backspace/docs/superpowers/plans/2026-07-13-plan-b-container-hardening.md

Plan B — Container Hardening & Real Image Scanning Implementation Plan

For agentic workers: REQUIRED SUB-SKILL: Use superpowers:subagent-driven-development (recommended) or superpowers:executing-plans to implement this plan task-by-task. Steps use checkbox (- [ ]) syntax for tracking.

Goal: Harden the published container image — run it as a non-root user, slim its runtime attack surface, and scan the actual amd64 image for OS/library CVEs before publishing — without breaking existing self-hosters or the multi-arch (amd64+arm64) GHCR publish.

Architecture: Two edits to the runtime layer (Dockerfile + a new docker-entrypoint.sh) plus a restructure of docker-publish.yml so a single-arch amd64 image is built and Trivy-scanned before the multi-arch push. The image scan is report-only here (matching Plan A's sequencing); Plan E flips it to blocking. SBOM + SLSA provenance are attached at push time.

Tech Stack: Docker multi-stage build (node:20-slim), Docker Buildx + QEMU, GitHub Actions, Aqua Trivy (image + SARIF), gosu for privilege drop, better-sqlite3 (prebuilt binary), tsx (runtime TS loader).

Global Constraints

• This plan builds on Plan A's branch (security/scanning-pipeline); the workflows here are already SHA-pinned. Work branch: security/container-hardening.
• Do not break existing self-hosters. The ./data:/app/data bind mount (docker-compose.yml:31) is host-owned; the container must still read/write it after docker pull + restart. The non-root switch is handled by an entrypoint that chowns /app/data as root then drops to the node user via gosu — so there is no static USER line (a static USER would run the entrypoint unprivileged and make the chown impossible).
• Keep ffmpeg (real runtime dependency) and keep tsx (the CMD runs TS via tsx/esm). Only python3 make g++ may leave the runtime stage.
• better-sqlite3 must still load. It is expected to install via its prebuilt binary on node:20-slim (glibc) for both amd64 and arm64. If a task's build shows it compiling (needs the toolchain), use the documented fallback (keep the toolchain, OR copy the built module from the builder stage) and report it — do not ship a broken image.
• Image scan is report-only in this plan (exit-code: '0' + continue-on-error: true, comment # report-only; enforcement flipped on in Plan E). Do NOT make it fail the publish here.
• trivy-action pinned to ed142fd0673e97e23eac54620cfb913e5ce36c25 (# v0.36.0) — v0.28.0's nested setup-trivy@v0.2.1 ref is broken (see memory ci-security-action-gotchas). SHA-pin any other new action with a # vX.Y.Z comment.
• Both build paths must keep working: the GHCR prebuilt-image pull (docker-compose.yml image:) AND the from-source docker compose up --build fallback.
• Commit identity: plain git commit (local config = Jannis Braun <151788261+TheZwiss@users.noreply.github.com>). NEVER -c user.email; never the alxtrading94 email.
• Node 20 / pnpm 10.34.3 are the pinned toolchain.
• Docker daemon must be running for Tasks 1 and 2 verification (docker build / buildx --load). If it is not up, STOP and report — do not mark a Dockerfile task done without a real build+boot.

---

Task 1: Harden the runtime image (non-root via gosu, drop build toolchain)

Files:

• Create: docker-entrypoint.sh
• Modify: Dockerfile (runtime stage, lines 37-97)

Interfaces:

• Consumes: the existing builder stage output (/app/packages/web/dist).

• Produces: an image that runs node --import tsx/esm src/index.ts as the non-root node user (uid 1000) with a writable /app/data. No code symbols.

• Step 1: Write the entrypoint script

Create docker-entrypoint.sh at the repo root:

#!/bin/sh
# Runs as root: make the (bind-mounted, host-owned) data dir writable by the
# non-root runtime user, then drop privileges via gosu and exec the CMD. This
# is what lets the container run as uid 1000 while still owning ./data on hosts
# where the bind mount was created by a different uid. Idempotent.
set -e
mkdir -p /app/data/uploads
chown -R node:node /app/data
exec gosu node "$@"

• Step 2: Modify the runtime stage's apt-get line

In Dockerfile, replace the runtime-stage package install (currently line 42-44):

RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 make g++ ffmpeg && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

with (drop the C toolchain; keep ffmpeg; add gosu for the privilege drop):

RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ffmpeg gosu && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

• Step 3: Wire the entrypoint + keep the CMD

In Dockerfile, immediately AFTER the RUN mkdir -p /app/data/uploads line (currently line 73) add the entrypoint copy:

# Non-root hardening: copy the privilege-dropping entrypoint. It chowns the
# data volume as root, then execs the CMD as the unprivileged `node` user.
COPY docker-entrypoint.sh /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh
RUN chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-entrypoint.sh

Then, at the END of the file, replace the final two lines (currently line 96-97):

WORKDIR /app/packages/server
CMD ["node", "--import", "tsx/esm", "src/index.ts"]

with (add the ENTRYPOINT between WORKDIR and CMD; do NOT add a USER line):

WORKDIR /app/packages/server
ENTRYPOINT ["docker-entrypoint.sh"]
CMD ["node", "--import", "tsx/esm", "src/index.ts"]

• Step 4: Build the image (amd64) and confirm it builds without the toolchain

Run (requires Docker daemon):

docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64 --load -t backspace:hardening-test --build-arg BACKSPACE_COMMIT=test .

