Trivy Reference

Covers all /platform-skills:trivy mode logic: bootstrap, per-mode execution, severity gating, output formats, .trivyignore / trivy.yaml config, private-registry auth, and the Trivy Operator via Flux HelmRelease.

Tool Ownership Boundary

Concern	Authoritative tool
Container image CVEs	Trivy
Filesystem / repo scan (vuln + secret + license)	Trivy
Secret scanning	Trivy
SBOM vulnerability scanning	Trivy (`trivy sbom`)
Live cluster image CVEs (continuous)	Trivy Operator
IaC misconfig (Terraform, GHA, Helm)	Checkov → `/platform-skills:checkov`
K8s manifest admission posture	Kyverno CLI → `/platform-skills:kyverno`
SBOM generation + attestation	Syft + Cosign → `/platform-skills:supply-chain`
Image signing / SLSA	Cosign → `/platform-skills:supply-chain`

Bootstrap

macOS

brew install aquasecurity/trivy/trivy
trivy --version   # expect >= 0.50.0

Linux (binary)

curl -sfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aquasecurity/trivy/main/contrib/install.sh \
  | sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin
trivy --version

CI (GitHub Actions)

- name: Install Trivy
  run: |
    curl -sfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aquasecurity/trivy/main/contrib/install.sh \
      | sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin

Or use the official action (pinned to SHA):

- uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@ed142fd0673e97e23eac54620cfb913e5ce36c25  # v0.36.0

Minimum version guard

MIN_VERSION="0.50.0"
CURRENT=$(trivy --version | awk '/Version:/{print $2}')
# sort -V is GNU-only; use dot-field integer comparison for macOS/Linux portability
version_gte() {
  local IFS=. a b
  read -ra a <<< "$1"; read -ra b <<< "$2"
  for i in 0 1 2; do
    local av=${a[$i]:-0} bv=${b[$i]:-0}
    (( av > bv )) && return 0; (( av < bv )) && return 1
  done
  return 0  # versions are equal — guard passes
}
if ! version_gte "$CURRENT" "$MIN_VERSION"; then
  echo "ERROR: trivy >= $MIN_VERSION required (found $CURRENT)" >&2
  exit 1
fi

Mode: image

Scan a container image for OS package and library CVEs.

One-shot (CLI)

trivy image \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --format table \
  ghcr.io/org/image:tag

CI severity gate (exit-code 1 = fail build)

trivy image \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --exit-code 1 \
  --format sarif \
  --output trivy-results.sarif \
  ghcr.io/org/image:tag

Full GitHub Actions job

jobs:
  trivy-scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    permissions:
      contents: read
      security-events: write   # upload SARIF to code scanning
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@11bd71901bbe5b1630ceea73d27597364c9af683  # v4.2.2

      - name: Run Trivy image scan
        uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@ed142fd0673e97e23eac54620cfb913e5ce36c25  # v0.36.0
        with:
          image-ref: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:${{ github.sha }}
          format: sarif
          output: trivy-results.sarif
          exit-code: '1'
          ignore-unfixed: false
          vuln-type: os,library
          severity: HIGH,CRITICAL

      - name: Upload SARIF to GitHub Security tab
        if: always()
        uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@f411752efdf656cb71aa17b755b22c890960da1d  # v3.35.5
        with:
          sarif_file: trivy-results.sarif

Private registry auth

# GHCR
export TRIVY_USERNAME=<github-user>
export TRIVY_PASSWORD=$(gh auth token)

# ECR (uses ambient IRSA / instance profile — no creds needed in CI with IRSA)
# Or explicit:
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
trivy image --aws-region eu-north-1 <account-id>.dkr.ecr.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/image:tag

# Generic registry
trivy image --username $USER --password $PASS registry.example.com/image:tag

Mode: fs

Scan a local directory for CVEs, secrets, and license violations in one pass.

trivy fs \
  --scanners vuln,secret,license \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --exit-code 1 \
  .

Scanners available

Scanner	Finds
`vuln`	CVEs in package manifests (go.sum, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, etc.)
`secret`	Hardcoded credentials, API keys, tokens
`license`	License violations (GPL in commercial code, etc.)

Disable specific scanners

# Vulnerability only — skip secret/license in quick checks
trivy fs --scanners vuln --severity HIGH,CRITICAL .

Mode: repo

Scan a remote git repo URL. Trivy clones it internally; no local checkout needed.

trivy repo \
  --scanners vuln,secret,license \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --exit-code 1 \
  https://github.com/org/repo

Private repo auth

export TRIVY_GITHUB_TOKEN=$(gh auth token)
trivy repo https://github.com/org/private-repo

Mode: secrets

Scan for hardcoded secrets only (fastest single-concern scan).

trivy fs \
  --scanners secret \
  --exit-code 1 \
  .

