Reducing Attack Surface Noise with Runtime Intelligence: A Better Approach to CVE Management

Most CVEs Don’t Belong on Your Critical Path

Security teams today are overwhelmed by vulnerability data—much of it disconnected from real-world execution. Traditional scanners report thousands of CVEs, many of which reside in packages, libraries, or binaries that are present in container images but never used at runtime.

This disconnect inflates dashboards, slows deployments, and increases compliance burdens. RapidFort addresses this challenge by identifying and eliminating attack surface noise—the accumulation of non-exploitable vulnerabilities in unused code paths.

The Limitations of Traditional Scanning

Static tools like SCA, SAST, and DAST are essential but incomplete. They detect known vulnerabilities but lack visibility into what a container actually does in production. These tools treat all CVEs equally, whether found in:

• A critical authentication module is invoked during every session
  
  
• A debugging utility is installed by default but never launched
  
  
• A transitive dependency is included but unused
  
  

This leads to disproportionate patching efforts and wasted engineering cycles—without improving runtime security.

RapidFort’s Approach: Execution-Aware Security

RapidFort helps teams go beyond what’s included in a container image to understand what’s actually executed. By integrating into CI/CD workflows and monitoring containers in production, RapidFort produces a Runtime Bill of Materials (RBOM™)—a list of components loaded into memory, executed by active processes, or invoked by live application workflows.

This enables:

• More targeted and effective vulnerability remediation
  
  
• Reduced CVE noise in reports and dashboards
  
  
• Smaller, hardened container images
  
  
• Audit-aligned insights that fast-track FedRAMP, SOC 2, and CMMC readiness

Platform Capabilities

DevTime Profiling

RapidFort instruments builds during development and test phases to determine which packages, binaries, libraries, and directories are never used. It integrates directly with Docker, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines such as GitHub Actions, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Jenkins. Outputs include an RBOM and prioritized vulnerability reports based on runtime relevance.

RunTime Hardening

In production, RapidFort validates container behavior through lightweight runtime monitoring. It continuously detects unused software, aligns containers to STIG/CIS benchmarks, and maintains compliance posture. Drift tracking and telemetry data help enforce policy and support audit requirements.

Together, these capabilities form RapidFort’s Software Attack Surface Management (SASM) platform—automating reduction of exploitable code without requiring source code changes.

Use Case: Strengthening Compliance and Container Security

Organizations preparing for frameworks such as FedRAMP, CMMC, and SOC 2 must demonstrate vulnerability control, system integrity, and configuration alignment.

RapidFort supports these initiatives by:

• Delivering hardened containers aligned with STIG/CIS guidance
  
  
• Generating runtime-aware RBOMs that map exactly to what is executed
  
  
• Providing traceable telemetry for audit-ready reporting
  
  
• Reducing POA&M exposure by deprioritizing non-exploitable vulnerabilities
  
  

By aligning remediation effort with actual risk exposure, teams accelerate certification and reduce compliance cost.

Operational Benefits

RapidFort has helped teams:

• Reduce CVE counts by up to 95% by removing unused components
  
  
• Decrease average container size by more than 60%
  
  
• Shorten vulnerability triage cycles from days to hours
  
  
• Achieve continuous compliance with lower overhead and greater transparency
  
  

These outcomes are achieved without modifying application code or interrupting existing CI/CD workflows.

Smart Shift-Left Security

Shifting security left is only effective when the alerts are meaningful. Pushing unfiltered CVE data earlier in the SDLC simply redistributes effort without reducing noise.

RapidFort ensures early insights are filtered by runtime relevance, so teams spend less time chasing vulnerabilities in components that aren’t executed—and more time securing the ones that are.

Conclusion: Remediate Based on Real Risk

Not all vulnerabilities introduce equal risk. Many CVEs originate from components that are never loaded, never executed, and never exposed in production.

RapidFort empowers teams to make informed decisions by distinguishing between what’s present in a container and what’s actually used at runtime. This allows organizations to:

• Focus remediation on truly exploitable vulnerabilities
  
  
• Reduce operational and compliance overhead
  
  
• Produce hardened, audit-aligned containers without altering source code
  
  
• Continuously align container behavior with STIG, CIS, and FIPS 140-3 guidance
  
  

By shifting from exhaustive patching to context-driven security, teams can improve resilience, accelerate delivery, and meet compliance expectations more efficiently.

Get Started with RapidFort

Generate your first RBOM™ in minutes and gain visibility into what’s actually executing in your workloads.

→ Get started at www.rapidfort.com