Most secure vector database container images, ranked by isolation score¶
How isolated are the most-pulled vector database container images when you docker run them with plain defaults, no hardening flags? This page ranks 5 vector databases and embedding stores (Chroma, Qdrant, Weaviate, Milvus, pgvector) on IronClaw's seven-dimension container containment scale (0-100), best-isolated first. Scores run 48/100 to 48/100 (average 48/100). Higher is safer. Every score comes from ironctl scan, a credential-free audit you can run on your own containers in ten seconds.
No vector database image ships fully isolated by default: the leaders still leave capabilities, egress, or a writable root filesystem open. The gap between any image here and a clean 100/100 grade A is a handful of
docker runflags, shown on every scorecard.
Ranked best to worst¶
| Rank | Image | Score | Grade | Top gaps (default config) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | chromadb/chroma:0.5.23 |
48/100 | 🟠 D | Dropped capabilities, Non-root user (uid != 0), Network isolation / egress |
| 🥈 2 | milvusdb/milvus:v2.5.1 |
48/100 | 🟠 D | Dropped capabilities, Non-root user (uid != 0), Network isolation / egress |
| 🥉 3 | pgvector/pgvector:pg17 |
48/100 | 🟠 D | Dropped capabilities, Non-root user (uid != 0), Network isolation / egress |
| 4 | qdrant/qdrant:v1.12.4 |
48/100 | 🟠 D | Dropped capabilities, Non-root user (uid != 0), Network isolation / egress |
| 5 | semitechnologies/weaviate:1.28.1 |
48/100 | 🟠 D | Dropped capabilities, Non-root user (uid != 0), Network isolation / egress |
Scan your own vector database container¶
These grades come from ironctl scan, one credential-free command that audits any running container, docker-compose service, or Kubernetes manifest, not just the vector database images ranked above:
# install (Homebrew)
brew install ironsecco/ironclaw/ironclaw
# grade your own container the same way this page was generated
ironctl scan my-container
- All container isolation scores →, every scorecard, worst-isolated first.
- Browse every category →, the full set of ranked collection pages.
- Container Isolation Leaderboard →, the whole dataset ranked, with a Hall of Fame and worst offenders.
- Scan any container →, the full command reference.
- The State of Container Isolation, 2026 →, the survey these grades are built from.
Part of the Container Isolation Scores directory. Generated from a reproducible survey by examples/isolation-survey/gen_scorecards.py and refreshed weekly, so this ranking never goes stale. Grades reflect each image's default configuration, not a limit of the image itself: every one reaches grade A with the right docker run flags.