Expected: build succeeds. Watch the pnpm install --prod output for better-sqlite3: it should download a prebuilt binary (a prebuild-install line), NOT run node-gyp/compilation. If it tries to compile and fails (no toolchain), STOP — apply the fallback (re-add the toolchain to the runtime apt-get line, OR copy packages/server/node_modules/better-sqlite3 from the builder stage) and report which you used and why.

• Step 5: Boot the container and verify non-root + data volume + DB

Run:

mkdir -p /tmp/bkspace-data
docker run -d --name bkspace-htest -e JWT_SECRET=testsecret_at_least_32_chars_long_xx -p 3999:3000 -v /tmp/bkspace-data:/app/data backspace:hardening-test
sleep 12
echo "--- health ---"; curl -fsS http://localhost:3999/api/health && echo " OK"
echo "--- process runs as node (uid 1000), not root ---"; docker exec bkspace-htest sh -c 'id'
echo "--- data dir written + owned by node ---"; docker exec bkspace-htest sh -c 'ls -ld /app/data /app/data/uploads && ls -la /app/data'
echo "--- better-sqlite3 loaded (DB file exists) ---"; docker exec bkspace-htest sh -c 'ls -la /app/data/*.db 2>/dev/null || echo NO_DB'

Expected: /api/health returns ok; id shows uid=1000(node); /app/data + /app/data/uploads exist and are node-owned; a .db file was created (proves better-sqlite3 loaded and wrote). If the app booted but id shows uid=0, the gosu drop failed — fix before proceeding.

• Step 6: Tear down the test container

Run:

docker rm -f bkspace-htest; rm -rf /tmp/bkspace-data

• Step 7: Commit

git add docker-entrypoint.sh Dockerfile
git commit -m "fix(docker): run container as non-root (gosu) and drop build toolchain from runtime"

---

Task 2: Scan the image before publishing (restructure docker-publish.yml)

Files:

• Modify: .github/workflows/docker-publish.yml

Interfaces:

• Consumes: the hardened Dockerfile from Task 1.

• Produces: a publish workflow that builds amd64 → Trivy-scans it (report-only) → pushes multi-arch with SBOM + provenance. No code symbols.

• Step 1: Restructure the build/scan/push steps

In .github/workflows/docker-publish.yml, add security-events: write to the top-level permissions block (it currently has contents: read + packages: write):

permissions:
  contents: read
  packages: write
  security-events: write

Then replace the single Build and push (linux/amd64, linux/arm64) step (currently lines 79-92) with the build → scan → push sequence:

      # Build a single-arch amd64 image and LOAD it into the runner's docker
      # daemon so Trivy can scan the exact artifact before anything is published.
      # A multi-arch manifest cannot be --load'ed, so scanning must happen on a
      # single-arch build first; the multi-arch push below reuses these layers
      # from the buildx cache, so this is cheap.
      - name: Build amd64 image for scanning
        uses: docker/build-push-action@10e90e3645eae34f1e60eeb005ba3a3d33f178e8 # v6.19.2
        with:
          context: .
          platforms: linux/amd64
          load: true
          push: false
          tags: backspace:scan
          build-args: |
            BACKSPACE_COMMIT=${{ steps.meta_commit.outputs.commit }}
          cache-from: type=gha
          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max

      - name: Trivy image scan (report-only)
        uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@ed142fd0673e97e23eac54620cfb913e5ce36c25 # v0.36.0
        continue-on-error: true # report-only; enforcement flipped on in Plan E
        with:
          scan-type: image
          image-ref: backspace:scan
          ignore-unfixed: true
          format: sarif
          output: trivy-image.sarif
          severity: HIGH,CRITICAL

      - name: Upload Trivy image SARIF
        if: always()
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@02c5e83432fe5497fd85b873b6c9f16a8578e1d9 # v3.37.0
        with:
          sarif_file: trivy-image.sarif
          category: trivy-image

      # Publish the multi-arch image. Reuses the amd64 layers built above via the
      # gha cache. Attaches an SBOM and SLSA provenance attestation to the image.
      - name: Build and push (linux/amd64, linux/arm64)
        uses: docker/build-push-action@10e90e3645eae34f1e60eeb005ba3a3d33f178e8 # v6.19.2
        with:
          context: .
          platforms: linux/amd64,linux/arm64
          push: true
          tags: ${{ steps.docker_meta.outputs.tags }}
          labels: ${{ steps.docker_meta.outputs.labels }}
          build-args: |
            BACKSPACE_COMMIT=${{ steps.meta_commit.outputs.commit }}
          sbom: true
          provenance: true
          cache-from: type=gha
          cache-to: type=gha,mode=max

• Step 2: Validate the workflow

Run:

actionlint .github/workflows/docker-publish.yml

Expected: exit 0, no output.

