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Comparison with other tools

  • This page compares updates for fixing vulnerabilities: what each tool can fix, how it updates, and what it checks before and after
  • Based on each tool's official documentation as of October 31, 2026

Tools compared

  • This comparison covers open source tools that can change files or images to fix vulnerabilities in container images or their dependencies
  • Commercial services are introduced only and excluded from the comparison because the author cannot verify their features firsthand
Tool What it does License
KestreLynx Proposes updates through remediation plans and update pull requests for vulnerabilities detected in running container images AGPL-3.0
Dependabot A GitHub feature that creates pull requests to update dependencies recorded in repository files MIT for dependabot-core
Renovate Creates pull requests to update dependencies recorded in repository files AGPL-3.0
Copacetic Patches packages inside a container image and produces a patched image Apache-2.0
OSV-Scanner Detects known vulnerabilities using OSV data and updates dependency files with its fix command (osv-scanner fix) Apache-2.0
  • Commercial options excluded from the comparison tables
    • Snyk Container scans container images for vulnerabilities and recommends updates to base images
    • Docker Scout analyzes image components and matches them against vulnerability data
    • Socket analyzes open source dependencies and their updates for malicious behavior and other risks in the software supply chain

Fix targets

Tool Distributed image tags Dockerfile base images (FROM) Direct patches to OS packages inside images Language packages
KestreLynx Same major/minor only: Compose, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Helm values Same major/minor only No: updates images or base images npm, pnpm, pip, uv, Go, Maven (pom.xml), Gradle (gradle.lockfile) only
Dependabot Yes: Compose, Kubernetes, Helm Yes No npm, pnpm, pip, uv, Go, and others; see the supported list
Renovate Yes: Compose, Kubernetes, Kustomize, Helm values Yes No npm, pnpm, pip, uv, Go, and others; see the supported list
Copacetic No No Yes: DPKG, RPM, APK npm, pip, Go, .NET (experimental)
OSV-Scanner No No No npm and Maven only (experimental): npm package-lock.json / package.json, Maven pom.xml
  • Dependabot and Renovate update packages recorded in repository files without checking their presence in running images
  • KestreLynx updates GitHub dependency files for packages with vulnerabilities detected in running images
  • KestreLynx handles floating tags such as latest for distributed images through re-pull guidance (no update pull requests)

Update methods

The last column covers checking the image running after an update. The table describes each tool's own checks; separate scanners and automation can add checks.

Tool Trigger Changes Vulnerability checks before creating an update pull request Output Vulnerability checks after updates
KestreLynx Vulnerabilities detected in images used by running containers Image references and language dependency files in repositories Compares scans before and after the proposed update Remediation plans, update pull requests, notifications Checks through subsequent periodic scans
Dependabot New versions or GitHub vulnerability alerts Image references and language dependency files in repositories Does not compare image scans Update pull requests Does not check deployed images
Renovate New versions or package vulnerability information Image references and language dependency files in repositories Does not compare image scans Update pull requests Does not check deployed images
Copacetic An image and scanner report, or available package updates Packages inside an image Not applicable (does not create update pull requests) A patched image Does not check deployed images
OSV-Scanner Known vulnerabilities (OSV database) npm package-lock.json / package.json, Maven pom.xml Not applicable (does not create update pull requests) Updated dependency files; a report of fixed vulnerabilities and the remaining count Does not check deployed images
  • For image updates, KestreLynx compares scans of the current and proposed images
  • For language package updates, KestreLynx compares scans of dependency files before and after the proposed change
  • Dependabot and Renovate can use published vulnerability information for supported package updates, but do not compare scans of the current and proposed images

Example: each tool's workflow for fixing nginx vulnerabilities

A container running nginx:1.27.0, specified in compose.yml, has vulnerabilities with fixes available.

The examples assume the required features are enabled. KestreLynx creates update pull requests only when enabled in settings; this is disabled by default.

  • KestreLynx
    • Before creating demo update pull request #1, KestreLynx performed these checks
      • Scanned the running nginx:1.27.0 image and the proposed nginx:1.27.5 image for HIGH and CRITICAL vulnerabilities
      • Compared the results and found that 17 vulnerabilities targeted by the update were no longer detected, while 86 remained
      • Confirmed that the proposed image introduced no new vulnerabilities within the checked severity range
    • Created an update pull request containing the comparison results and changing services.proxy.image in compose.yml to nginx:1.27.5
    • The user then merged the update pull request and replaced the running proxy container with nginx 1.27.5
    • The next KestreLynx scan reported vulnerability resolutions for four packages
    • The KestreLynx author published those results in the demo results
  • Dependabot
  • Renovate
    • Renovate checks image: in compose.yml for newer nginx versions allowed by its settings and creates an update pull request
  • Copacetic
    • Given the nginx image and a scanner report identifying vulnerabilities in its OS packages, Copacetic patches those packages and produces an image
    • You scan and test the resulting image, change image: in compose.yml to use it, and replace the running container
  • OSV-Scanner
    • osv-scanner fix does not change the nginx image tag in compose.yml
    • If the repository contains npm or Maven dependency files, osv-scanner fix updates those files to fix dependency vulnerabilities

KestreLynx scope and limits

  • Monitoring covers only Docker or Kubernetes containers running when they are discovered, as described in the scan scope
  • This monitoring does not replace scans in CI
  • Remediation plans and update pull requests are experimental and disabled by default, with enablement described in setup
  • Editing files requires a mapping between a running container and files in a GitHub repository, with supported formats and conditions described in the reference
  • Language package sources are limited to public npm, public PyPI, the public Go module proxy with sum.golang.org, and Maven Central
  • Comparisons before an update do not check the complete rebuilt application image or application behavior, as explained in the verification scope

Notes on other tools

Official references

Checked on 2026-10-31