Suppress known false positives

# .trivyignore — see .trivyignore section below
# Or inline:
trivy fs --scanners secret --ignorefile .trivyignore .

Secret rule sets

Trivy ships built-in rules for: AWS keys, GCP service accounts, GitHub tokens, Stripe, Slack, SendGrid, private keys (RSA/EC/DSA/PGP), connection strings, and more. Custom rules via trivy.yaml:

# trivy.yaml
secret:
  config: custom-secret-rules.yaml

Mode: sbom

Scan an existing Syft-generated SBOM file for known CVEs. Do not use Trivy to generate SBOMs — that is owned by Syft via /platform-skills:supply-chain.

# CycloneDX JSON
trivy sbom \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --exit-code 1 \
  sbom.cdx.json

# SPDX JSON
trivy sbom \
  --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
  --exit-code 1 \
  sbom.spdx.json

SBOM vulnerability gate in CI

- name: Scan SBOM for CVEs
  run: |
    trivy sbom \
      --severity HIGH,CRITICAL \
      --format sarif \
      --output trivy-sbom.sarif \
      --exit-code 1 \
      sbom.spdx.json

- name: Upload SBOM scan results
  if: always()
  uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@f411752efdf656cb71aa17b755b22c890960da1d  # v3.35.5
  with:
    sarif_file: trivy-sbom.sarif

Mode: k8s

One-shot cluster scan (requires kubectl context)

# Summary of all workloads
trivy k8s --report summary cluster

# Full detail — slow on large clusters
trivy k8s --report all cluster

# Scope to a single namespace
trivy k8s --report summary --namespace production cluster

This scans images referenced in running pods — it is NOT manifest posture scanning. For manifest posture (does this manifest satisfy Kyverno policies?), use /platform-skills:kyverno apply.

Trivy Operator — continuous monitoring via Flux HelmRelease

Trivy Operator runs as a Kubernetes controller and continuously scans all workload images, producing VulnerabilityReport and ExposedSecretReport CRDs per pod.

Flux HelmRelease

apiVersion: source.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v1
kind: HelmRepository
metadata:
  name: aquasecurity
  namespace: flux-system
spec:
  interval: 24h
  url: https://aquasecurity.github.io/helm-charts/
---
apiVersion: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2
kind: HelmRelease
metadata:
  name: trivy-operator
  namespace: trivy-system
spec:
  interval: 1h
  install:
    strategy:
      name: RetryOnFailure   # retry without uninstall/rollback on failure
  upgrade:
    strategy:
      name: RetryOnFailure
  chart:
    spec:
      chart: trivy-operator
      version: "0.33.2"
      sourceRef:
        kind: HelmRepository
        name: aquasecurity
        namespace: flux-system
  values:
    trivy:
      ignoreUnfixed: false
      severity: HIGH,CRITICAL
    serviceMonitor:
      enabled: true    # expose Prometheus metrics
    operator:
      scanJobTimeout: 5m
      # Scope to specific namespaces (omit to scan all)
      # targetNamespaces: "production,staging"

Query VulnerabilityReports

# List all reports
kubectl get vulnerabilityreports -A

# Show a specific workload's CVEs
kubectl get vulnerabilityreport -n production \
  replicaset-app-deployment-abc123 -o yaml

# Count CRITICAL/HIGH across the cluster
kubectl get vulnerabilityreports -A -o json \
  | jq '[.items[].report.summary | (.criticalCount + .highCount)] | add'

Prometheus metrics (if serviceMonitor enabled)

# Total CRITICAL CVEs across cluster
sum(trivy_image_vulnerabilities{severity="CRITICAL"})

# Images with any CRITICAL vulnerability
count(trivy_image_vulnerabilities{severity="CRITICAL"} > 0)

Severity gating

Recommended defaults

Gate	Severity floor	`--ignore-unfixed`	Notes
CI severity gate (block PRs)	`HIGH,CRITICAL`	`false`	Standard — catches exploitables
Quick local check	`HIGH,CRITICAL`	`false`	Same as CI for consistency
Noisy baseline (brownfield)	`CRITICAL`	`true`	Narrow gate to get started; widen over time
License audit	any	N/A	Use `--scanners license`

Do not use CRITICAL only as a permanent gate. HIGH CVEs include actively exploited issues (e.g. Log4Shell was initially scored HIGH before CVSS updates).

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	No vulnerabilities at or above severity floor
`1`	Vulnerabilities found at or above severity floor
`2`	Scan error (image not found, auth failure)

Always check for exit code 2 in CI — a failed scan should not silently pass.

trivy image --exit-code 1 myimage:latest
rc=$?
if [ $rc -eq 2 ]; then
  echo "ERROR: Trivy scan failed (auth? network?)" >&2
  exit 2
fi
exit $rc

Output formats

Format	Flag	Use case
Table	`--format table`	Human-readable terminal output
JSON	`--format json --output trivy.json`	Downstream processing, dashboards
SARIF	`--format sarif --output trivy.sarif`	GitHub Security tab (code scanning)
CycloneDX	`--format cyclonedx --output trivy.cdx.json`	SBOM-style output (not recommended — use Syft)
GitHub	`--format github`	GitHub dependency graph

`.trivyignore` — CVE suppression policy

Every suppressed CVE must have:

The CVE ID
An expiry date
A justification

A .trivyignore without expiry dates rots silently — the gate becomes meaningless.

