CleanStart is comprehensive software supply chain security solution designed to address the most critical challenges facing modern container deployments. At its core, CleanStart provides hardened, vulnerability-free container images built on our proprietary glibc-compatible base. This unique foundation enables us to deliver containers that are fundamentally more secure than traditional options. Our solution is architected to eliminate pre-existing vulnerabilities before they enter your environment, significantly reduce attack surface through minimalist design principles, enhance performance with optimized components, and ensure compliance with stringent regulatory requirements. CleanStart represents a fundamentally different approach to container security by building security in from the ground up rather than attempting to patch vulnerabilities after deployment.

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IMAGE OFFERINGS

• Language runtimes (Python, Node.js, Java, Go, .NET)
  ‍CleanStart provides security-hardened containers for all major programming language runtimes, including Python, Node.js, Java, Go, and .NET. Each language runtime container is built on our secure base image and meticulously configured to eliminate unnecessary components while maintaining full compatibility with standard language features and packages. We maintain multiple versions of each runtime to support diverse application requirements, from the latest releases to legacy versions that require extended support. These hardened language containers deliver the same developer experience as standard images while dramatically improving security posture, making them ideal drop-in replacements for traditional language runtime containers.

• Databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis)
  ‍Our database container images cover all popular database engines, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis, each carefully hardened and optimized for security and performance. Unlike standard database containers that often contain numerous vulnerabilities and unnecessarily expansive attack surfaces, CleanStart database images are stripped of non-essential components and configured according to security best practices. Our database containers maintain full compatibility with standard client tools and applications while providing enhanced security controls. Each database image undergoes specialized performance tuning to ensure it delivers optimal throughput and reliability even with the enhanced security controls in place.

• Web servers (NGINX, Apache)
  ‍CleanStart's web server containers for NGINX and Apache provide secure, optimized platforms for serving web content and proxying applications. Each web server image is built on our hardened base and configured according to security best practices by default, eliminating common misconfigurations that lead to vulnerabilities. We've carefully tuned these images to remove unnecessary modules and components that expand the attack surface while ensuring compatibility with standard deployments. Our security-first approach means organizations can deploy web servers that are resistant to common attacks without sacrificing performance or compatibility, making these containers ideal for both internet-facing and internal web services.

• Application servers and frameworks
  ‍Beyond basic runtimes, CleanStart provides secure containers for popular application servers and frameworks, enabling organizations to deploy complete application stacks with consistent security controls. These specialized containers incorporate framework-specific hardening measures while maintaining full compatibility with standard deployment patterns. Each application server container undergoes targeted optimization to ensure it delivers excellent performance despite the enhanced security controls. By providing pre-hardened application stack containers, CleanStart eliminates the complex, error-prone process of securing application servers post-deployment, enabling organizations to implement secure-by-design principles throughout their container ecosystem.

• And many more common application stacks
  ‍CleanStart's container library extends beyond the core categories to include a wide range of specialized application stacks, tools, and services commonly used in modern architectures. From messaging systems and caching layers to monitoring tools and CI/CD components, our comprehensive library ensures organizations can maintain consistent security controls across their entire container ecosystem. Each container follows the same rigorous security standards and hardening processes, regardless of its purpose or complexity. This broad coverage enables organizations to implement CleanStart as a complete solution rather than having to mix secure and potentially vulnerable containers across their infrastructure, maximizing security benefits and simplifying management.

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PROBLEMS TACKLED

CleanStart addresses several critical challenges that plague traditional container security approaches:

• • Eliminates pre-existing vulnerabilities (90%of vulnerabilities exist before deployment)
    Traditional container images often come with numerous pre-existingvulnerabilities that require immediate patching, creating significant securitydebt from day one. CleanStart tackles this problem at its root by utilizing ourproprietary base technology and secure development practices to create imageswith zero vulnerabilities at release. Our comprehensive security validationprocess ensures that all components are thoroughly vetted before inclusion,eliminating the common scenario where 90% of vulnerabilities exist incontainers before they even reach production. This proactive approachfundamentally changes the security equation, allowing organizations to deploywith confidence rather than immediately beginning an endless cycle ofvulnerability patching.

