GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clair vs Greenbone Vulnerability Manager
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clair and Greenbone Vulnerability Manager — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Clair vs Greenbone Vulnerability Manager: at a glance
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.
What is Greenbone Vulnerability Manager?
Greenbone's gvmd starts on Active Directory credentials as report exports settle.
26.43.0 on 27 October adds an LDAP/AD credential type, a GMP command to verify it and feature flags for AD integration, plus encryption and anonymization options for agent bundles. The surrounding releases finish the report export work: cancellation in 26.40.0, then reuse of completed exports and repeatable downloads. 26.41.0 also adds executable report formats and validates keys and certificates when credentials are modified.
Clair vs Greenbone Vulnerability Manager: editorial side-by-side
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.
Greenbone Vulnerability Manager
5.0INFRA · APIS
Greenbone's gvmd starts on Active Directory credentials as report exports settle.
◆ Current state
26.43.0 on 27 October adds an LDAP/AD credential type, a GMP command to verify it and feature flags for AD integration, plus encryption and anonymization options for agent bundles. The surrounding releases finish the report export work: cancellation in 26.40.0, then reuse of completed exports and repeatable downloads. 26.41.0 also adds executable report formats and validates keys and certificates when credentials are modified.
◆ Where it's heading
Report export, the summer's main thread, has reached the fix-and-polish stage. New work is moving toward agents and directory integration: agent OS metadata, group scheduling delay and bundle options sit alongside the AD credential type. The steady memory-leak fixes suggest a code base being tightened as these features land.
◆ Prediction
AD integration sits behind feature flags, so expect follow-up releases to complete it. The entries don't say when it will be enabled by default.
Alternatives to Clair and Greenbone Vulnerability Manager
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 Clair or Greenbone Vulnerability Manager.
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.
See all Clair alternatives → · See all Greenbone Vulnerability Manager alternatives →
Recent activity from Clair and Greenbone Vulnerability Manager
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 17d agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.43.0: LDAP/AD credentials and agent-bundle encryption
- 1mo agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.42.0: Scan config in report XML, export fixes
- 1mo agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.41.0: Executable report formats, credential validation
- 1mo agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.40.2: Web target and agent error-path fixes
- 1mo agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.40.1: Sensor scanner port handling, leak fixes
- 1mo agoGreenbone Vulnerability Managergvmd 26.40.0: Cancel report exports over GMP
- 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 Clair and Greenbone Vulnerability Manager?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Greenbone Vulnerability Manager 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 Clair better than Greenbone Vulnerability Manager?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Greenbone Vulnerability Manager 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to Greenbone Vulnerability Manager?
Top Greenbone Vulnerability Manager alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Greenbone Vulnerability Manager alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/greenbone-gvmd for the full list with editorial commentary on each.