KubeArmor vs Trivy Operator
KubeArmor
kubearmor.ioTrivy Operator
aquasecurity.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | KubeArmor | Trivy Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Kubernetes Security Software | 8.6 (#3) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Installation | The getting-started guide installs KubeArmor on a Kubernetes cluster using Helm and kubectl. | It can be installed through Helm, kubectl manifests, or Operator Lifecycle Manager; Helm is recommended for tracking custom configuration. |
| Integrations | Project repositories include OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, Kafka, Grafana, ELK dashboards, a GitHub Action, and a Rancher UI extension. | Official documentation describes metrics, Lens extension, webhook, and Policy Reporter integrations. |
| Project status | KubeArmor is a community-governed open-source project and a CNCF Sandbox project. | The maintainers say backward compatibility is intended but describe the project as incubating, with APIs and CRDs subject to change. |
| Purpose | KubeArmor is an open-source, cloud-native runtime security system that hardens workloads and enforces security policies. | Trivy Operator continuously scans Kubernetes clusters for security issues and makes reports accessible through the Kubernetes API. |
| What it does | KubeArmor is a cloud-native runtime security enforcement system that restricts process execution, file access, and networking operations for pods, containers, and nodes. | Trivy Operator continuously watches Kubernetes state, launches Trivy scans after workload changes, and stores findings as Kubernetes Custom Resources accessible through the Kubernetes API. |
Plans
In their own words
KubeArmor
KubeArmor is an open-source runtime security system for enforcing policies on cloud-native workloads. It uses Linux Security Modules such as AppArmor, SELinux, and BPF-LSM, with eBPF for alerts, telemetry, and container-process tracking. Policies can restrict process execution, file access, networking operations, and resource use. Container policies support Allow, Audit, and Block actions, with Block as the default; system-call monitoring is audit-only. Kubernetes policies can target pods through labels and label expressions, and rules can match paths, network protocols, capabilities, and system calls. The deployment matrix covers Kubernetes, non-Kubernetes containers, virtual machines, and bare-metal hosts. It lists Kubernetes environments including GKE, AKS, OKE, IKS, EKS, OpenShift, Rancher, and DigitalOcean Kubernetes, but support varies by operating system, architecture, and enforcement mode. Some environments are observability-only, and VMware Tanzu entries are under construction. KubeArmor is a community-governed CNCF Sandbox project. The free plan is free; installation guidance uses Helm and kubectl.
Trivy Operator
Trivy Operator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.