GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
runc vs Clair
A side-by-side editorial comparison of runc and Clair — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
runc vs Clair: at a glance
What is runc?
runc patches one restore bug across four release lines at once.
runc shipped 1.5.3, 1.4.4, 1.3.7 and 1.6.0-rc.2 on the same day, all fixing CVE-2026-119101: a crafted image could make runc restore bind-mount any host directory into a restored container, read-write. Only people who checkpoint and later restore untrusted containers as root are exposed. The 1.6.0 candidate also changes how mount destinations that start with the rootfs path are read, following the runtime spec literally.
What is Clair?
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
runc vs Clair: editorial side-by-side
runc
5.0INFRA · APIS
runc patches one restore bug across four release lines at once.
◆ Current state
runc shipped 1.5.3, 1.4.4, 1.3.7 and 1.6.0-rc.2 on the same day, all fixing CVE-2026-119101: a crafted image could make runc restore bind-mount any host directory into a restored container, read-write. Only people who checkpoint and later restore untrusted containers as root are exposed. The 1.6.0 candidate also changes how mount destinations that start with the rootfs path are read, following the runtime spec literally.
◆ Where it's heading
The project now maintains four supported branches and backports security work to each one in lockstep, while 1.6.0 keeps trading quiet tolerance for strict spec behaviour: refused read-only configs in rc.1, literal mount paths in rc.2. Users relying on runc's old lenient handling will feel 1.6.0 more than any feature it adds.
◆ Prediction
Expect 1.6.0 final after one more candidate, with 1.3.z ending since 1.3.7 is labelled the probable last patch.
Clair
2.5INFRA · APIS
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
◆ Current state
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
◆ Where it's heading
Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.
◆ Prediction
More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.
Alternatives to runc and Clair
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either runc or Clair.
Payload CMS
Payload's v4 beta.9 keeps every past image crop and raises the Node floor again.
Nautobot
Nautobot 3.3 alpha 2 adds test helpers and a cable location filter after 3.2.9's token-leak fix.
Shuffle
Shuffle tags builds almost daily, but the notes are empty.
KrakenD
KrakenD's community edition is shipping only dependency bumps.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor's recent releases are mostly about patching CVEs.
Recent activity from runc and Clair
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 2d agoruncCVE-2026-119101 fix for checkpoint/restore in the 1.5 line
- 2d agoruncSecond 1.6.0 candidate: restore CVE fix, literal mount paths
- 2d agorunc1.4 line gets the restore CVE fix and cgroup v2 crash workaround
- 2d agoruncLikely final 1.3 patch carries the restore CVE fix
- 1mo agoruncRelease candidate lifts 1024-CPU limit, removes deprecated APIs
- 1mo agoruncWorkaround for kernel bug that crashed runc on cgroup v2
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
- 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between runc and Clair?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. runc is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is runc better than Clair?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. runc is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to runc?
Top runc alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "runc alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/runc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Clair?
Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.