ruby-fips

What is Ruby FIPS?

Ruby is an open-source, dynamic programming language known for its readable syntax, and it is the runtime behind Ruby on Rails applications. Teams use the image to run web apps, background workers, and scripts, and as the base for gem installs and asset builds.

The Ruby FIPS image is Echo's FIPS variant of Ruby: the same Ruby runtime, built to run on FIPS 140-3 validated cryptography. It is designed for organizations that sell to or operate for the US government — FedRAMP-authorized services, federal contractors, and regulated industries — where a Ruby runtime that executes application code that terminates TLS and calls external services must use cryptographic modules with an active NIST CMVP certificate, not merely FIPS-enabled libraries.

What is Echo's Ruby FIPS image?

Echo's Ruby FIPS image is a hardened, FIPS-validated build of Ruby on Echo's hardened base. Cryptography on this image is routed through the Echo FIPS Provider for OpenSSL, a software module validated under FIPS 140-3 (NIST CMVP certificate #5560, Level 1, active). Echo images are designed to be a drop-in replacement: swap the image reference in your Dockerfile or deployment manifest for the ruby-fips image and CVEs go to zero without disrupting your application code, dependencies, and build configuration. Every image is tested across clouds, image use cases, and deployment targets. Echo ships every image in two variants:

• Distroless variant — optimized for runtime use, with the smallest possible attack surface
• Default variant — includes essential build tools, package managers, and shells for teams that need operational access

For production Ruby deployments, the distroless variant keeps all runtime operations — script and application execution, gem installs at build time, and HTTPS networking — fully intact while minimizing exposure; the default variant suits developers and CI pipelines that need shell access for debugging builds, installing packages, or running one-off scripts.

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

Public Ruby images ship on general-purpose bases whose cryptographic libraries have not been validated under FIPS 140-3, and FIPS-enabled is not the same as FIPS-validated — auditors for FedRAMP and other federal frameworks flag the gap. Those bases also include OS-level tooling convenient for development but which contribute CVEs that accumulate on a Ruby runtime used in production. Ruby images run with access to your application code, dependencies, and the environment variables and credentials your orchestrator injects. OS-level CVEs in the base image — particularly in libraries such as openssl, zlib, and libc — create exploitable paths that bypass application-layer controls entirely. For teams running many services, the image is also one of the largest sources of scanner noise in the CI pipeline — every package in the base becomes a finding your security team must triage, even when none of it is reachable from the application. Echo's FIPS build retains everything Ruby needs for script and application execution, gem installs at build time, and HTTPS networking while routing cryptography through a validated module and removing the packages that don't belong in a production Ruby runtime. As we covered in our post on how to protect your company from software supply chain attacks, runtime and build images that combine access to source code, secrets, and network exposure are among the widest attack surfaces in the container stack. 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 FIPS images are STIG-hardened, ship with SBOMs in SPDX and CycloneDX formats and signed provenance, and 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 Ruby image with Echo's Ruby FIPS image?

Yes. Echo's Ruby FIPS image is a drop-in replacement. Update the FROM line in your Dockerfile to the ruby-fips image and your workloads keep running. Application code, dependencies, build scripts, and existing Dockerfiles all continue to work without changes. Because FIPS mode disallows non-approved algorithms, anything that depends on legacy ciphers or hashes such as MD5-based signatures needs to move to approved algorithms.

Is Echo's Ruby FIPS image FIPS-validated?

Yes. Echo's FIPS images use CMVP-validated cryptographic modules, operating in a configuration consistent with the module's FIPS 140-3 security policy. Cryptography on this image is routed through the Echo FIPS Provider for OpenSSL, a software module validated under FIPS 140-3 (NIST CMVP certificate #5560, Level 1, active). That makes the image fit for federal use — unlike FIPS-enabled or FIPS-compliant images whose cryptographic libraries have never been validated. This matters for teams running Ruby inside FedRAMP boundaries, where a Ruby runtime that executes application code that terminates TLS and calls external services must meet cryptographic requirements across the full stack. Echo also provides a FIPS runtime tester that executes approved and unapproved algorithms to show how the image behaves at runtime.

What is Echo's vulnerability management SLA on the Ruby FIPS 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 — critical for a Ruby runtime that runs with access to your code, dependencies, and injected secrets.

Is Echo's Ruby FIPS 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. For production Ruby deployments, the distroless variant is the leaner, more secure choice; for developers and CI pipelines that need shell access for debugging builds, installing packages, or running one-off scripts, the default variant is the right fit.

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

Echo's Ruby FIPS image is built from source with only the absolute essentials needed to run the Ruby runtime, which significantly shrinks the attack surface. Echo also patches aggressively over time, with backports available so you can stay on the Ruby version your applications and their dependencies are certified against — avoiding a disruptive upgrade forced purely by OS-level vulnerabilities in the base image rather than by your own requirements.

Will Echo's Ruby FIPS 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. For federal agencies, contractors, and FedRAMP-authorized providers running Ruby under an ATO — whether that's a FedRAMP-authorized SaaS boundary, a DoD enclave, or an agency-operated platform — Echo's FIPS-validated Ruby image keeps the Ruby runtime layer in-boundary and compliant without requiring custom hardening scripts or manual base image patching between compliance cycles.

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