# .trivyignore
# Format: <CVE-ID> [exp:<YYYY-MM-DD>] [# justification]

CVE-2024-12345 exp:2026-09-01  # OS base-image, no upstream fix yet — review at next base image bump
CVE-2024-67890 exp:2026-07-01  # false positive: internal tool, never exposed to untrusted input
CVE-2025-11111 exp:2026-08-01  # Go stdlib, binary statically linked, not affected by this vector

Detect expired suppressions

TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
while IFS= read -r line; do
  # sed -E is portable (macOS + Linux); grep -oP requires GNU grep
  exp=$(echo "$line" | sed -E 's/.*exp:([0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}).*/\1/; t; d')
  if [[ -n "$exp" && "$exp" < "$TODAY" ]]; then
    echo "EXPIRED: $line"
  fi
done < .trivyignore

`trivy.yaml` — persistent config

# trivy.yaml (at repo root or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/trivy/trivy.yaml)
scan:
  scanners:
    - vuln
    - secret
severity:
  - HIGH
  - CRITICAL
ignore-unfixed: false
ignorefile: .trivyignore
format: table
exit-code: 1

Common mistakes

Mistake	Consequence	Fix
`--exit-code 0` (default) in CI	Gate never fails — silent	Always set `--exit-code 1`
`--severity CRITICAL` only	Misses HIGH exploitables	Use `HIGH,CRITICAL`
`trivy config` on `.tf` files	Duplicates Checkov; divergent findings	Use Checkov for IaC
`trivy image --generate-sbom`	Creates un-attested SBOM; drifts from Syft	Use Syft + Cosign attest
`.trivyignore` with no expiry	Suppressions accumulate silently	Enforce exp: dates
Scanning manifest files for posture	Reimplements Kyverno rules; diverges	Use `kyverno apply`
Not checking exit code 2	Auth/network failure silently passes	Explicitly check `$?` for `2`
`ignore-unfixed: true` as permanent default	Hides un-patchable risk	Use only for brownfield baseline

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Cause	Fix
`FATAL image pull failed`	Registry auth missing	Set `TRIVY_USERNAME` / `TRIVY_PASSWORD` or `TRIVY_GITHUB_TOKEN`
`FATAL failed to analyze`	Corrupted layer cache	`trivy image --clear-cache` then re-run
`database download failed`	Network / proxy blocks `ghcr.io`	Set `TRIVY_DB_REPOSITORY` to a mirror, or use `--offline-scan` with pre-downloaded DB
Scan very slow on large images	Full image pull	Use `--skip-dirs` to exclude known-clean paths, or scope with `--image-config-scanners`
False-positive secrets	Test fixtures, example files	Add to `.trivyignore` with expiry and justification
VulnerabilityReport CRDs empty after Operator install	Operator not yet reconciled	`kubectl rollout status deploy/trivy-operator -n trivy-system`; check `kubectl logs`

Cross-references

commands/trivy.md — interactive command (wizard, mode dispatch, agent behavior)
references/supply-chain.md — Cosign image signing, Syft SBOM generation, SLSA provenance
references/kyverno.md — Kyverno admission policies, kyverno apply for manifest posture
references/checkov.md — Checkov IaC scanning (Terraform, GHA, Helm)
references/runtime-security.md — Falco for syscall-level threat detection at runtime
examples/supply-chain/trivy-image-scan.sh — production-ready image scan CI script

Tool Ownership Boundary​

Bootstrap​

macOS​

Linux (binary)​

CI (GitHub Actions)​

Minimum version guard​

Mode: image​

One-shot (CLI)​

CI severity gate (exit-code 1 = fail build)​

Full GitHub Actions job​

Private registry auth​

Mode: fs​

Scanners available​

Disable specific scanners​

Mode: repo​

Private repo auth​

Mode: secrets​

Suppress known false positives​

Secret rule sets​

Mode: sbom​

SBOM vulnerability gate in CI​

Mode: k8s​

One-shot cluster scan (requires kubectl context)​

Trivy Operator — continuous monitoring via Flux HelmRelease​

Flux HelmRelease​

Query VulnerabilityReports​

Prometheus metrics (if serviceMonitor enabled)​

Severity gating​

Recommended defaults​

Exit codes​

Output formats​

.trivyignore — CVE suppression policy​

Detect expired suppressions​

trivy.yaml — persistent config​

Common mistakes​

Troubleshooting​

Cross-references​