Just weeks ago, the launch of ActiveState Secure Containers marked a significant milestone in our mission to help software teams manage open-source vulnerabilities across their containerized environments. Since then, we’ve continued to hear from DevOps and Security teams who have shared their struggles with vulnerability scanners constantly flagging CVEs, eating up countless hours that could be spent on innovation rather than remediation. While the launch marked a significant milestone, it was only our first step towards tackling container security, and our team has been far from idle.

Rust and .NET Container Images

Today, we’re excited to announce the first expansion to our container lineup with two highly requested additions: Rust and the .NET Runtime. These new offerings provide a hardened base that reduces CVE count to near zero when compared with popular community images, further enabling teams to deploy containerized applications, regardless of their preferred language. The latest versions of our Rust and .NET Runtime images are now available for free on Docker Hub, joining our existing lineup of Python, Java, Node.js, and other popular language-based containers.

Looking to the Past and Present

This addition isn’t just an arbitrary expansion; it reflects the evolving needs of modern development teams. Although Rust is still a relatively new programming language, according to Stack Overflow’s latest Developer Survey, it ranks among the top 15 programming, scripting, and markup languages globally. Besides growing popularity, there is also a strong case for deploying Rust applications using containers. Rust’s unique combination of features provides several benefits, including memory safety, performance, and a small resource footprint, making it particularly well-suited for the demands of cloud-native architectures. As organizations continue to undergo modernization efforts and further adopt cloud-native best practices, Rust presents a compelling option for those seeking to transition away from legacy workloads and technologies.

On the flip side, the addition of the .NET Runtime caters to the extensive legacy of C# software development, as it remains a prominent tool powering enterprise workloads worldwide. For organizations that have kept up with modern .NET advancements or for those looking to modernize while remaining within the familiar ecosystem, secure .NET Runtime containers offer a straightforward path for modern deployments.

What’s Up Next?

The introduction of Rust and .NET container images is just the beginning of our free container expansion. We are committed to providing additional containers beyond popular languages and frameworks and in the coming weeks, will be introducing developer variants of our existing images. Furthermore, we plan to add container images for popular applications such as Postgres and Nginx. If you have a specific container in mind that you’re looking for, feel free to get in touch.

Build a Custom Rust or .NET Container Image.

Like all our base images, the latest versions are available at no charge and ready to integrate into your existing CI/CD workflows. For teams who require custom configurations, additional packages, or further hardening to achieve compliance standards, ActiveState’s custom container service is here to help. No matter what your application specifications are, our team will ensure that every layer, from the OS to application dependencies, is fully secured and ready for deployment. Drop us a line today, and try your first build for free!