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Chapter 3. Clair security scanner

Clair is a vulnerability scanner that analyzes container image layers and reports security issues from upstream CVE databases in Red Hat Quay. You can use these reports to identify vulnerabilities that affect image content.

3.1. Clair on OpenShift Container Platform
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The Red Hat Quay Operator installs and configures Clair automatically when you deploy Red Hat Quay on OpenShift Container Platform. You can increase Clair scratch storage for large images by configuring ephemeral volume overrides on the clair component.

3.2. Testing Clair
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To confirm that Clair is scanning images on Red Hat Quay, you can push a sample image to your registry and open the vulnerability report in the UI.

Prerequisites

  • You have deployed the Clair container image.

Procedure

  1. Pull a sample image by entering the following command: 

    $ podman pull ubuntu:20.04

  2. Tag the image to your registry by entering the following command: 

    $ sudo podman tag docker.io/library/ubuntu:20.04 <quay-server.example.com>/<user-name>/ubuntu:20.04

  3. Push the image to your Red Hat Quay registry by entering the following command: 

    $ sudo podman push --tls-verify=false quay-server.example.com/quayadmin/ubuntu:20.04
  4. Log in to your Red Hat Quay deployment through the UI.
  5. Click the repository name, for example, quayadmin/ubuntu.

  6. In the navigation pane, click Tags.

    Security scan information appears for scanned repository images

  7. Click the image report, for example, 45 medium, to show a more detailed report:

    See all vulnerabilities or only those that are fixable

    Note

    In some cases, Clair shows duplicate reports on images, for example, ubi8/nodejs-12 or ubi8/nodejs-16. This occurs because vulnerabilities with the same name are for different packages. You can expect this behavior with Clair vulnerability reporting. Duplicate reports are not a bug.

3.3. Advanced Clair configuration
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Advanced Clair configuration lets you customize Clair settings beyond the default installation. You can use these options to adjust scanning behavior, database connections, and other advanced features to meet specific security and performance requirements.

3.3.1. Unmanaged Clair configuration
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Unmanaged Clair configuration lets you run a custom Clair deployment or use an external Clair database with the Red Hat Quay Operator. You can use this option for geo-replicated environments or highly available databases outside your cluster.

To use an external Clair database with the Red Hat Quay Operator, you can set the clairpostgres component to unmanaged in your QuayRegistry custom resource.

Important

You must not use the same externally managed PostgreSQL database for both Red Hat Quay and Clair deployments. Your PostgreSQL database must also not be shared with other workloads, as it might exhaust the natural connection limit on the PostgreSQL side when connection-intensive workloads, like Red Hat Quay or Clair, contend for resources. Additionally, pgBouncer is not supported with Red Hat Quay or Clair, so pgBouncer is not an option to resolve this issue.

Procedure

  • In the Quay Operator, set the clairpostgres component of the QuayRegistry custom resource to managed: false: 

    apiVersion: quay.redhat.com/v1
kind: QuayRegistry
metadata:
  name: quay370
spec:
  configBundleSecret: config-bundle-secret
  components:
    - kind: objectstorage
      managed: false
    - kind: route
      managed: true
    - kind: tls
      managed: false
    - kind: clairpostgres
      managed: false

To configure a custom Clair database with SSL/TLS certificates on Red Hat Quay, you can create a Quay configuration bundle secret that includes the clair-config.yaml file.

Note

The following procedure configures Clair with SSL/TLS certificates.

Procedure

  1. Create a Quay configuration bundle secret that includes the clair-config.yaml by entering the following command: 

    $ oc create secret generic --from-file config.yaml=./config.yaml --from-file extra_ca_cert_rds-ca-2019-root.pem=./rds-ca-2019-root.pem --from-file clair-config.yaml=./clair-config.yaml --from-file ssl.cert=./ssl.cert --from-file ssl.key=./ssl.key config-bundle-secret

    Example Clair config.yaml file

    indexer:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslrootcert=/run/certs/rds-ca-2019-root.pem sslmode=verify-ca
    layer_scan_concurrency: 6
    migrations: true
    scanlock_retry: 11
log_level: debug
matcher:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslrootcert=/run/certs/rds-ca-2019-root.pem sslmode=verify-ca
    migrations: true
metrics:
    name: prometheus
notifier:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslrootcert=/run/certs/rds-ca-2019-root.pem sslmode=verify-ca
    migrations: true

    Note
    • The database certificate is mounted under /run/certs/rds-ca-2019-root.pem on the Clair application pod in the clair-config.yaml. It must be specified when configuring your clair-config.yaml.

