Skip to content

feat(lab12): kata vs runc isolation + perf + escape PoC - #1646

Open
alileeeek wants to merge 7 commits into
inno-devops-labs:mainfrom
alileeeek:feature/lab12
Open

feat(lab12): kata vs runc isolation + perf + escape PoC#1646
alileeeek wants to merge 7 commits into
inno-devops-labs:mainfrom
alileeeek:feature/lab12

Conversation

@alileeeek

Copy link
Copy Markdown

Goal

This PR contains the submission for Bonus Lab 12. The goal is to install Kata Containers, compare its isolation and performance against runc, and practically demonstrate how Kata's micro-VM architecture blocks container escape attempts.

Changes

  • Added submissions/lab12.md: A comprehensive report including environment details, kernel comparison, benchmark results, and threat model analysis.
  • Added the labs/lab12/results/ directory: Raw outputs from isolation tests, performance benchmarks, and the container escape attempt (PoC) logs.

Testing & Verification

  • Kata 3.x successfully installed and registered as a runtime in containerd.
  • Kernel difference verified: runc uses the host kernel (6.2.0), while Kata uses an isolated micro-VM kernel (6.18.35).
  • Isolation differences documented: /dev contents and capability sets (Caps).
  • Performance overhead measured: average cold start time (5 runs) and I/O throughput (100 MB dd test).
  • Escape PoC: Writing to the host filesystem via --privileged succeeds on runc, but is reliably isolated within the micro-VM's filesystem when using kata (the host file remains untouched).

Artifacts

  • Report: submissions/lab12.md
  • Test results: labs/lab12/results/

Task Checklist

  • Task 1 — Kata installed; both runtimes execute successfully; kernel difference documented
  • Task 2 — Isolation tests + startup benchmark (5 runs) + I/O benchmark + trade-off analysis
  • Bonus — Escape PoC: succeeds on runc, blocked on Kata (with host-side verification)

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

1 participant