• Step 3: Confirm all actions still SHA-pinned

Run:

grep -rnE 'uses: +[^ ]+@' .github/workflows/docker-publish.yml | grep -vE '@[0-9a-f]{40}' && echo "UNPINNED FOUND" || echo "All actions pinned to SHA"

Expected: All actions pinned to SHA.

• Step 4: Locally reproduce the build→load→scan path

This proves the new scan logic works without publishing anything (requires Docker daemon + local Trivy: brew install trivy if absent):

docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64 --load -t backspace:scan --build-arg BACKSPACE_COMMIT=test .
trivy image --severity HIGH,CRITICAL --ignore-unfixed backspace:scan | tail -25
docker rmi backspace:scan

Expected: the image builds + loads, and Trivy scans it and prints a summary (findings are fine — the scan is report-only; we just need it to RUN). The multi-arch push + SBOM/provenance path cannot be exercised without publishing; note in the report that it is verified by review + a maintainer workflow_dispatch run.

• Step 5: Commit

git add .github/workflows/docker-publish.yml
git commit -m "ci(docker): scan the amd64 image before publish; attach SBOM + provenance"

---

Task 3: Document the container hardening

Files:

• Modify: docs/systems/deployment.md
• Modify: docs/systems/security-scanning.md

Interfaces:

• Consumes: the changes from Tasks 1-2.

• Produces: an upgrade/migration note + an updated pipeline reference. No code symbols.

• Step 1: Add a container-hardening + migration note to deployment.md

Read docs/systems/deployment.md first to match its structure, then add a subsection (place it near the Docker/image content). Use this content:

### Container hardening (non-root)

The runtime image runs as the unprivileged `node` user (uid 1000), not root. On
container start, `docker-entrypoint.sh` runs as root only long enough to `chown`
the `./data` bind mount to `node`, then drops privileges via `gosu` and execs the
server. The build toolchain (`python3`/`make`/`g++`) is not installed in the
runtime stage — `better-sqlite3` loads from its prebuilt binary — which shrinks
the runtime attack surface. `ffmpeg` remains (a real runtime dependency).

**Upgrade note for existing self-hosters:** on the first start of the hardened
image, the contents of your host `./data` directory are chowned to uid 1000. This
is expected and idempotent. If you previously accessed `./data` on the host as a
different user, adjust host-side access accordingly.

• Step 2: Reflect the image scan in security-scanning.md

In docs/systems/security-scanning.md, update the supply-chain line about SBOM/provenance (currently "will be attached ... not yet live") to reflect that image scanning + SBOM + provenance now exist in docker-publish.yml (report-only image scan; SBOM + provenance attached at push). Add docker-publish.yml to the workflow table with trigger "tag push / manual" and result "image scan (report-only) + SBOM + provenance".

• Step 3: Verify the docs reference reality

Run:

grep -q 'non-root' docs/systems/deployment.md && grep -q 'provenance' docs/systems/security-scanning.md && echo "docs updated"

Expected: docs updated.

• Step 4: Commit

git add docs/systems/deployment.md docs/systems/security-scanning.md
git commit -m "docs(docker): document non-root runtime, data-volume migration, and image scan"

---

Self-Review Notes

• Spec coverage (WS2): non-root USER via gosu (Task 1) ✓; slim runtime / drop toolchain with prebuilt-binary verification + fallback (Task 1) ✓; keep ffmpeg + tsx (Task 1 / constraints) ✓; bind-mount chown migration (Task 1 entrypoint + Task 3 doc) ✓; restructure to single-arch load → scan → multi-arch push (Task 2) ✓; SBOM + provenance (Task 2) ✓; image scan report-only, flips in Plan E (Task 2 + constraints) ✓.
• Deferred by design: flipping the image scan to blocking → Plan E. Desktop, web/CSP/CORS → Plans C/D.
• Risk-managed: the toolchain removal is verified by a real build that must show better-sqlite3 using a prebuilt binary; a fallback is defined if it compiles. The non-root switch is verified by asserting uid=1000 at runtime and a successful ./data write + DB creation. Multi-arch push + SBOM/provenance is review-plus-workflow_dispatch verified (cannot be exercised without publishing).
• Enforcement stays OFF — image scan is continue-on-error + exit-code-unset; no gate added here.