  2. Add the clair-config.yaml file to your bundle secret, for example: 

    apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: config-bundle-secret
  namespace: quay-enterprise
data:
  config.yaml: <base64 encoded Quay config>
  clair-config.yaml: <base64 encoded Clair config>
  extra_ca_cert_<name>: <base64 encoded ca cert>
  ssl.crt: <base64 encoded SSL certificate>
  ssl.key: <base64 encoded SSL private key>
    Note

    When updated, the provided clair-config.yaml file is mounted into the Clair pod. Any fields not provided are automatically populated with defaults using the Clair configuration module.

  3. You can check the status of your Clair pod by clicking the commit in the Build History page, or by running oc get pods -n <namespace>. For example: 

    $ oc get pods -n <namespace>

    Example output

    NAME                                               READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
f192fe4a-c802-4275-bcce-d2031e635126-9l2b5-25lg2   1/1     Running   0          7s

You can customize Clair settings while the Red Hat Quay Operator manages the Clair database. Use this approach to disable updater resources or configure Clair for disconnected environments.

Note
  • If you are running Red Hat Quay in a disconnected environment, the airgap parameter of your clair-config.yaml must be set to True.
  • If you are running Red Hat Quay in a disconnected environment, you should disable all updater components.

3.3.2.1. Setting a Clair database to managed
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To have the Red Hat Quay Operator manage your Clair database, you can set the clairpostgres component to managed in your QuayRegistry custom resource.

Procedure

  • In the Quay Operator, set the clairpostgres component of the QuayRegistry custom resource to managed: true: 

    apiVersion: quay.redhat.com/v1
kind: QuayRegistry
metadata:
  name: quay370
spec:
  configBundleSecret: config-bundle-secret
  components:
    - kind: objectstorage
      managed: false
    - kind: route
      managed: true
    - kind: tls
      managed: false
    - kind: clairpostgres
      managed: true

To supply a custom clair-config.yaml while the Operator manages Clair on Red Hat Quay, you can create a Quay configuration bundle secret that includes your Clair configuration file.

Procedure

  1. Create a Quay configuration bundle secret that includes the clair-config.yaml by entering the following command: 

    $ oc create secret generic --from-file config.yaml=./config.yaml --from-file extra_ca_cert_rds-ca-2019-root.pem=./rds-ca-2019-root.pem --from-file clair-config.yaml=./clair-config.yaml config-bundle-secret

    Example Clair config.yaml file

    indexer:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslmode=disable
    layer_scan_concurrency: 6
    migrations: true
    scanlock_retry: 11
log_level: debug
matcher:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslmode=disable
    migrations: true
metrics:
    name: prometheus
notifier:
    connstring: host=quay-server.example.com port=5432 dbname=quay user=quayrdsdb password=quayrdsdb sslmode=disable
    migrations: true

    Note

    The database certificate is mounted under /run/certs/rds-ca-2019-root.pem on the Clair application pod in the clair-config.yaml. It must be specified when configuring your clair-config.yaml.

  2. Add the clair-config.yaml file to your bundle secret, for example: 

    apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: config-bundle-secret
  namespace: quay-enterprise
data:
  config.yaml: <base64 encoded Quay config>
  clair-config.yaml: <base64 encoded Clair config>
    Note

    When updated, the provided clair-config.yaml file is mounted into the Clair pod. Any fields not provided are automatically populated with defaults using the Clair configuration module.

  3. You can check the status of your Clair pod by clicking the commit in the Build History page, or by running oc get pods -n <namespace>. For example: 

    $ oc get pods -n <namespace>

    Example output

    NAME                                               READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
f192fe4a-c802-4275-bcce-d2031e635126-9l2b5-25lg2   1/1     Running   0          7s

3.3.3. Clair in disconnected environments
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Clair supports disconnected Red Hat Quay deployments that have no direct internet access. You can use the clairctl tool to transfer vulnerability database updates from an open host so Clair can scan images offline.

Clair uses a set of components called updaters to handle the fetching and parsing of data from various vulnerability databases. By default, updaters pull vulnerability data directly from the internet and work for immediate use.

Note

Currently, Clair enrichment data is CVSS data. Enrichment data is currently unsupported in disconnected environments.

To install the clairctl command-line utility on a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform cluster, you can copy the binary from a running Clair pod and make it executable.

