Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan

Overview

Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan is a specialized widget designed to monitor and display the security posture of Docker images stored in Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR). This widget focuses specifically on low-severity vulnerabilities found in container images, providing IT and security engineers with actionable insights into potential security risks that, while not critical, should still be addressed as part of a comprehensive security strategy.

What is the Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan Widget?

The Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan widget is a dashboard component that aggregates and visualizes data about low-severity vulnerabilities detected in container images stored in Amazon ECR. It provides a clear, at-a-glance view of the security status of your container images with respect to less critical vulnerabilities that might still pose security risks over time or could be exploited in combination with other vulnerabilities.

Key Characteristics:

• Vulnerability Aggregation: Collects and displays low-severity findings from vulnerability scans of ECR images

• Trend Visualization: Shows trends in vulnerability counts over time to help track remediation progress

• Risk Categorization: Classifies low-severity issues by type and potential impact

• Repository Filtering: Enables filtering by specific ECR repositories to focus on particular application stacks

Why Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan Widget Matters to IT & Security Engineers

While high and critical vulnerabilities often take precedence, monitoring low-severity issues remains essential for maintaining a robust security posture. For IT and security engineers, this widget provides:

• Complete Vulnerability Visibility: Ensures that even low-severity issues don't slip through the cracks in security reviews

• Proactive Risk Management: Helps identify patterns of vulnerabilities that, while individually low-risk, may collectively represent significant security concerns

• Compliance Support: Assists in meeting compliance requirements that mandate addressing all identified vulnerabilities

• Technical Debt Tracking: Provides visibility into accumulating security technical debt that should be addressed in maintenance cycles

• Resource Prioritization: Helps teams allocate resources appropriately between critical issues and less severe but still important vulnerabilities

How the Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan Widget Works

The Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan widget operates by integrating with AWS security services to collect, analyze, and display vulnerability data:

1. Data Collection: The widget connects to Amazon ECR and retrieves vulnerability scanning results for all container images

2. Filtering Mechanism: It filters these results to focus specifically on low-severity findings

3. Aggregation & Analysis: The data is aggregated, counted, and analyzed for patterns or trends

4. Visual Presentation: Results are displayed in an easy-to-understand card format with color-coding and summary statistics

5. Update Cycle: The widget refreshes data on a regular schedule or can be manually refreshed to show the current state

Example Use Cases:

• Sprint Planning: Security teams can use the widget to identify low-severity issues that should be addressed in upcoming development sprints

• Security Audits: Provides evidence that all levels of vulnerabilities are being monitored, not just critical ones

• Trend Analysis: Helps identify which repositories or image types tend to accumulate more low-severity vulnerabilities over time

• Remediation Tracking: Monitors the effectiveness of remediation efforts for addressing low-severity findings

Best Practices for Using the Low Severity Vulnerabilities From ECR Image Scan Widget

1. Establish Regular Review Cadences

• Schedule periodic reviews of low-severity findings to prevent accumulation

• Consider designating specific sprints for addressing low-severity technical debt

2. Implement Smart Filtering

• Use the filtering capabilities to focus on specific repositories or image types

• Create custom views for different teams or application stacks

3. Correlate with Other Security Data

• Analyze low-severity findings alongside other security metrics for a holistic view

• Look for patterns where multiple low-severity issues might combine to create higher-risk scenarios

4. Set Thresholds and Alerts

• Establish acceptable thresholds for low-severity vulnerabilities in different types of images

• Configure alerts when counts exceed predefined thresholds

5. Document Exceptions

• Create a process for documenting accepted low-severity risks with clear justification

• Regularly review exception lists to ensure they remain valid

6. Integrate with CI/CD Pipelines

• Use the data to inform automatic quality gates in CI/CD pipelines

• Consider blocking image promotion if low-severity counts exceed defined thresholds

7. Leverage Automation for Remediation

• Develop automated processes to address common low-severity findings

• Use package managers and dependency updates to systematically reduce vulnerability counts

8. Track Metrics Over Time

• Monitor trends in low-severity findings to measure the effectiveness of security practices

• Set goals for reducing the overall count of low-severity issues over time