Docker Patterns for Security Testing

Supplementary Files:

• payloads.md — Quick launch commands, additional lab configurations, evidence extraction patterns, and cleanup commands
• test-cases.md — Structured test cases for lab deployment, attack chain setup, evidence extraction, and safety verification

Summary

Docker Patterns skill domain covering infrastructure operations.

Domain: infrastructure

Use Cases

1. Vulnerable Web App Lab — Deploy intentionally vulnerable applications (DVWA, WebGoat, Juice Shop) for safe practice
2. Network Pentest Lab — Create multi-host network environments with routers, firewalls, and services for lateral movement practice
3. Attack Chain Lab — Build complete kill chain scenarios (initial access → persistence → exfiltration) in isolated containers
4. Disposable Testing — Spin up and tear down test environments without affecting host system or production infrastructure
5. Tool Validation — Test new security tools and exploits in a known, controlled environment before engagement use

Activation

• Setting up a practice lab for penetration testing techniques
• Creating isolated environments for exploit development and testing
• Building vulnerable application targets for training
• Testing tools against known-vulnerable configurations
• User says "lab", "docker lab", "test environment", "practice target"

Core Principle

Never test attack techniques against systems you don't own or have explicit authorization to test. Docker labs provide safe, legal environments for security practice and tool validation.

All lab environments bind to 127.0.0.1 only — never expose on public interfaces.

Pattern 1: Vulnerable Web App Lab

DVWA (Damn Vulnerable Web Application)

# docker-compose.dvwa.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  dvwa:
    image: vulnerables/web-dvwa:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8080:80"
    environment:
      - DB_PASSWORD=p@ssw0rd
    restart: unless-stopped

Practice targets: SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, Command Injection, File Upload, LFI/RFI

SQLi-Labs

# docker-compose.sqli-labs.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  sqli-labs:
    image: acgpiano/sqli-labs:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8081:80"
    restart: unless-stopped

Practice targets: Error-based SQLi, Blind SQLi, UNION-based SQLi, Time-based SQLi

OWASP Juice Shop

# docker-compose.juice-shop.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  juice-shop:
    image: bkimminich/juice-shop:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8082:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped

Practice targets: Full OWASP Top 10 coverage, API security, XSS, JWT attacks, access control

Pattern 2: Network Pentest Lab

Multi-Service Network Lab

# docker-compose.network-lab.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  # Target: Vulnerable SSH server
  target-ssh:
    image: rastasheep/ubuntu-sshd:18.04
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:2222:22"
    networks:
      - lab-net

  # Target: Vulnerable FTP server
  target-ftp:
    image: stilliard/pure-ftpd:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:2121:21"
      - "127.0.0.1:30000-30009:30000-30009"
    environment:
      - PUBLICHOST=localhost
    networks:
      - lab-net

  # Target: Web server with vulnerabilities
  target-web:
    image: php:8.1-apache
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8083:80"
    volumes:
      - ./vulnerable-app:/var/www/html
    networks:
      - lab-net

  # Attacker machine (Kali tools)
  attacker:
    image: kalilinux/kali-rolling:latest
    networks:
      - lab-net
    command: tail -f /dev/null  # Keep alive
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN

networks:
  lab-net:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 172.28.0.0/16

Practice targets: Network enumeration, service identification, SSH brute force, FTP attacks, web app attacks

Pattern 3: Multi-Stage Attack Chain Lab

Simulates a realistic attack chain across multiple vulnerable services:

# docker-compose.attack-chain.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  # Stage 1: External-facing web app (initial access)
  web-frontend:
    build: ./scenarios/web-frontend
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:9000:80"
    networks:
      - dmz
    depends_on:
      - web-api

  # Stage 2: Internal API (lateral movement target)
  web-api:
    build: ./scenarios/web-api
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:9001:8080"
    networks:
      - dmz
      - internal
    environment:
      - DB_HOST=database
      - DB_PASS=weakpassword123

  # Stage 3: Database (data target)
  database:
    image: mysql:5.7
    networks:
      - internal
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=weakpassword123
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=secrets
    volumes:
      - ./scenarios/db-init:/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d

  # Stage 4: Internal admin panel (privilege escalation)
  admin-panel:
    build: ./scenarios/admin-panel
    networks:
      - internal
    environment:
      - ADMIN_USER=admin
      - ADMIN_PASS=admin123

networks:
  dmz:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 172.29.0.0/16
  internal:
    driver: bridge
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: 172.30.0.0/16
    internal: true  # No external access

Practice targets: Multi-stage exploitation, lateral movement, privilege escalation, data exfiltration

Pattern 4: Disposable Testing

Quick spin-up for single-tool testing:

# One-liner for testing a specific tool against a specific image
docker run --rm -it --network=host kalilinux/kali-rolling:latest \
  bash -c "apt update && apt install -y nmap && nmap -sV 127.0.0.1"