  • Reduces attack surface by 70-80%
    CleanStart dramatically reduces the attack surface of container deployments byeliminating unnecessary components that could potentially be exploited.Traditional container images often include hundreds of packages, libraries, andtools that serve no purpose in production environments but provide potentialattack vectors. Our security engineering team meticulously analyzes eachcomponent for necessity, typically achieving a 70-80% reduction in attacksurface compared to standard container images. This minimalist approach notonly improves security posture but also reduces complexity, making systemseasier to understand, monitor, and maintain.

  • Provides smaller, more efficient images (30%+smaller than Docker Hub equivalents)
    By eliminating unnecessary components and optimizing what remains, CleanStartproduces images that are typically 30% or more smaller than their Docker Hubequivalents. These leaner images deliver numerous operational benefits,including faster download and deployment times, reduced network bandwidthconsumption, lower storage requirements, and improved startup performance. Fororganizations managing large-scale container environments, these efficiencygains translate to significant cost savings and improved resource utilization,all while maintaining full application compatibility and enhancing security.

  • Ensures compliance with standards like FIPS
    For organizations in regulated industries, compliance with security standardslike FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) is mandatory. CleanStartaddresses this requirement through dedicated FIPS-compliant image variants thatincorporate validated cryptographic modules and follow stringent securitycontrols. Our compliance-focused approach eliminates the complex, error-proneprocess of retrofitting standard containers to meet regulatory requirements.Instead, organizations can simply deploy CleanStart's pre-validated images,dramatically simplifying audits and accelerating compliance verification whilemaintaining the highest security standards.

  • Offers comprehensive supply chain security with full provenance tracking Modern security requirements demand complete visibility into the software supply chain. CleanStart provides comprehensive provenance tracking that documents every aspect of the container lifecycle—from source code to final deployment. This includes verification of component origins, build environment integrity, and cryptographic validation of each step in the process. With CleanStart, organizations can definitively answer critical questions about what's in their containers, where components came from, how they were built, and whether they've been tampered with—providing the transparency and traceability needed to meet advanced security requirements and respond confidently to security incidents.

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DOCKER COMPARISON

Compared to Docker Hub images, CleanStart provides:

• Zero vulnerabilities vs. hundreds in typical images
  ‍CleanStart delivers a transformative security improvement through zero-vulnerability containers that fundamentally change the security equation compared to Docker Hub images typically containing dozens or even hundreds of known vulnerabilities. This dramatic security difference results from CleanStart's unique approach combining proprietary base technology, component curation, and comprehensive security validation rather than simply attempting to patch inherently vulnerable foundations. Objective security scanning consistently demonstrates this difference, with Docker Hub images commonly containing 50-200+ known vulnerabilities while equivalent CleanStart containers start with zero security issues. This vulnerability elimination addresses the root cause of container security challenges - the massive "security debt" organizations inherit when deploying conventionally built containers that contain numerous vulnerabilities before application code is even added. Beyond initial deployment security, CleanStart maintains this advantage through continuous monitoring and rapid updates, ensuring containers remain secure throughout their lifecycle rather than accumulating new vulnerabilities over time as typically occurs with Docker Hub images. This fundamental security improvement transforms container operations from constant vulnerability management to genuine security, enabling organizations to deploy containers with confidence rather than immediately beginning an endless cycle of vulnerability patching that never fully addresses the inherited security debt present in conventional images.

• 30-60% smaller image sizes
  ‍CleanStart delivers significant operational improvements through container images 30-60% smaller than Docker Hub equivalents, creating multiple benefits beyond simple storage efficiency. This dramatic size reduction results from CleanStart's disciplined component curation, elimination of unnecessary elements, and sophisticated layer optimization rather than simply applying compression to bloated images. The size benefits translate directly into improved operational metrics including faster downloads, reduced network bandwidth consumption, quicker deployments, and improved startup times - often reducing container instantiation by 40%+ compared to equivalent Docker Hub images. For organizations managing large container fleets, these efficiency gains create substantial operational benefits including reduced infrastructure costs, improved deployment reliability, faster scaling during demand spikes, and enhanced disaster recovery capabilities through quicker redeployment. The smaller footprint also creates indirect security benefits by reducing attack surface and minimizing the components available for potential exploitation. This comprehensive size optimization transforms container operations from accepting bloated, inefficient images as inevitable to deploying streamlined, purpose-built containers specifically designed for performance and security rather than convenience, enabling organizations to achieve both improved operational efficiency and enhanced security through the same optimized container architecture.

