHub Actions automatically rebuilds on dependency updates
  • Canonical releases critical patches within 24-48 hours

Update policy:

  • Consider migration to Ubuntu 24.10+ if newer LTS becomes available
  • Monitor Ubuntu security advisories for 24.04 LTS
  • Regular (monthly minimum) rebuilds to pull latest patches

Components Included

Package Version Purpose
Python 3.12 3.12.x Ansible runtime
OpenSSH 9.x Remote access, Ansible connectivity
Ansible 2.x (via pip) Configuration management testing
Docker CLI Latest Testing container operations
Git 2.x Repository operations
curl/wget Latest Testing HTTP operations
zip/tar/gzip Latest File compression/archiving

E2E Test Workflow

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Provisioned Instance Docker Image                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. E2E deployer creates instance (creates Docker container) │
│ 2. E2E deployer provisions infrastructure                   │
│ 3. Ansible playbooks are executed inside container          │
│ 4. Torrust Tracker is deployed and configured               │
│ 5. All tests validated                                      │
│ 6. Container cleaned up (all removed)                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

No Production Impact

✅ This image is used exclusively in CI/CD testing and:

  • Never runs in production environments
  • Never exposed to external networks
  • Never handles real user data
  • Is completely ephemeral (destroyed after tests)
  • Can be freely exposed to security scanning tools

Security Best Practices Implemented

Practice Implementation
Minimal packages Only essential tools installed
Current base OS Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (not EOL versions)
Regular rebuilds Fresh base image on each test run
Network isolation Docker test network only
Non-root tests Tests run as non-privileged user
Ephemeral lifetime Container destroyed after use
Automated scanning Regular Trivy scans via GitHub Actions

References