Docker

Run Vulnetix CLI in Docker containers.

Warning Current as of writing (Vulnetix CLI v3.55.2). If a snippet no longer works, open an issue with the CLI version you are on.

Before You Start

Credentials come from -e VULNETIX_ORG_ID -e VULNETIX_API_KEY with no value, which forwards the value from the host shell so the secret never appears in docker inspect.

VariableValue
VULNETIX_ORG_IDOrganization UUID
VULNETIX_API_KEYApiKey hex digest

Environment variables authenticate on their own. Do not run vulnetix auth login on an ephemeral runner — see Authentication in CI/CD.

Quick Start

docker run:

# There is no published Vulnetix image; install the CLI into a base image.
docker run --rm \
  -v "$(pwd):/workspace" -w /workspace \
  -e VULNETIX_ORG_ID -e VULNETIX_API_KEY \
  alpine:3.20 sh -c '
    apk add --no-cache bash ca-certificates curl tar &&
    curl -fsSL https://cli.vulnetix.com/install.sh | sh &&
    vulnetix auth verify &&
    vulnetix scan --severity high'

vulnetix auth verify on the first line fails the build immediately when the credential is missing or revoked, rather than halfway through a scan.

Note There is no published Vulnetix image. Install the CLI into a base image at run time, or bake your own image once.

Running Individual Scans

Each subcommand runs standalone and uploads its own findings. Swap vulnetix scan for any of them:

vulnetix sca --severity high -o dist/sbom.cdx.json     # dependencies
vulnetix sast --severity high -o dist/sast.sarif       # source code
vulnetix secrets -o dist/secrets.sarif                 # hardcoded credentials
vulnetix license --allow MIT,Apache-2.0                # SPDX policy
vulnetix cbom --output-file dist/cbom.cdx.json         # cryptography, PQC posture
vulnetix aibom --output-file dist/aibom.cdx.json       # AI agents, SDKs, models

Note the flag split: the scan family takes -o <path>, while cbom, aibom, and malscan take --output-file. license takes neither. The full table is in the Subcommand Reference.

Keeping the Report

Write into the bind-mounted workspace.

The SARIF-producing scans write their file only when there are findings, so a clean run leaves nothing behind. Tolerate the missing path rather than failing on it.

Quality Gates

Gates are opt-in; without a gate flag the command reports and exits 0.

vulnetix scan --severity high --block-malware --block-eol --exploits active

To surface a breach without blocking the merge: Check the exit status yourself; the container’s exit code is the CLI’s.

Full gate list in the Subcommand Reference.

Uploading Third-Party Artifacts

The scans upload themselves. upload is for reports produced by other tools:

vulnetix upload --file reports/semgrep.sarif --format sarif

Accepted formats: cyclonedx, spdx, sarif, openvex, csaf_vex.

See Also