Do both provide SBOMs and software provenance?

Yes. Red Hat Hardened Images provide SBOMs and SLSA provenance, while CleanStart provides SBOMs, provenance and cryptographic verification.

Do Red Hat Hardened Images support Sigstore?

Yes. Red Hat signs its images at build time and documents Cosign-based verification using its Sigstore infrastructure.

Do both support reproducible builds?

Yes. Reproducibility is part of the build assurance model for both. Red Hat documents hermetic builds and reproducibility, while CleanStart positions reproducible builds as part of its software integrity model.

What is the main difference between Red Hat Hardened Images and CleanStart?

Red Hat Hardened Images focus on providing minimal, hardened and verifiable container foundations. CleanStart combines verified container images with software dependency governance and continuous software visibility and remediation through Clean Libraries and CleanSight.

Does CleanStart replace Red Hat Hardened Images?

CleanStart can provide an alternative hardened container foundation for organizations evaluating secure base images. The right choice depends on the organization's application requirements, compliance needs, software supply chain controls and operational model.

Red Hat Hardened Images vs CleanStart

Compare Red Hat Hardened Images and CleanStart across container security, software provenance, reproducible builds, vulnerability management, and software supply chain verification.

Explore CleanStart Images Compare capabilities

Two Approaches to Building Secure Container Images

Red Hat Hardened Images

Red Hat Hardened Images provide minimal, production-oriented container images designed to reduce attack surface and vulnerability noise. Red Hat uses a hermetic build environment, distroless runtime images, security profiles, SBOMs, provenance, and signed artifacts.

Focus:

Red Hat's hardened image ecosystem
Minimal and distroless runtime images
Hermetic and reproducible builds
SBOM and SLSA provenance
Automated vulnerability remediation

CleanStart

CleanStart provides verified container images built through controlled software supply chain processes designed to establish artifact trust. CleanStart combines hardened, near-zero-CVE foundations with provenance, reproducibility, cryptographic signing, and security analysis.

Focus:

CleanStart OS and minimal foundations
Source-based builds
Reproducible and controlled build processes
SBOM, provenance and Sigstore signing
Security analysis and verified remediation

Red Hat Hardened Images vs CleanStart

Red Hat Hardened Images and CleanStart give the same answer on 17 of 26 capabilities. This table is about the other 9.

Capability comparison between Red Hat Hardened Images and CleanStart, grouped by image and build, supply chain verification, security and compliance, and lifecycle and platform.
Capability	Red Hat Hardened Images	CleanStart
Image & Build
Base foundation	Red Hat / Fedora ecosystem	CleanStart OS
Minimal production images	Available	Available
Distroless images	Available	Available
Non-root runtime	Available	Available
Shell / package-manager free runtime	Available	Available
Multi-architecture	Available	Available
Source-based build	Available	Available
Hermetic build	Available	Available
Reproducible builds	Available	Available
Supply Chain Verification
SBOM	Available	Available
SPDX	Available	Available
SLSA provenance	AvailableBuild Level 3	AvailableBuild Level 3
Build provenance & verification	Available	Available
Cryptographic signing	Available	Available
Sigstore / Cosign	Available	Available
VEX / exploitability context	Available, with conditions	Available
AI BOM	Not available	Available
Security & Compliance
Near-zero CVE posture	Available	Available
Continuous security updates	Available	Available
Malware / security testing	Available	Available
FIPS	Available	AvailableFIPS 140-3
STIG / CIS	Available, with conditions	Available
Lifecycle & Platform
Custom hardened images	Available, with conditions	Available
Software dependency governance	Not available	Clean Libraries
Software estate discovery	Not available	CleanSight
Verified remediation workflows	Not available	CleanSight

Availability varies by image or variant.

Comparison reflects each platform's published approach and CleanStart's documented capabilities as of September 2026. Specific behavior varies by image and variant.

AvailableAvailable: Available
Not available: Not available

Build Process

Red Hat Hardened Images

Source / Software Inputs
Hermetic Build Environment
Hardening + Security Validation
SBOM + SLSA Provenance
Sigstore / Cosign Signing
Verified Hardened Image
Production

CleanStart

Source + Verified Dependencies
Controlled / Hermetic Build
Reproducibility + Security Analysis
SBOM + Provenance
Sigstore Signing
Verified CleanStart Image
Production

Red Hat Hardened Images

Source / Software Inputs
Hermetic Build Environment
Hardening + Security Validation
SBOM + SLSA Provenance
Sigstore / Cosign Signing
Verified Hardened Image
Production

CleanStart

Source + Verified Dependencies
Controlled / Hermetic Build
Reproducibility + Security Analysis
SBOM + Provenance
Sigstore Signing
Verified CleanStart Image
Production

Where CleanStart Differentiates

Security Verification Beyond CVEs

Go beyond vulnerability counts with provenance, reproducibility, exploitability context, and software integrity signals.

From Images to the Software Supply Chain

Secure more than container images with Clean Images, Clean Libraries, and CleanSight, covering software foundations, dependencies, and deployed assets.

Discover. Remediate. Verify.

Connect software discovery with verified remediation, so teams can identify vulnerable assets, replace unsafe components, and continuously verify the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Both provide minimal runtime images designed to reduce unnecessary software and attack surface. Red Hat explicitly describes its runtime images as distroless, with no package manager or shell.