# Temporary vulnerable target
docker run --rm -d -p 127.0.0.1:9999:80 vulnerables/web-dvwa:latest

# Test and destroy
docker stop $(docker ps -q --filter publish=9999)

Rules:

• Always use --rm for auto-cleanup
• Always bind to 127.0.0.1
• Never persist sensitive data from test containers

Pattern 5: Tool Testing Environment

Validate tool behavior against known-vulnerable targets:

# docker-compose.tool-test.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  # Known-vulnerable target for tool calibration
  target:
    image: vulnerables/web-dvwa:latest
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:9090:80"

  # Tool under test
  tool-test:
    image: kalilinux/kali-rolling:latest
    network_mode: "host"
    command: tail -f /dev/null
    volumes:
      - ./test-results:/results

Safety Rules

1. Bind to localhost only — All port mappings use 127.0.0.1:port:container_port
2. No persistent sensitive data — Use --rm or anonymous volumes
3. Isolated networks — Lab networks should not overlap with production
4. Resource limits — Set memory and CPU limits to prevent runaway containers
5. Cleanup after use — docker compose down -v to remove containers and volumes

# Full cleanup
docker compose -f docker-compose.lab.yml down -v --rmi local
docker system prune -f

Integration with Other Skills

Skill	Docker Pattern	Application
web-sqli	Pattern 1 (DVWA/SQLi-Labs)	Practice SQL injection techniques safely
web-xss	Pattern 1 (DVWA/Juice Shop)	Practice XSS payload crafting
web-auth-bypass	Pattern 1 (Juice Shop)	Practice authentication attack techniques
network-pentest	Pattern 2 (Network Lab)	Practice network enumeration and service exploitation
post-exploitation	Pattern 3 (Attack Chain)	Practice lateral movement and privilege escalation
verification-loop	Pattern 5 (Tool Test)	Verify tool accuracy against known vulnerabilities
autonomous-loops	Pattern 4 (Disposable)	Quick test loops against disposable targets
terminal-ops	All patterns	Evidence protocol for all lab activities

Quick Start

# Start DVWA lab
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace-kali-claw/skills/docker-patterns/
docker compose -f configs/docker-compose.dvwa.yml up -d

# Access DVWA
# http://127.0.0.1:8080 (admin/password)

# Stop and clean up
docker compose -f configs/docker-compose.dvwa.yml down -v

Detection Methods

Docker Daemon Audit

• Anomalous docker commands: docker run --privileged, docker run -v /:/host from non-CI sources.
• Container escape attempts: Processes accessing /proc/1/root, cgroup manipulation from inside container.
• Privileged container abuse: Syslog Event 1 for dockerd with --privileged; CAP_SYS_ADMIN use.

SIEM Detection Rules

• Splunk SPL: index=docker command="run" | where match(args, "privileged|/etc:/etc|/var/run/docker.sock")
• Falco rule: Launching privileged container / Container launched with host path mount
• Sysdig Secure / Aqua: Container runtime security platform detections.

Defense Evasion Techniques

Container Escape Stealth

• Use existing capabilities: Don't escalate to privileged; abuse existing CAP_SYS_ADMIN if present.
• Sidecar injection: Inject into existing pod rather than creating new container (Kubernetes).
• Mount docker socket: Mount /var/run/docker.sock (often permitted in CI); spawn sibling container.
• Avoid syscall monitoring: Use memfd_create for memory-only execution.

Image Stealth

• Cosign signature theft: Steal signing key; sign malicious image as legitimate.
• Multi-layer obfuscation: Hide payload in lower image layers; evade simple scanners.
• Admission controller bypass: Modify MutatingWebhookConfiguration to allowlist malicious images.

Anti-Patterns

• Binding to 0.0.0.0 — Never expose lab services on all interfaces
• Using default passwords in production — Lab passwords stay in the lab
• Running without resource limits — Containers can consume all host resources
• Mixing lab and production networks — Keep lab traffic isolated
• Skipping cleanup — Always remove containers and volumes after testing

Orchestration

ECC Loop Pattern

• Pattern: Sequential Pipeline (create lab → deploy → test → extract evidence → cleanup)
• Rationale: Lab environments follow a strict lifecycle — each phase must complete before the next begins, and cleanup is mandatory
• Integration: All security skills that need practice environments (web-sqli, web-xss, network-pentest, post-exploitation), terminal-ops (evidence capture), safety-guard (localhost-only enforcement)

Cross-Skill Pipeline

docker-patterns → [any attack skill] → verification-loop → terminal-ops (evidence)
       ↓                                                          ↑
  safety-guard (verify isolation)                autonomous-loops (disposable targets)

Quality Gate

• Pre-condition: Docker available, ports free, no public interface bindings
• Post-condition: All containers removed, all volumes cleaned, no ports listening
• Verification: docker ps returns empty, no lab ports in ss -tlnp