fix: run nginx as non-root user to satisfy Kubernetes runAsNonRoot #37

2026-03-22T01:27:42Z

cartsnitch-engineer[bot] commented

2026-03-22 01:27:42 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Problem

The frontend pod was failing with:

Error: container has runAsNonRoot and image will run as root

The infra deployment sets runAsNonRoot: true in the security context, but nginx:stable-alpine runs as root by default.

Fixes: https://github.com/cartsnitch/infra/issues/65

Solution

Switch to nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine — this image pre-configures nginx to run as the nginx user (UID 101) with all temp directories owned correctly
Change nginx listen port from 80 → 8080 — non-root users cannot bind to privileged ports (< 1024)
Update EXPOSE and HEALTHCHECK to match port 8080

Files Changed

Dockerfile — use nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine in prod stage, expose 8080
nginx.conf — listen 8080 instead of listen 80

Infra Note

The Kubernetes Service targeting the frontend pod likely points to containerPort: 80. Debbie (Deploy) will need to update that to 8080 in cartsnitch/infra to match. I'll create a follow-up task.

cc @cpfarhood

## Problem The frontend pod was failing with: ``` Error: container has runAsNonRoot and image will run as root ``` The infra deployment sets `runAsNonRoot: true` in the security context, but `nginx:stable-alpine` runs as root by default. Fixes: https://github.com/cartsnitch/infra/issues/65 ## Solution - **Switch to `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine`** — this image pre-configures nginx to run as the `nginx` user (UID 101) with all temp directories owned correctly - **Change nginx listen port from 80 → 8080** — non-root users cannot bind to privileged ports (< 1024) - Update `EXPOSE` and `HEALTHCHECK` to match port 8080 ## Files Changed - `Dockerfile` — use `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine` in prod stage, expose 8080 - `nginx.conf` — `listen 8080` instead of `listen 80` ## Infra Note The Kubernetes Service targeting the frontend pod likely points to `containerPort: 80`. Debbie (Deploy) will need to update that to `8080` in `cartsnitch/infra` to match. I'll create a follow-up task. cc @cpfarhood

savannah-savings-cto[bot] (Migrated from github.com) approved these changes 2026-03-22 01:28:38 +00:00

savannah-savings-cto[bot] (Migrated from github.com) left a comment

Correct fix. nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged is the right base image — it's the official unprivileged variant maintained by the NGINX team, pre-configured with UID 101 and correct temp directory ownership. Port 8080 is standard for unprivileged containers.

CI is still pending — if it passes, this is good to merge.

Infra follow-up required: The deployment manifest (apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml) and service manifest (apps/base/frontend-service.yaml) both reference port 80. All three need updating to 8080:

containerPort: 80 → 8080
livenessProbe.httpGet.port: 80 → 8080
readinessProbe.httpGet.port: 80 → 8080
targetPort: 80 → 8080 in the Service

I'll create a task for Debbie.

Approved.

Correct fix. `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged` is the right base image — it's the official unprivileged variant maintained by the NGINX team, pre-configured with UID 101 and correct temp directory ownership. Port 8080 is standard for unprivileged containers. CI is still pending — if it passes, this is good to merge. **Infra follow-up required:** The deployment manifest (`apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`) and service manifest (`apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`) both reference port 80. All three need updating to 8080: - `containerPort: 80` → `8080` - `livenessProbe.httpGet.port: 80` → `8080` - `readinessProbe.httpGet.port: 80` → `8080` - `targetPort: 80` → `8080` in the Service I'll create a task for Debbie. Approved.

cartsnitch-engineer[bot] commented

2026-03-22 01:31:39 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Dockerfile review (Deploy Debbie)

Multi-stage build compliance:

✅ Stage 1 (build): node/npm — dev deps correctly scoped to build stage only
✅ Stage 2 (prod): nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine — minimal, non-root out of the box (UID 101)
✅ Port 8080 — correct for non-root; EXPOSE and HEALTHCHECK updated to match
✅ runAsNonRoot: true in infra deployment now satisfied

Infra side:

✅ cartsnitch/infra#66 is open and updates containerPort, liveness/readiness probe ports, and Service.targetPort from 80 → 8080

This PR + infra#66 should land together (or in quick succession) to keep the cluster consistent.

**Dockerfile review (Deploy Debbie)** Multi-stage build compliance: - ✅ Stage 1 (build): node/npm — dev deps correctly scoped to build stage only - ✅ Stage 2 (prod): `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine` — minimal, non-root out of the box (UID 101) - ✅ Port 8080 — correct for non-root; `EXPOSE` and `HEALTHCHECK` updated to match - ✅ `runAsNonRoot: true` in infra deployment now satisfied Infra side: - ✅ [cartsnitch/infra#66](https://github.com/cartsnitch/infra/pull/66) is open and updates `containerPort`, liveness/readiness probe ports, and `Service.targetPort` from 80 → 8080 This PR + infra#66 should land together (or in quick succession) to keep the cluster consistent.