Procedure

  1. Install the clairctl program for a Clair deployment in an OpenShift Container Platform cluster by entering the following command: 

    $ oc -n quay-enterprise exec example-registry-clair-app-64dd48f866-6ptgw -- cat /usr/bin/clairctl > clairctl

  2. Set the permissions of the clairctl file so that it can be executed and run by the user, for example: 

    $ chmod u+x ./clairctl

To prepare Clair for a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform environment, you can retrieve and decode the Clair configuration secret, then set disable_updaters and airgap to true in clair-config.yaml.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.

Procedure

  1. Enter the following command to retrieve and decode the configuration secret, and then save it to a Clair configuration YAML: 

    $ oc get secret -n quay-enterprise example-registry-clair-config-secret  -o "jsonpath={$.data['config\.yaml']}" | base64 -d > clair-config.yaml

  2. Update the clair-config.yaml file so that the disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True, for example: 

    # ...
indexer:
  airgap: true
# ...
matcher:
  disable_updaters: true
# ...

To export vulnerability database updates from a connected Clair instance, you can run clairctl export-updaters with your configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have retrieved and decoded the Clair configuration secret, and saved it to a Clair config.yaml file.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.

Procedure

  • From a Clair instance that has access to the internet, use the clairctl CLI tool with your configuration file to export the updaters bundle. For example: 

    $ ./clairctl --config ./config.yaml export-updaters updates.gz

To access the Clair database in a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform cluster, you can identify the database service, forward its port, and point your Clair configuration at localhost.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have retrieved and decoded the Clair configuration secret, and saved it to a Clair config.yaml file.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.
  • You have exported the updaters bundle from a Clair instance that has access to the internet.

Procedure

  1. Determine your Clair database service by using the oc CLI tool, for example: 

    $ oc get svc -n quay-enterprise

    Example output

    NAME                                  TYPE           CLUSTER-IP       EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)                             AGE
example-registry-clair-app            ClusterIP      172.30.224.93    <none>        80/TCP,8089/TCP                     4d21h
example-registry-clair-postgres       ClusterIP      172.30.246.88    <none>        5432/TCP                            4d21h
...

  2. Forward the Clair database port so that the local machine can access it. For example: 

    $ oc port-forward -n quay-enterprise service/example-registry-clair-postgres 5432:5432

  3. Update your Clair config.yaml file, for example: 

    indexer:
    connstring: host=localhost port=5432 dbname=postgres user=postgres password=postgres sslmode=disable
    layer_scan_concurrency: 5
    migrations: true
    scanlock_retry: 10
    airgap: true
    scanner:
      repo:
        rhel-repository-scanner:
          repo2cpe_mapping_file: /data/repository-to-cpe.json
      package:
        rhel_containerscanner:
          name2repos_mapping_file: /data/container-name-repos-map.json

    where:

    indexer.connstring
    Specifies the connection string for the database.
    indexer.scanner.repo.rhel-repository-scanner
    Specifies the repository scanner configuration.
    indexer.scanner.package.rhel_containerscanner
    Specifies the container scanner configuration.

To load vulnerability data into Clair on a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform cluster, you can run clairctl import-updaters with your configuration file and updaters bundle.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have retrieved and decoded the Clair configuration secret, and saved it to a Clair config.yaml file.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.
  • You have exported the updaters bundle from a Clair instance that has access to the internet.
  • You have transferred the updaters bundle into your disconnected environment.

Procedure

  • Use the clairctl CLI tool to import the updaters bundle into the Clair database on OpenShift Container Platform. For example: 

    $ ./clairctl --config ./clair-config.yaml import-updaters updates.gz

To install the clairctl command-line utility for a self-managed Clair deployment on OpenShift Container Platform, you can copy the binary from a Clair container with Podman and make it executable.

Procedure

  1. Install the clairctl program for a self-managed Clair deployment by using the podman cp command, for example: 

    $ sudo podman cp clairv4:/usr/bin/clairctl ./clairctl

  2. Set the permissions of the clairctl file so that it can be executed and run by the user, for example: 

    $ chmod u+x ./clairctl

To deploy a self-managed Clair container for disconnected OpenShift Container Platform clusters, you can create a configuration directory, set disable_updaters and airgap in the Clair configuration file, and start the container with Podman.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.

Procedure

  1. Create a folder for your Clair configuration file, for example: 

    $ mkdir /etc/clairv4/config/

  2. Create a Clair configuration file with the disable_updaters parameter set to True, for example: 

    ---
indexer:
  airgap: true
---
matcher:
  disable_updaters: true
---

  3. Start Clair by using the container image, mounting in the configuration from the file you created: 

    $ sudo podman run -it --rm --name clairv4 \
-p 8081:8081 -p 8088:8088 \
-e CLAIR_CONF=/clair/config.yaml \
-e CLAIR_MODE=combo \
-v /etc/clairv4/config:/clair:Z \
registry.redhat.io/quay/clair-rhel9:v3.18.0

To export vulnerability database updates from a connected self-managed Clair instance, you can run clairctl export-updaters with your configuration file.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have deployed Clair.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.

