---
title: "HOST-CTR-010 Docker Daemon Allows Insecure Registries or Debug Features"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-CTR-010.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/HOST-CTR-010.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# HOST-CTR-010 Docker Daemon Allows Insecure Registries or Debug Features

Checks daemon.json for insecure-registries, debug mode and experimental features.

- Domain: Server
- Severity: Medium
- Control category: Secure Configuration
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 4.1
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-494, CWE-1188
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SI-7, CM-7
- Benchmark topic: CIS Docker Benchmark 2.4 and 2.10 (no insecure registries; no experimental features) (topic only, no benchmark text)

## Why It Matters

An insecure registry is pulled over plain HTTP or with an unverified certificate, so anyone on the path can swap the image for a malicious one. Debug logging and experimental features widen the daemon's attack surface and leak internal detail into logs.

## How It Detects

Reads /etc/docker/daemon.json and the ExecStart lines of docker.service and its drop-ins (docker.service.d/*.conf under /etc/systemd/system, /run/systemd/system, /usr/lib/systemd/system and /lib/systemd/system). Fails when insecure-registries is non-empty, debug or experimental is true, or the dockerd command line carries --insecure-registry, --debug (-D) or --experimental. Incomplete when daemon.json exists but cannot be read or parsed, or a unit file cannot be read.

## How to Fix

Remove insecure-registries (serve the registry over TLS with a trusted certificate, or add its CA to /etc/docker/certs.d/<registry>/ca.crt), set "debug": false and "experimental": false in daemon.json, and remove any --insecure-registry, --debug (-D) or --experimental flag from the dockerd ExecStart in docker.service drop-ins (then systemctl daemon-reload). Restart Docker in a maintenance window: running containers stop unless live-restore is on.

## How to Verify

```
docker info | grep -Ei 'insecure|debug|experimental'
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P9 Containers and Kubernetes](https://openvapt.com/academy/p9.md)
- [A5 Container Runtime Hardening Depth](https://openvapt.com/academy/a5.md)

## References

- [Docker documentation, dockerd daemon reference](https://docs.docker.com/reference/cli/dockerd/)
- [NIST SP 800-190, Application Container Security Guide](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/190/final)
- [CIS Docker Benchmark (referenced by recommendation number)](https://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/docker)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/host/containers_depth.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only HOST-CTR-010`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain HOST-CTR-010`.

---

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