Docker is a popular platform for containerization of applications. It enables developers to package their applications and their dependencies into a single unit, called a container, which can run consistently across different environments. However, with great power comes great responsibility. Security is a major concern when it comes to containerization. In this blog post, we will discuss how to secure Docker containers using SELinux.
SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) is a security feature of the Linux kernel that provides a mandatory access control (MAC) mechanism. It provides an additional layer of security that complements the traditional Unix permissions model. SELinux uses a policy to determine what actions are allowed on system resources based on the security context of the process and the resource. SELinux can help prevent security vulnerabilities in containers, such as privilege escalation, unauthorized access, and tampering.
Let’s get started by setting up a Docker container and installing SELinux on a CentOS 7 machine. We will assume that Docker is already installed on the system.
Step 1: Create a Docker container
To create a Docker container, we will use the following command:
$ docker run -it --name selinux-demo centos:7 bash