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Catalog/k8s-ingress-default-backend/Guides

kubernetes ingress default backend

Networking

A minimal Kubernetes default backend server for unmatched ingress requests.

OverviewGuidesTags

Quick Start

Pull the latest version of this image from the Ghost registry. Pulling requires authentication — generate a token and run docker login first (see Authentication below).

Authentication

The Ghost catalog is public to browse, but pulling images requires an account. Generate a pull token below (or from your Account → Tokens page) — you'll get a ready-to-paste docker login command, then docker pull works.

The username is generated automatically (it looks like robot$<project>+<auto-id>, not the name you typed) and is included in the docker login command above. The secret is shown only once when you create the token.

Verify Signature

All Ghost images are signed with cosign. Verifying the signature before deployment ensures the image has not been tampered with.

Install cosign via brew install cosign or download from the Sigstore releases page.

Using This Image

Reference this image in your Dockerfile as a base layer:

Additional Notes

How to use this image

All examples in this guide use the public image. If you've mirrored the repository for your own use, update your commands to reference the mirrored image instead of the public image.

For example:

  • Public image: registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/k8s-ingress-default-backend:<tag>
  • Mirrored image: <your-namespace>/dhi-k8s-ingress-default-backend:<tag>

For the examples, you must first use docker login registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io to authenticate to the registry to pull the images.

Start a default backend instance

The default backend listens on port 8080 for application requests and returns default backend - 404 with an HTTP 404 status for unmatched paths. It also exposes /healthz and /metrics on service port 10254.

$ docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -p 10254:10254 registry.ghost-prod.alphabravo.io/ghost-base/k8s-ingress-default-backend:<tag>

Verify the application endpoint:

On this page

Quick StartAuthenticationVerify SignatureUsing This ImageAdditional Notes
$ curl -i http://localhost:8080/ HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found default backend - 404

Verify the health endpoint:

$ curl http://localhost:10254/healthz
ok

Image variants

Ghost hardened images come in different variants depending on their intended use. Image variants are identified by their tag.

  • Runtime variants are designed to run your application in production. These images are intended to be used either directly or as the FROM image in the final stage of a multi-stage build. These images typically:

    • Run as a nonroot user
    • Do not include a shell or a package manager
    • Contain only the minimal set of libraries needed to run the app
  • Build-time variants typically include dev in the tag name and are intended for use in the first stage of a multi-stage Dockerfile. These images typically:

    • Run as the root user
    • Include a shell and package manager
    • Are used to build or compile applications
  • FIPS variants include fips in the variant name and tag. They come in both runtime and build-time variants. These variants use cryptographic modules that have been validated under FIPS 140, a U.S. government standard for secure cryptographic operations. For example, usage of MD5 fails in FIPS variants.

To view the image variants and get more information about them, select the Tags tab for this repository, and then select a tag.

Migrate to a Ghost hardened image

To migrate your application to a Ghost hardened image, you must update your Dockerfile. At minimum, you must update the base image in your existing Dockerfile to a Ghost hardened image. This and a few other common changes are listed in the following table of migration notes.

ItemMigration note
Base imageReplace your base images in your Dockerfile with a Ghost hardened image.
Package managementNon-dev images, intended for runtime, don't contain package managers. Use package managers only in images with a dev tag.
Non-root userBy default, non-dev images, intended for runtime, run as the nonroot user. Ensure that necessary files and directories are accessible to the nonroot user.
Multi-stage buildUtilize images with a dev tag for build stages and non-dev images for runtime. For binary executables, use a static image for runtime.
TLS certificatesGhost hardened images contain standard TLS certificates by default. There is no need to install TLS certificates.
PortsNon-dev hardened images run as a nonroot user by default. As a result, applications in these images can't bind to privileged ports (below 1024) when running in Kubernetes or in Docker Engine versions older than 20.10. To avoid issues, configure your application to listen on port 1025 or higher inside the container.
Entry pointGhost hardened images may have different entry points than images such as Docker Official Images. Inspect entry points for Ghost hardened images and update your Dockerfile if necessary.
No shellBy default, non-dev images, intended for runtime, don't contain a shell. Use dev images in build stages to run shell commands and then copy artifacts to the runtime stage.

The following steps outline the general migration process.

  1. Find hardened images for your app.

    A hardened image may have several variants. Inspect the image tags and find the image variant that meets your needs.

  2. Update the base image in your Dockerfile.

    Update the base image in your application's Dockerfile to the hardened image you found in the previous step. For framework images, this is typically going to be an image tagged as dev because it has the tools needed to install packages and dependencies.

  3. For multi-stage Dockerfiles, update the runtime image in your Dockerfile.

    To ensure that your final image is as minimal as possible, you should use a multi-stage build. All stages in your Dockerfile should use a hardened image. While intermediary stages will typically use images tagged as dev, your final runtime stage should use a non-dev image variant.

  4. Install additional packages

    Ghost hardened images contain minimal packages in order to reduce the potential attack surface. You may need to install additional packages in your Dockerfile. Inspect the image variants to identify which packages are already installed.

    Only images tagged as dev typically have package managers. You should use a multi-stage Dockerfile to install the packages. Install the packages in the build stage that uses a dev image. Then, if needed, copy any necessary artifacts to the runtime stage that uses a non-dev image.

    For Alpine-based images, you can use apk to install packages. For Debian-based images, you can use apt-get to install packages.

Troubleshooting migration

The following are common issues that you may encounter during migration.

General debugging

  • No shell: Runtime variants don't include a shell. Use Docker Debug when you need to inspect a running container.
  • Permission errors: Runtime variants run as the nonroot user. Ensure mounted files and directories are readable by UID/GID 65534:65534.
  • Port binding issues: This image listens on ports 8080 and 10254. Map host ports to those container ports instead of changing the container ports.
  • Entry point changes: This image preserves the upstream /server entrypoint. If you override the entrypoint, ensure your replacement command starts the default backend server.