Procedure

  • From a Clair instance that has access to the internet, use the clairctl CLI tool with your configuration file to export the updaters bundle. For example: 

    $ ./clairctl --config ./config.yaml export-updaters updates.gz

To access the Clair database in a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform cluster for a self-managed deployment, you can identify the database service, forward its port, and point your Clair configuration at localhost.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have deployed Clair.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.
  • You have exported the updaters bundle from a Clair instance that has access to the internet.

Procedure

  1. Determine your Clair database service by using the oc CLI tool, for example: 

    $ oc get svc -n quay-enterprise

    Example output

    NAME                                  TYPE           CLUSTER-IP       EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)                             AGE
example-registry-clair-app            ClusterIP      172.30.224.93    <none>        80/TCP,8089/TCP                     4d21h
example-registry-clair-postgres       ClusterIP      172.30.246.88    <none>        5432/TCP                            4d21h
...

  2. Forward the Clair database port so that the local machine can access it. For example: 

    $ oc port-forward -n quay-enterprise service/example-registry-clair-postgres 5432:5432

  3. Update your Clair config.yaml file, for example: 

    indexer:
    connstring: host=localhost port=5432 dbname=postgres user=postgres password=postgres sslmode=disable
    layer_scan_concurrency: 5
    migrations: true
    scanlock_retry: 10
    airgap: true
    scanner:
      repo:
        rhel-repository-scanner:
          repo2cpe_mapping_file: /data/repository-to-cpe.json
      package:
        rhel_containerscanner:
          name2repos_mapping_file: /data/container-name-repos-map.json

    where:

    indexer.connstring
    Specifies the connection string for the database.
    indexer.scanner.repo.rhel-repository-scanner, indexer.scanner.package.rhel_containerscanner
    Specifies the container scanner configuration.

To load vulnerability data into a self-managed Clair deployment on a disconnected OpenShift Container Platform cluster, you can run clairctl import-updaters with your configuration file and updaters bundle.

Prerequisites

  • You have installed the clairctl command line utility tool.
  • You have deployed Clair.
  • The disable_updaters and airgap parameters are set to True in your Clair config.yaml file.
  • You have exported the updaters bundle from a Clair instance that has access to the internet.
  • You have transferred the updaters bundle into your disconnected environment.

Procedure

  • Use the clairctl CLI tool to import the updaters bundle into the Clair database on OpenShift Container Platform: 

    $ ./clairctl --config ./clair-config.yaml import-updaters updates.gz

3.3.4. Common Product Enumeration mapping in Clair
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Clair uses Common Product Enumeration (CPE) mapping files to map RPM packages to security data for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) container images. Accurate vulnerability reports depend on these mapping files being available to the Clair scanner.

The scanner requires the CPE file to be present and accessible to process RPM packages properly. If these files are missing or inaccessible, RPM packages installed in the container image are skipped during the scanning process.

By default, the Clair indexer includes the repos2cpe and names2repos data files within the Clair container. This allows you to reference local paths such as /data/repository-to-cpe.json without additional external configuration.

Important

While Red Hat Product Security updates CPE files regularly, the versions bundled within the Clair container are only updated during Red Hat Quay releases. This can lead to temporary discrepancies between the latest security data and the versions bundled with your current installation.

3.3.4.1. CPE mapping configuration reference
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Common Product Enumeration (CPE) mapping configuration defines the fields and file paths used by Clair to associate packages with standardized product identifiers.

Table 3.1. Clair CPE mapping files
CPE TypeLink to JSON mapping file

repos2cpe

Red Hat Repository-to-CPE JSON

names2repos

Red Hat Name-to-Repos JSON

Example configuration

indexer:
  scanner:
    repo:
      rhel-repository-scanner:
        repo2cpe_mapping_file: /data/repository-to-cpe.json
    package:
      rhel_containerscanner:
        name2repos_mapping_file: /data/container-name-repos-map.json

where:

repo2cpe_mapping_file
Specifies the path to the JSON file mapping Red Hat repositories to CPEs.
name2repos_mapping_file
Specifies the path to the JSON file mapping container names to repositories.