• Complete provenance tracking
  ‍CleanStart provides unprecedented supply chain transparency through comprehensive provenance tracking that documents the complete container lifecycle from source code through final deployment. This detailed tracking includes multiple dimensions beyond basic metadata, including verified component origins, cryptographically validated build processes, tamper-evident transfer mechanisms, and deployment verification with complete traceability at each stage. Unlike Docker Hub images that typically provide minimal origin information with no verification, CleanStart's provenance system creates cryptographically protected records documenting exactly where components originated, how they were built, and whether they've been modified at any point. This comprehensive tracking enables genuine supply chain verification rather than simply trusting container content, allowing organizations to implement zero-trust principles where nothing is assumed legitimate without explicit validation. The provenance system satisfies advanced supply chain security requirements including SLSA Level 4, enabling compliance with emerging regulations requiring software transparency and traceability. This complete provenance transforms container trust from blind faith to verified confidence, enabling organizations to definitively answer critical questions about what's in their containers, where components came from, how they were built, and whether they've been tampered with - fundamental security capabilities impossible with conventional containers lacking build provenance.

• FIPS compliance options
  ‍CleanStart provides native FIPS compliance capabilities through specialized container variants specifically designed for regulated environments, eliminating the typically complex, error-prone process of retrofitting standard containers to meet federal cryptographic requirements. This compliance-by-design approach includes FIPS 140-2/140-3 validated cryptographic modules, appropriate configuration settings, and comprehensive documentation that simplifies regulatory verification. Unlike Docker Hub images that either lack FIPS compliance entirely or implement inconsistent approaches requiring extensive modification, CleanStart's FIPS-validated images provide ready-to-deploy solutions with proper cryptographic implementation, appropriate security controls, and complete verification evidence. The compliance extends beyond simply including validated components to implementing proper boundary controls, appropriate self-tests, and accurate validation documentation required for genuine regulatory adherence rather than merely checkbox compliance. Multiple FIPS image variants address different regulatory scenarios, providing appropriate solutions for varying compliance requirements rather than one-size-fits-all approaches that might satisfy basic requirements but create operational challenges. This comprehensive compliance transforms container operations in regulated environments from complex custom engineering to straightforward deployment, enabling organizations subject to federal requirements to confidently implement containerization without extensive compliance expertise or resource-intensive validation processes that typically accompany FIPS compliance efforts.

• Comprehensive security hardening
  ‍CleanStart delivers exceptional protection through comprehensive security hardening that implements defense-in-depth principles throughout the container architecture. This multi-layered hardening includes security controls across multiple dimensions including reduced attack surface, secure configuration defaults, proper privilege restrictions, protected filesystem permissions, and disabled unnecessary services with protection far beyond basic vulnerability patching. Unlike Docker Hub images typically configured for convenience rather than security, CleanStart's hardened containers implement the principle of least privilege by default, preventing attackers from easily escalating privileges or moving laterally even if vulnerabilities are discovered. The hardening extends beyond generic best practices to container-specific protections addressing the unique security challenges of containerized environments, preventing common container-specific attacks that vulnerability scanning alone cannot address. Advanced protections include runtime security controls that detect and prevent exploitation attempts, providing defense beyond static hardening. This comprehensive hardening transforms container security from simplistic vulnerability management to genuine defense-in-depth protection, enabling organizations to implement robust security without requiring extensive container security expertise or resource-intensive custom hardening that typically accompanies secure container deployments using conventional images designed primarily for functionality rather than security.

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For further information, visit https://www.cleanstart.com