Question 537 of 997

Supply Chain Security →mediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

Using trivy image --severity CRITICAL --output json for Vulnerability Scanning

This CKS practice question tests your understanding of supply chain security. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.

A DevOps engineer is setting up a CI/CD pipeline to scan container images for vulnerabilities. They want to fail the pipeline if any critical vulnerabilities are found. Which command should they use to scan the image and produce a JSON output that can be parsed?

Clue words in this question

Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.

Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.

A
trivy fs --severity CRITICAL --output json .
Why wrong: trivy fs scans the filesystem, not a container image.
B
trivy image --severity CRITICAL --output json myimage:tag
This command correctly scans the image, filters for critical severity, and outputs JSON.
C
trivy image --format table myimage:tag
Why wrong: Table format is human-readable, not easily parseable for automation.
D
trivy image --severity HIGH myimage:tag
Why wrong: This only shows high severity vulnerabilities, not critical.

Full breakdown with real-world context →

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

trivy image --severity CRITICAL --output json myimage:tag

Option B is correct because `trivy image` scans a container image (not filesystem), and the `--severity CRITICAL` flag filters results to critical vulnerabilities only, while `--output json` produces machine-parseable JSON output. This allows the CI/CD pipeline to parse the JSON and fail the build if any critical vulnerabilities are present, meeting the requirement exactly.

Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

✗
trivy fs --severity CRITICAL --output json .
Why it's wrong here
trivy fs scans the filesystem, not a container image.
✓
trivy image --severity CRITICAL --output json myimage:tag
Why this is correct
This command correctly scans the image, filters for critical severity, and outputs JSON.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
trivy image --format table myimage:tag
Why it's wrong here
Table format is human-readable, not easily parseable for automation.
✗
trivy image --severity HIGH myimage:tag
Why it's wrong here
This only shows high severity vulnerabilities, not critical.

Common exam traps

Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword

The trap here is that candidates confuse `trivy fs` (filesystem scan) with `trivy image` (container image scan), or they forget that `--output json` is required for machine parsing, not just `--format table` or default output.

Trap categories for this question

Command / output trap
This only shows high severity vulnerabilities, not critical.

Detailed technical explanation

How to think about this question

Trivy uses a vulnerability database (e.g., NVD, Red Hat OVAL, and OS-specific advisories) to match package versions in image layers against known CVEs. The `--severity` flag filters based on the CVSS score (e.g., CRITICAL is typically 9.0-10.0), and `--output json` outputs a structured JSON array of vulnerabilities, which can be parsed with tools like `jq` to check if the array is non-empty and trigger a pipeline failure.

KKey Concepts to Remember

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.

TExam Day Tips

Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.

Key takeaway

Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.

Real-world example

How this comes up in practice

A practitioner preparing for the CKS exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.

What to study next

Got this wrong? Here's your next step.

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

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FAQ

Questions learners often ask

What does this CKS question test?

Supply Chain Security — This question tests Supply Chain Security — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..

What is the correct answer to this question?

The correct answer is: trivy image --severity CRITICAL --output json myimage:tag — Option B is correct because `trivy image` scans a container image (not filesystem), and the `--severity CRITICAL` flag filters results to critical vulnerabilities only, while `--output json` produces machine-parseable JSON output. This allows the CI/CD pipeline to parse the JSON and fail the build if any critical vulnerabilities are present, meeting the requirement exactly.

What should I do if I get this CKS question wrong?

Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.

Are there clue words in this question I should notice?

Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.

What is the key concept behind this question?

Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.

About these practice questions

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Same concept, more angles

1 more ways this is tested on CKS

These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.

Variation 1. A security engineer wants to scan a container image for vulnerabilities using Trivy. Which command should they use?

easy

✓ A.trivy image <image-name>
B.trivy scan <image-name>
C.trivy repo <image-name>
D.trivy fs <image-name>

Why A: Trivy uses the `image` subcommand to scan a container image for vulnerabilities. The correct syntax is `trivy image <image-name>`, which pulls the image (if not already present) and scans its layers against known vulnerability databases (e.g., NVD, Red Hat, Debian). This is the standard command for container image scanning in Trivy.

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