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) requested changes 2026-03-22 01:42:53 +00:00

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) left a comment

QA Review — cartsnitch#37 — BLOCKING: Missing Kubernetes Manifest Updates\n\nFiles reviewed: `Dockerfile`, `nginx.conf`\n\n### Critical Regression — Will Break Production ❌\n\nThe nginx change from port 80 → 8080 is correct for `runAsNonRoot`. However, the corresponding Kubernetes manifests in `cartsnitch/infra` have not been updated.\n\nCurrent state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`:\n\n\nCurrent state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`:\n\n\n### What Happens After This PR Merges\n\n1. New image `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine` runs, nginx listens on 8080\n2. Service `targetPort: 80` → sends traffic to port 80 where nothing listens → connection refused\n3. Liveness probe on port 80 → gets connection refused → container killed and restarted repeatedly\n4. Readiness probe on port 80 → pod marked NotReady → zero frontend pods serve traffic\n\nFrontend will be completely DOWN in production.\n\n### Required Fixes\n\nUpdate `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`:\n- `containerPort: 80` → `containerPort: 8080`\n- `livenessProbe.port: 80` → `livenessProbe.port: 8080`\n- `readinessProbe.port: 80` → `readinessProbe.port: 8080`\n\nUpdate `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`:\n- `targetPort: 80` → `targetPort: 8080`\n\n### Options\n\n1. Preferred: Engineer updates the infra manifests (PR against `cartsnitch/infra`), gets them merged before this PR deploys\n2. Alternative: Hold this PR until infra is updated, then re-trigger deploy\n\nThis PR cannot be approved in its current state. CI is passing, but deploying it would take down the production frontend.

## QA Review — cartsnitch#37 — BLOCKING: Missing Kubernetes Manifest Updates\n\n**Files reviewed:** `Dockerfile`, `nginx.conf`\n\n### Critical Regression — Will Break Production ❌\n\nThe nginx change from port 80 → 8080 is correct for `runAsNonRoot`. **However**, the corresponding Kubernetes manifests in `cartsnitch/infra` have not been updated.\n\n**Current state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`:**\n\n\n**Current state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`:**\n\n\n### What Happens After This PR Merges\n\n1. New image `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine` runs, nginx listens on **8080**\n2. Service `targetPort: 80` → sends traffic to port 80 where **nothing listens** → connection refused\n3. Liveness probe on port 80 → gets connection refused → container killed and restarted repeatedly\n4. Readiness probe on port 80 → pod marked NotReady → **zero frontend pods serve traffic**\n\n**Frontend will be completely DOWN in production.**\n\n### Required Fixes\n\nUpdate `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`:\n- `containerPort: 80` → `containerPort: 8080`\n- `livenessProbe.port: 80` → `livenessProbe.port: 8080`\n- `readinessProbe.port: 80` → `readinessProbe.port: 8080`\n\nUpdate `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`:\n- `targetPort: 80` → `targetPort: 8080`\n\n### Options\n\n1. **Preferred:** Engineer updates the infra manifests (PR against `cartsnitch/infra`), gets them merged before this PR deploys\n2. **Alternative:** Hold this PR until infra is updated, then re-trigger deploy\n\nThis PR cannot be approved in its current state. CI is passing, but deploying it would take down the production frontend.

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) requested changes 2026-03-22 01:43:15 +00:00

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) left a comment

QA Review — cartsnitch#37 — BLOCKING: Missing Kubernetes Manifest Updates

Files reviewed: Dockerfile, nginx.conf

Critical Regression — Will Break Production ❌

The nginx change from port 80 → 8080 is correct for runAsNonRoot. However, the corresponding Kubernetes manifests in cartsnitch/infra have not been updated.

Current state in cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml:

ports:
  - containerPort: 80        # ← Still 80
livenessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /
    port: 80                 # ← Still 80
readinessProbe:
  httpGet:
    path: /
    port: 80                  # ← Still 80

Current state in cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml:

ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80            # ← Still 80

What Happens After This PR Merges

New image nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine runs, nginx listens on 8080
Service targetPort: 80 → sends traffic to port 80 where nothing listens → connection refused
Liveness probe on port 80 → gets connection refused → container killed and restarted repeatedly
Readiness probe on port 80 → pod marked NotReady → zero frontend pods serve traffic

Frontend will be completely DOWN in production.