3.4. Resizing Managed Storage
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To expand storage capacity for your Red Hat Quay on OpenShift Container Platform deployment, you can use the OpenShift Container Platform console to resize the PostgreSQL and Clair PostgreSQL persistent volume claims. This lets you increase storage beyond the default 50 GiB allocation when your registry needs more space.

When deploying Red Hat Quay on OpenShift Container Platform, three distinct persistent volume claims (PVCs) are deployed:

  • One for the PostgreSQL 15 registry.
  • One for the Clair PostgreSQL 15 registry.
  • One that uses NooBaa as a backend storage.
Note

The connection between Red Hat Quay and NooBaa is done through the S3 API and ObjectBucketClaim API in OpenShift Container Platform. Red Hat Quay leverages that API group to create a bucket in NooBaa, obtain access keys, and automatically set everything up. On the backend, or NooBaa, side, that bucket is creating inside of the backing store. As a result, NooBaa PVCs are not mounted or connected to Red Hat Quay pods.

Prerequisites

  • You have cluster admin privileges on OpenShift Container Platform.

Procedure

  1. Log into the OpenShift Container Platform console and select Storage Persistent Volume Claims.
  2. Select the desired PersistentVolumeClaim for either PostgreSQL 13 or Clair PostgreSQL 13, for example, example-registry-quay-postgres-13.
  3. From the Action menu, select Expand PVC.

  4. Enter the new size of the Persistent Volume Claim and select Expand.

    After a few minutes, the expanded size should reflect in the PVC’s Capacity field.

3.5. Customizing Default Operator Images
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Note

Currently, customizing default Operator images is not supported on IBM Power and IBM Z.

Customizing default Operator images lets you override the default container images used by the Red Hat Quay Operator by setting environment variables in the ClusterServiceVersion object.

Important

Customizing default Operator images is not supported for production Red Hat Quay environments and is only recommended for development or testing purposes. There is no guarantee your deployment will work correctly when using non-default images with the Red Hat Quay Operator.

3.5.1. Environment Variables
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The Red Hat Quay Operator uses environment variables to override default container images for components such as base, clair, postgres, and redis. You can set these variables in the ClusterServiceVersion object to customize which images the Operator uses for each component.

Table 3.2. ClusterServiceVersion environment variables

Environment Variable

Component

RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_QUAY

base

RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_CLAIR

clair

RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_POSTGRES

postgres and clair databases

RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_REDIS

redis

Note

Overridden images must be referenced by manifest (@sha256:) and not by tag (:latest).

3.5.2. Applying overrides to a running Operator
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To override container images for a running Red Hat Quay Operator, you can modify the ClusterServiceVersion object to add environment variables that point to your custom images. This applies the overrides at the Operator level, so all QuayRegistry instances use the same custom images.

Procedure

  1. The ClusterServiceVersion object is Operator Lifecycle Manager’s representation of a running Operator in the cluster. Find the Red Hat Quay Operator’s ClusterServiceVersion by using a Kubernetes UI or the kubectl/oc CLI tool. For example: 

    $ oc get clusterserviceversions -n <namespace>

  2. Using the UI, oc edit, or another method, modify the ClusterServiceVersion object to include the environment variables outlined above to point to the override images:

    JSONPath: spec.install.spec.deployments[0].spec.template.spec.containers[0].env 

    - name: RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_QUAY
  value: quay.io/projectquay/quay@sha256:c35f5af964431673f4ff5c9e90bdf45f19e38b8742b5903d41c10cc7f6339a6d
- name: RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_CLAIR
  value: quay.io/projectquay/clair@sha256:70c99feceb4c0973540d22e740659cd8d616775d3ad1c1698ddf71d0221f3ce6
- name: RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_POSTGRES
  value: centos/postgresql-10-centos7@sha256:de1560cb35e5ec643e7b3a772ebaac8e3a7a2a8e8271d9e91ff023539b4dfb33
- name: RELATED_IMAGE_COMPONENT_REDIS
  value: centos/redis-32-centos7@sha256:06dbb609484330ec6be6090109f1fa16e936afcf975d1cbc5fff3e6c7cae7542

3.6. AWS S3 CloudFront
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To configure AWS S3 CloudFront for your Red Hat Quay backend registry storage, you can create a secret that includes your config.yaml file and the CloudFront signing key. This enables CloudFront content delivery for your registry storage.

Procedure

  • Create a secret that includes your config.yaml file and the CloudFront signing key by entering the following command: 

    $ oc create secret generic --from-file config.yaml=./config_awss3cloudfront.yaml --from-file default-cloudfront-signing-key.pem=./default-cloudfront-signing-key.pem test-config-bundle
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