This CKS practice question tests your understanding of cluster hardening. 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.
Which TWO of the following are best practices for securing container images?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Always use the latest tag
Why wrong: Unpredictable and mutable.
Use minimal base images like distroless
Reduces attack surface.
Run containers as root
Why wrong: Increases risk.
Run containers in privileged mode
Why wrong: Grants excessive capabilities.
Use image vulnerability scanning
Identifies known vulnerabilities.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
Use minimal base images like distroless
Option B is correct because minimal base images like distroless reduce the attack surface by eliminating unnecessary packages, libraries, and shell access. This aligns with the principle of least functionality, making it harder for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities or execute arbitrary commands within the container. Distroless images typically contain only the application and its runtime dependencies, significantly lowering the risk of privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
Always use the latest tag
Why it's wrong here
Unpredictable and mutable.
Use minimal base images like distroless
Why this is correct
Reduces attack surface.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Run containers as root
Why it's wrong here
Increases risk.
Run containers in privileged mode
Why it's wrong here
Grants excessive capabilities.
Use image vulnerability scanning
Why this is correct
Identifies known vulnerabilities.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
CNCF often tests the misconception that using the 'latest' tag is safe or recommended, when in fact it is a security anti-pattern that undermines image integrity and reproducibility.
Detailed technical explanation
Under the hood, distroless images are built using Google's 'distroless' base images, which contain only the application binary and its shared libraries (e.g., glibc), omitting package managers, shells, and utilities like 'curl' or 'bash'. This forces attackers to rely on application-level exploits rather than leveraging system tools. In a real-world scenario, a compromised distroless container cannot spawn a reverse shell via '/bin/sh', drastically limiting post-exploitation actions.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
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FAQ
Cluster Hardening — This question tests Cluster Hardening — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: Use minimal base images like distroless — Option B is correct because minimal base images like distroless reduce the attack surface by eliminating unnecessary packages, libraries, and shell access. This aligns with the principle of least functionality, making it harder for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities or execute arbitrary commands within the container. Distroless images typically contain only the application and its runtime dependencies, significantly lowering the risk of privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 30, 2026
This CKS practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CKS exam.
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