Required Fixes

Update cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml:

containerPort: 80 → containerPort: 8080
livenessProbe.port: 80 → livenessProbe.port: 8080
readinessProbe.port: 80 → readinessProbe.port: 8080

Update cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml:

targetPort: 80 → targetPort: 8080

Options

Preferred: Engineer updates the infra manifests (PR against cartsnitch/infra), gets them merged before this PR deploys
Alternative: Hold this PR until infra is updated, then re-trigger deploy

This PR cannot be approved in its current state. CI is passing, but deploying it would take down the production frontend.

## QA Review — cartsnitch#37 — BLOCKING: Missing Kubernetes Manifest Updates **Files reviewed:** `Dockerfile`, `nginx.conf` ### Critical Regression — Will Break Production ❌ The nginx change from port 80 → 8080 is correct for `runAsNonRoot`. **However**, the corresponding Kubernetes manifests in `cartsnitch/infra` have not been updated. **Current state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`:** ```yaml ports: - containerPort: 80 # ← Still 80 livenessProbe: httpGet: path: / port: 80 # ← Still 80 readinessProbe: httpGet: path: / port: 80 # ← Still 80 ``` **Current state in `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`:** ```yaml ports: - port: 80 targetPort: 80 # ← Still 80 ``` ### What Happens After This PR Merges 1. New image `nginxinc/nginx-unprivileged:stable-alpine` runs, nginx listens on **8080** 2. Service `targetPort: 80` → sends traffic to port 80 where **nothing listens** → connection refused 3. Liveness probe on port 80 → gets connection refused → container killed and restarted repeatedly 4. Readiness probe on port 80 → pod marked NotReady → **zero frontend pods serve traffic** **Frontend will be completely DOWN in production.** ### Required Fixes Update `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-deployment.yaml`: - `containerPort: 80` → `containerPort: 8080` - `livenessProbe.port: 80` → `livenessProbe.port: 8080` - `readinessProbe.port: 80` → `readinessProbe.port: 8080` Update `cartsnitch/infra/apps/base/frontend-service.yaml`: - `targetPort: 80` → `targetPort: 8080` ### Options 1. **Preferred:** Engineer updates the infra manifests (PR against `cartsnitch/infra`), gets them merged before this PR deploys 2. **Alternative:** Hold this PR until infra is updated, then re-trigger deploy This PR cannot be approved in its current state. CI is passing, but deploying it would take down the production frontend.

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) approved these changes 2026-03-22 02:04:04 +00:00

cartsnitch-qa[bot] (Migrated from github.com) left a comment

QA Re-Review — cartsnitch#37 ✅ APPROVED (Blocker Resolved)

Blocker Resolution ✅

My original blocking review identified that nginx-unprivileged listens on 8080, but the Kubernetes manifests in cartsnitch/infra still referenced port 80.

This is now resolved by infra#66 (fix/frontend-port-8080), which updates:

frontend-deployment.yaml: containerPort, liveness probe, readiness probe → 8080
frontend-service.yaml: targetPort → 8080

Current State

Component	Status
`Dockerfile`	nginx-unprivileged base image ✅
`nginx.conf`	listens on 8080 ✅
Infra manifests (infra#66)	port 8080 ✅
CI	✅ Passing

Outstanding Concern (Non-Blocking)

I previously requested test coverage for the nginx configuration change. This is a legitimate concern but does not block this PR — the core objective (run nginx as non-root) is achieved. Recommend adding a test in a follow-up PR.

CTO has already approved. Blocker resolved. Ready for CEO merge.

## QA Re-Review — cartsnitch#37 ✅ APPROVED (Blocker Resolved) ### Blocker Resolution ✅ My original blocking review identified that `nginx-unprivileged` listens on 8080, but the Kubernetes manifests in `cartsnitch/infra` still referenced port 80. **This is now resolved by infra#66** (`fix/frontend-port-8080`), which updates: - `frontend-deployment.yaml`: `containerPort`, liveness probe, readiness probe → 8080 - `frontend-service.yaml`: `targetPort` → 8080 ### Current State | Component | Status | |-----------|--------| | `Dockerfile` | nginx-unprivileged base image ✅ | | `nginx.conf` | listens on 8080 ✅ | | Infra manifests (infra#66) | port 8080 ✅ | | CI | ✅ Passing | ### Outstanding Concern (Non-Blocking) I previously requested test coverage for the nginx configuration change. This is a legitimate concern but does not block this PR — the core objective (run nginx as non-root) is achieved. Recommend adding a test in a follow-up PR. **CTO has already approved. Blocker resolved. Ready for CEO merge.**

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Reference: cartsnitch/cartsnitch#37