nats

What is NATS?

The nats image runs the NATS server, a lightweight, high-performance messaging system designed for cloud-native applications, IoT, and edge use cases. It supports publish/subscribe, request/reply, queue groups, and adds durable streaming and key/value storage via JetStream. NATS is a single static binary with millisecond startup, easy clustering, and built-in monitoring.

What is Echo's NATS image?

Echo's nats image is a hardened build of the NATS server. Echo images are designed to be a drop-in replacement: change the FROM line in your Dockerfile and CVEs go to zero without breaking your app. Every image is tested across clouds, image use cases, and deployment targets. Echo ships every image in two variants: a distroless variant optimized for runtime use, and a default variant that includes essential build tools, package managers, and shells. The distroless variant is a particularly natural fit for NATS because the server is a single Go binary with very few runtime dependencies.

What is the difference between Echo's NATS image and the public NATS image?

Public NATS images either ship on Alpine (musl/apk) or scratch. The Alpine variant brings musl-based CVEs that scanners flag; scratch images strip too much and make debugging painful. Echo's apt/glibc-based image gives you the same drop-in shape with no CVEs and a usable runtime. Echo commits to a 7-day SLA for critical and high severity vulnerabilities, and 10 days for medium, low, and unknown - with vulnerabilities triaged within 24 hours. Echo images are recognized by all major scanners and mirrored to all major registries, so they fit into existing pipelines without changing your registry, scanner, or runtime tooling.

FAQ

Can I replace my nats image with Echo's nats image?

Yes. Echo's nats image is a drop-in replacement. Update the FROM line in your Dockerfile (or the image reference in your manifests) and your application keeps working - the CVEs disappear, the behavior doesn't.

Is Echo's nats image FIPS-validated?

Yes. Echo's FIPS-validated images use cryptographic modules with an active FIPS 140-3 CMVP certificate, making them fit for federal use - unlike FIPS-compliant images that haven't been validated.

What is Echo's vulnerability management SLA on the nats image?

Echo commits to a 7-day SLA for critical and high severity vulnerabilities, and 10 days for medium, low, and unknown - with vulnerabilities triaged within 24 hours. Patches are mirrored automatically into your private registry so you're always running a clean version.

Is Echo's nats image distroless?

Echo ships every image in two variants: a distroless variant optimized for runtime use, and a default variant that includes essential build tools, package managers, and shells.

How does Echo achieve such a drastic CVE reduction in nats?

Echo nats is built from source with only the absolute essentials needed to run the workload, which significantly shrinks the attack surface. Echo also patches aggressively over time, with backports available so you can stay on the version that works for you without forcing a functional change for the sake of security.

Will Echo's nats image help us achieve FedRAMP?

Yes. The hard parts of FedRAMP - managing vulnerabilities, applying fixes, and using FIPS-validated cryptography - are baked into Echo images, including STIG-hardened configuration and ConMon/POA&M-ready reporting.